Famous BVB wins in Gladbach

Back in the fifties and sixties - the days of the old Oberliga West - BVB only lost two out of a total of eleven matches away to ''the other Borussia''. Some of the most memorable results from this era were 8-0 and 7-0 away wins in 1953 and 1956 respectively, not to mention a 6-6 draw in 1955 and a 4-3 win for BVB in the last season before the introduction of the Bundesliga. Mönchengladbach were not among the teams admitted to Germany's top division for its inaugural season. Instead, they would have to wait until promotion in 1965 for their first taste of Bundesliga action.  

Five penalties in one game - a record which stands to this day

Gladbach got their debut Bundesliga season underway with draws against Neunkirchen, Karlsruhe and Schalke, as well as a 5-0 home win over Tasmania Berlin. Next on the agenda was a clash with Borussia Dortmund on 11 September 1965: the first-ever meeting of the two clubs in the Bundesliga. This match would go down in the history books for a number of reasons: for Gladbach, it marked their first-ever home defeat in the division, while on the other hand it was the first and so far only match in 56 years of Bundesliga history which has featured five penalty kicks.

The first one fell in the 21st minute: Gladbach's Lowin fouled Dortmund's Emmerich, who then stepped up to convert and bring the score to 1-0. Shortly before the interval, Dortmund defender Wolfgang Paul felled Gladbach striker Jupp Heynckes in the box - Milder took on the responsibilities and fired home to draw the two sides level at 1-1. Despite surrendering the lead, it was BVB who were creating more chances, and this would pay dividends in the 58th minute when Sturm scored to regain the lead. This wouldn't last long however, as Günter Netzer stepped up to swing the advantage back in the home side's favour: first he provided the assist for Rupp's headed goal in the 62nd minute, and then just three minutes later he drilled a free-kick into the far-corner to make it 3-2 to Gladbach. The game had turned into a real back-and-forth clash, and BVB soon responded to Gladbach's double-blow with a double-blow of their own. Headers from Emmerich (67th minute) and Wosab (69th minute) turned the game on its head once more and brought the score to 4-3 in favour of BVB. This wouldn't last long however as, much to the astonishment of the 34,000 spectators who had packed out the Bökelberg stadium, a fifth goal in eight minutes was scored. BVB defender Paul fouled Rupp in the box, Netzer stepped up to convert the spot-kick and level the score at 4-4 in the 70th minute. That wasn't the end of it, however: another foul on Emmerich, another penalty, same result - once again the Black & Yellows' frontman fired home from the spot to put his side 5-4 up with 73 minutes on the clock. Six goals had been scored in the space of eleven astonishing minutes.... 

In the 78th minute, Gladbach's Egon Milder was once more presented with the opportunity to draw his side level from the spot - but Dortmund goalkeeper and 1965 footballer of the year Hans Tilkowski had other ideas. His penalty save meant it was the Borussia side in black and yellow who emerged 5-4 victors after an exhilarating 90 minutes of football. 

Back in Europe via Gladbach

Borussia Dortmund would then have to wait until 1982 to celebrate another away win in Mönchengladbach. This long winless streak makes sense in light of Gladbach's phenomenal success throughout the 1970s: they were quite simply the defining club of the era in Germany, winning a total of five Bundesliga titles. In 1982, it was Rolf Rüssmann who was the hero for BVB, with the defender scoring the only goal of the match in the 28th minute. Funnily enough, the same Rolf Rüssmann would go on to lead the team from the Bökelberg to considerable success in the early nineties in the role of manager. The victory away to the second-placed team helped BVB climb up the table and would prove an important step on the way to securing qualification for European competition after a 16 year absence. 

The following season would witness another victory at the Bökelberg stadium: goals from Bernd Klotz and Erdal Keser helped the Black & Yellows come from behind twice, before Manfred Burgsmüller stepped up in the 86th minute to score the decisive goal as BVB went home 3-2 winners. The Black & Yellows remained on course for European qualification right until the very last matchday of the season, when a 6-4 home defeat to Mönchengladbach on 4 June 1983 put paid to their European aspirations. The home side had led 3-2 at one point before late goals from Lothar Matthäus and Frank Mill spoiled the Dortmund party. 

From the eighties and onwards, good results at the Bökelberg

Back to away games at the Bökelberg stadium, which generally brought good results from the eighties and onwards: from 1981 until the end of the nineties, BVB's tally of five wins, four defeats and nine draws meant the overall record was positive. Of particular note were 3-0 wins in March 1988 (with Mill, Möller and Dickel the goalscorers) and April 1993 (with goals from Sammer, Poschner and Chapuisat). The last BVB trip to Bökelberg of the 20th century, a last-day-of-the-season encounter on 29 May 1999, ended in a 2-0 win for the visiting side thanks to a brace from Stéphane Chapuisat. This was enough to ensure qualification for the UEFA Champions League.

A crucial moment on the road to the 2002 title win was the trip to Gladbach on Matchday 9. BVB started the match well, impressing with some sensational combination play. The Gladbach rearguard struggled to keep pace, and goals from Ricken (13th minute) and Ewerthon (23rd) gave the Black & Yellows an imposing early lead. Things were soon complicated however, as defender Ricken and goalkeeper Lehmann were both forced to go off injured. These losses were then compounded when a second yellow card for Rosicky in the 38th minute reduced Dortmund to ten men. Despite Demo pulling one back from the penalty spot for the home side, the Black & Yellows held firm to secure a morale-boosting three points. After only registering four points in their previous four matches, BVB would go on to notch up six wins, one draw and one defeat in the run up to the Winter break. 

The Borsigplatz party crashers

Matchday 2 of the 2004/05 season saw Borussia Dortmund travel to face Mönchengladbach in the first-ever match held at the latter's newly-built Nordpark stadium. It was looking like an inauguration to celebrate for the home side when goals from Ulich and Hausweiler fired them into a 2-1 lead, but the Black & Yellows had other ideas: after Jensen and Koller had drawn the away side level, Ewerthon popped up with the match-winning goal. Only four minutes had elapsed between Hausweiler's goal for Gladbach (34th minute) and Ewerthon's winner for BVB (38th minute), with all five goals falling in the first half. 

BVB's overall record in the ''Borussia Park'' stadium stands at five wins, three draws and five defeats. The Black & Yellows have emerged victorious in all of their last three visits. 23 January 2016 witnessed a 3-1 triumph (with goals from Reus, Mkhitaryan and Gündogan), 22 April 2017 saw BVB pull back a 2-1 deficit to emerge 3-2 winners (with Reus, Aubameyang and Guerreiro the scorers), while last season's visit on 18 February 2018 ended in a hard-fought 1-0 win thanks to a goal from Marco Reus and some heroic goalkeeping from Roman Bürki.
Boris Rupert