Borussia vs Bayern: A mixture of magic moments and mayhem

Ahead of the next encounter between the clubs at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday (18:30 CET), we have delved into the past and picked out a selection of legendary clashes between the pair...

"Knockout football" stated the Westfälische Rundschau following the first Bundesliga meeting between runners-up Borussia Dortmund and newly-promoted FC Bayern Munich on Matchday 8 of the 1965/66 season. The "Reds", who arrived at the Strobelallee as surprise league leaders, dominated but were hit mercilessly on the counter, with Reinhold Wosab delivering both knockout blows as BVB downed their visitors by a 2-0 scoreline.

Young Germany international Beckenbauer had a penalty saved by Hans Tilkowski and was largely overshadowed by another outstanding individual talent that day. "What a shift Aki Schmidt put in," wrote the Rundschau. "Not only did he help out Assauer and Kurrat with their defensive duties, but he played a consistent stream of through-balls to the three forwards. Schmidt's 40-metre passes, combined with his technical finesse in the tightest of spaces, were an enigma for the men from Munich."

A clash of European champions took place at the Rote Erde Stadium on 3 June 1967. Three days earlier, Bayern had kept the European Cup Winners' Cup in German hands following BVB's victory in 1966. But when they met domestically, the Black and Yellows were superior to the newly-crowned ECWC champions in every respect and demolished FC Bayern 4-0.

The race to become the Bundesliga's top goalscorer added some extra spice to that clash, which came on the final day of the 1966/67 season. Prior to kick-off Gerd Müller topped the charts on 28 goals, two ahead of the previous year's winner Lothar Emmerich, on 26. "Emma" fired BVB ahead after 15 minutes, reducing the deficit to a solitary goal. Wosab then struck twice to make it 3-0. With seconds remaining, Wosab found himself in a shooting position but unselfishly teed up "Emma", who rounded off the 4-0 victory and drew level with Müller with virtually the last kick of the campaign.

Libuda downs Bayern single-handedly

According to the Westfälische Rundschau, Stan Libuda wreaked havoc upon Bayern in Borussia Dortmund's 6-3 home victory over the Bavarians on 9 September 1967. The visitors held their own for an hour, even taking the lead twice, but with the score at 3-3 the men from Dortmund began to take charge in the final 30 minutes, largely thanks to the outstanding Reinhard Libuda, who set up four and rounded off his performance with a goal of his own in the 90th minute.

The Black and Yellows lost 11-1 at the Grünwalder Straße in a dismal 1971/72 campaign that eventually saw them relegated. The Rundschau described it as an "execution" and the "worst day in the club's history". This Matchday 16 clash fell on 27 November 1971. "There was a thin layer of snow on the ground, but it was ideal weather for football," the newspaper wrote in search of explanations. The margin of victory in Bayern's biggest-ever Bundesliga win could have been even bigger. "It could have easily been 20 goals," wrote the travelling reporter in dismay. But he did witness a remarkable incident: "After the final whistle two BVB away supporters ran onto the pitch to comfort their players. A touching and symbolic gesture. Because what Borussia need right now is not criticism, scorn or contempt, but friends who will stand by the club in its darkest hour."

BVB celebrated a double-first on 12 August 1978. On Matchday 1 of the 1978/79 season, Borussia finally managed to beat Bayern on home soil for the first time in 11 years. The only goal in the 1-0 win was scored by Manfred Burgsmüller. 17-year-old Eike Immel, playing his first of 533 Bundesliga matches for the Black and Yellows, put in a magnificent showing between the sticks.

Denied by the woodwork after rounding the 'keeper

Even today, Frank Mill will be haunted by what happened on 9 August 1986 at the Olympiastadion in Munich. But let's start our story from the beginning. Referee Gabor from Berlin blew his whistle to signal kick-off between FC Bayern and BVB one minute early and by the time the rest of the Bundesliga kicked off at 15:30 CET, BVB were already 1-0 down. In the first move of the match Matthäus hit the post then bar, before Wohlfarth found the net. Shortly afterwards – the score was 1-1 at that point – came a Bundesliga moment that will never be forgotten: Borussia striker Frank Mill rounded Bayern 'keeper Pfaff and, to the horror of the home fans, had an open goal at his mercy from four metres out. Dortmund taking the lead was just a formality – but Mill wasn't on form that day, at least not in front of goal. After a moment's hesitation, he shot against the upright. The match ended 2-2, with Daniel Simmes and Michael Zorc each restoring parity for BVB after Bayern had taken the lead. After the match, BVB coach Saftig said: "We could have easily been 3-0 down after half an hour." Udo Lattek, the Bayern coach, replied: "If the match had ended in a 4-2 victory for them, then we would have no right to complain."

There was chaos on the last day of the 1989/90 season. Hosts Bayern were winning 3-0 when thousands of fans stormed onto the pitch long before the final whistle to celebrate the club's 12th Bundesliga title. Referee Ren, who had stepped in to replace the first-choice match official Umbach (he remained in the dressing room at the interval with concussion after being hit on the head by a shot from Teddy de Beer) threatened to abandon the match. This message was conveyed to the celebrating crowd by the stadium announcer, who added that in this case Bayern Munich would forfeit the points. At which point 2,000 travelling BVB fans seized their opportunity and descended on the pitch as chaos reigned free. Meanwhile, the Bayern players were already sipping a glass of champagne. Jürgen Kohler, who at that point was still a Bayern player, even invited his opponents from Dortmund to join for a drink. Augenthaler puffed a cigarette, while Frank Mill sprinted away from an overzealous Bayern fan to get to safety. After almost half an hour, the security forces managed to get the chaos under some sort of control. Referee Ren blew his whistle to recommence play but ended the fun unnerved after 180 seconds. BVB opted not to protest and let the Bavarians celebrate their title triumph.

Penalty drama, Champions League, the Kahn show

The 38,000 spectators at the Westfalenstadion saw a classic in the second round of the 1992/1993 DFB Cup. The key moment occurred in the 83rd minute, when Bayern's Olaf Thon was sent off for a second bookable offence with the score at 2-1. With the hosts still ranting and raging, Stéphane Chapuisat took advantage of all the excitement to restore parity for the visitors. With no goals scored in extra-time, it became the first-ever match at the Westfalenstadion to be decided on penalties. Borussia converted all five kicks, while Bayern's Mazinho missed from the spot. BVB won the shootout 5-4.

There was bedlam at the Westfalenstadion in the 110th minute of the 1997/98 Champions League quarter-final second leg. Following a fortunate 0-0 draw for BVB in Munich, the second leg of this all-German affair in Europe's elite club competition remained evenly poised. After 20 minutes of extra-time, Stéphane Chapuisat lived up to his nickname of "Mr. Europacup" and fired Borussia Dortmund into the semi-finals with an outstanding volleyed effort.

"It would send the wrong message to go berserk," Oliver Kahn once said wisely. Unfortunately he did not stick to that mantra when FC Bayern travelled to the Westfalenstadion on Easter Sunday in 1999, behaving in a downright bizarre manner. With the score 2-0 to BVB, the "Kahn show" began. First the shot-stopper attempted the bite the dumbfounded scorer of Dortmund's two goals, Heiko Herrlich, on the neck in a manner reminiscent of a vampire, before narrowly missing Stéphane Chapuisat with a kung-fu kick. He wanted to "make a mark," the Germany international said after the match, which ended 2-2 after Lars Ricken missed a penalty.

Martin Baumeister