It was 20 years ago today that Borussia Dortmund were crowned Bundesliga champions, the Black and Yellows securing their second successive title and their fifth in total on 18 May 1996. Here we cast a glance back at the 1995/96 season.

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Heiko Herrlich completed a switch from Gladbach.

It wasn't the novelty of winning the title that fascinated the exuberant Borussia players. After all, they were no strangers to lifting the Bundesliga shield aloft, the majority of them having done so one year earlier. Rather, it was the euphoric enthusiasm of the huge fan community at the Westfalenstadion and Friedensplatz that beggared belief.

"Incredible, sensational, crazy." Andreas Möller was just one of the players left spellbound by the unique atmosphere and the ecstasy felt throughout the huge fan community following the club's successful title defence.

The months of nerves and tension, the setbacks - which predominantly came in the second half of the season - and the transfer saga surrounding Heiko Herrlich were now all forgotten. The league's top-scorer in 94/95 had been desperate to move to BVB. His debut "sent a shiver go down my spine," he later said. In what was overall a disappointing 1-1 draw against Kaiserslautern, Herrlich scored BVB's only goal. The same result followed in Leverkusen one week later. As Michael Meier put it: "We could've got more."

Languishing down in 13th

The effects of the three-point rule could already be felt. A draw simply no longer had the significance it used to. But when BVB travelled away to Hansa Rostock on Matchday 3, they were not even able to nab a solitary point in what proved to be a curious 90 minutes. With the visitors comfortably leading 2-0 in the Ostseestadion, the newly-promoted outfit turned the match on its head in the closing stages to win 3-2. "Such a defeat cannot be allowed for a club of BVB's stature," bemoaned Ottmar Hitzfeld, for whom looking at the table did not make for happy viewing: Dortmund were languishing in 13th.

The opening weeks of the 1995/96 had made it clear that BVB - the new "market leaders" - were noticeably going about their business with different standards. The club had signed some expensive players (Heiko Herrlich, Jürgen Kohler, the Czech Patrick Patrick, the Uruguay international Ruben Sosa and Jörg Heinrich - a sudden transfer during the season) and were acting more rationally.

The turning point came in an away fixture against the "Foals" at the Bökelberg, an arduous but effective 2-1 victory secured by Lars Ricken's winner nine minutes from time. "It starts now," declared Stefan Reuter after the first victory. His words turned out to be true. Four matches in a row were won - and in such style too! After dispatching FC St. Pauli, Dortmund really came into their own. Despite having only ten men against VfB Stuttgart after Knut Reinhardt was sent for an early bath, the Black and Yellows were able to record a resounding 6-3 victory over a side boasting the magic trio of Bobic, Balakov and Elber. The goal glut continued with a 4-3 in Frankfurt - the club's third come-from-behind win of the season.

2-1 defeat of Bayern on Matchday 8

BVB soon played host to the ostensibly unbeatable Bayern, for whom new boss Otto Rehhagel had made a flying start to life in Bavaria thanks to seven victories in the first seven games. On an exhilarating evening, Ruben Sosa - known as the "Poeta del Gol" - came on as a substitute and scored an outstanding free-kick with his first touch of the ball, putting Borussia 2-1 up and setting them on the path to victory.

In fact, they remained on top form until the winter break, and even old foes Schalke 04 were unable to derail the Black and Yellow express train despite laying siege to the Dortmund goal. "It's the most bitter loss of my tenure as Schalke coach. It hurts. Football can be a brutal game at times," said a downbeat Jörg Berger after Michael Zorc had secured a 2-1 away victory with virtually the last kick of the encounter. Though hardly convincing, it was BVB who took home the points. For decades, that has been the hallmark of champions. At the winter break, BVB were back on top of the pile, having won twelve, drawn four and lost just once. It was an impressive record for the club to take into the Christmas holidays. Bayern were not far behind with only a two-point deficit to the table-toppers, but the gap separating BVB from the next closest challengers was 12 points.

