Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola says the German football league would be making a mistake by altering the format of the DFB-Pokal.
A report in Germany's Bild newspaper on Friday revealed considerations to reform Germany's only domestic club competition.
Different variations are currently under examination, but both would see the top Bundesliga sides enter the competition later than is currently the case.
Those sides competing in Europe may not enter the fray until the third round, but Guardiola says the current cup is not broken, so it does not need fixing.
"For me, it's perfect the way it is," Guardiola said at a press conference in Munich on Friday.
"The small clubs deserve the chance to play against big teams. It's always complicated when you play in the first round -- that has been my experience in these three years.
"Let's not forget that years ago, [Lothar] Matthaus or [Dietmar] Hamann lost in the first round.
"The cup is much more attractive here than in Spain, for example. There, they have home and away games and usually the big clubs go through."
Eintracht Frankfurt chairman Heribert Bruchhagen agrees that keeping the likes of Bayern and Borussia Dortmund out of the competition until the field has been reduced would take some of the romance out of the competition.
"I can understand the arguments the big clubs are making, but from Eintracht Frankfurt's perspective, the cup is the biggest chance we have of qualifying for Europe, rather than finishing sixth in the Bundesliga," he told Sport1.de.
"We have got to hope that Bayern have to face Dortmund in the second round, and then Dortmund get knocked out by Stuttgart in the third.
"Quite clearly if the big clubs enter later on, our chances are reduced."
The idea is to ease the burden on those sides playing in Europe. The first round of the competition usually takes place a week before the start of the Bundesliga season, while there are two further rounds staged before the winter break.
Bayern and Dortmund have both avoided each other in the draw for this year's semifinals having both made it through four rounds so far.
Bayern will host Werder Bremen while Dortmund head to Hertha Berlin in the last four.
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