Borussia's bad luck with injuries continues

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Title-winner: Ottmar Hitzfeld

Despite sitting atop the pile, Borussia Dortmund could not overlook the fact that their bad luck with injuries seemed to have struck yet again. Players had to take a break 92 times due to injuries, with 14 muscle fibre tears being diagnosed. The group of core players the club planned to use could hardly be called upon in the second half of the season. The injury crisis was perhaps at its most evident in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie, when Ajax taught the Black and Yellows a bitter lesson in the Westfalenstadion. Thanks to goals from Edgar Davids and Patrick Kluivert, the completely dominant Dutch outfit recorded a 2-0 win, thus making the return leg in the Netherlands little more than a formality.

In the Bundesliga BVB defended their pole position from one Matchday to the next, though they were riding their luck at times. Bogey team Rostock beat them 2-1 in the Westfalenstadion, and further points were also dropped in Kaiserslautern and Mönchengladbach. However, their main rivals from Munich, where a media battle between "Kaiser Franz" and Otto Rehhagel was by now in full flow, also dropped valuable points and were thus unable to close the gap.

Relief for BVB came in the form of a victory over fourth-placed VfB Stuttgart of all teams. It was a match that no-one who was there that day has forgotten. "Chapuisat is back again," chanted the 5,000 travelling fans who had made the journey to the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion and could scarcely keep their eyes off the scoreboard, which read 5-0 to the Borussia Dortmund. The Swiss striker, who had struggled for a while to get back to his old form following a cruciate ligament injury, grabbed a brace that Saturday evening. Private broadcaster Sat.1 must have been patting themselves on the back; the first live broadcast at this unusual time was a cracker.

End of March marks turning point

Another thrashing came for BVB a week later when they beat Eintracht Frankfurt, prompting coach Hitzfeld to say: "The team has shown what they're capable of. I'm looking forward to Munich." Unfortunately, the reality did not live up to the anticipation. "Bayern have never been more desperate for the final whistle in a home game," said an extremely frustrated Dr. Gerd Niebaum. Dortmund were unable to restore parity after Mehmet Scholl had put Bayern ahead, especially in view of the ugly scenes that had ensued in the Olympiastadion. The man that hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons was the goalscorer, who was not punished despite punching Stéphane Chapuisat to the ground.

The events certainly made their mark on the Black and Yellow players, who seemingly forgot how to win. Weeks followed in which neither of the top two seemed capable of seizing the initiative. BVB racked up one stalemate after another, while the "dream team" from Munich seemed to suffer defeat after defeat. It all came to a head at the end of April when Hansa Rostock won 1-0 at the Olympiastadion, prompting the club to dismiss Rehhagel from his role. Now the Kaiser wanted to steer them to victory again. And Borussia certainly did their best to give him a helping hand.

On Matchday 31 they suffered a crushing defeat in Karlsruhe. "That 5-0 loss was one of the worst days for me. It was depressing to watch on as we conceded three goals within the space of five minutes. My team was torn apart by KSC," admitted a resigned Ottmar Hitzfeld, who called upon the players to show their honour. "My pride has been deeply wounded; it fact, everyone's pride has." The debacle in Baden-Württemberg served as a healing process for the Black and Yellows. "You could feel straightaway that they had something to make up for," said the then Germany coach Berti Vogts as BVB bounced back with a 5-0 victory over KFC Uerdingen. Even in their game in hand, Sammer & Co did not take their foot of the gas for a second, while Bayern squandered a 2-0 lead in Bremen to lose 3-2 at the hands of Werder.

Showdown in Munich

In the end, the title was clinched on Matchday 33. Though BVB only picked up a point in a 2-2 draw with TSV 1860 Munich in the Olympiastadion, Bayern lost their respective fixture in Gelsenkirchen. Borussia would have been crowned champions without this helping hand, though. "We weren't thrilling champions, we showed too many weaknesses in the second half of the season for that. But our desire was a plus," said Ottmar Hitzfeld matter-of-factly as he looked back. The fans didn't care. They were too busy enjoying a second title win in the space of 12 months.

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