From rematches to shooting matches, from humiliation to last-minute celebration

There have been seven competitive games between the Franconians and the Westphalians in the past. As it stands before the DFB Cup tie on Monday, the overall head-to-head statistics favour BVB with five wins, one draw and one loss (17-8 aggregate score). We look back on past fixtures.

A rematch welcomed by both teams

On 26 October 1974 the DFB Cup match against SpVgg Fürth and Borussia Dortmund was entitled, "Second league versus second league." The Black & Yellows, having been relegated two years earlier for the first and only time, took the lead in front of only 5,000 visitors through an early goal by Hans-Joachim Wagner (3rd minute). After a number of missed BVB chances to make it 2-0, the tide changed after the break. Fürth player Paul Bajlitz scored on the hour mark to make it 1-1. Mirko Votava could have snatched the matchwinner in stoppage-time, but he gave away the ball to their keeper Bernhard Löwer. So it stayed at 1-1 resulting in a rematch, the norm of the day. BVB head coach Otto Knefler spoke of a "result made-to-measure."

Why? Because at that time, a second match was almost welcomed by a hard-up Borussia, due to the fact that between 30,000 and 40,000 visitors, depending on which figures you look at, would make the pilgrimage on the Wednesday evening (13 November) to the Westfalenstadion which had opened just seven months before. "Fürth shook their heads in disbelief," reported sports magazine kicker. Since the revenue was shared, the Franconians took home €50,000 with them. "We can survive on that for months," said Fürth's head coach Bernd Hoffman happily. Dortmund player Klaus Ackermann provided the first goal in the 58th minute to make it 1-0 and that was enough to put Dortmund through. It was not until the semi-finals that BVB's Cup journey ended, where they were knocked out by MSV Duisburg.

A feeling that would be beaten somewhere else

For the first time, amateur league representatives would get the home advantage from 1990/91. So 14 months after becoming Cup Champions, BVB would not play at home but would go to visit fourth league team Fürth (Landesliga Bayern). Everything seemed to go to plan for Ottmar Hitzfeld, but after Schneider's dismissal, the extra man became too much to handle and no mercy was shown. What else could possibly go wrong? Everything! Flemming Povlsen was able to equalise Zettl's first goal in the 18th minute after about 10 attempts, but that was it. Beierlorzer (39') and Zettl (65') chucked the Black & Yellows straight out of the Cup!

In the league, Borussia played an unbelievable season and after a dramatic showdown in the end with Eintracht Frankfurt and VfB Stuttgart, they were made proud runners-up. The loss of face in the Cup was soon forgotten because the media focused on how Bayern Munich had been humiliated even more so in Weinheim at the same time.

A tactical change which turned the game around

In 1997, BVB played Fürth once again and this time in the Nürnberger Frankenstadion. Having just won the Champions League, they traveled with 30,000 fans. The "Shamrocks" put themselves 1-0 in the lead after 2 minutes, through a goal by Probst. BVB head coach Nevio Scala reacted by bringing on striker Stéphane Chapuisat after 15 minutes, for defender Martin Kree. Sweeper Matthias Sammer got himself stuck into the attacking plays and in the final push before the break, Borussia found their reward. Andreas Möller (40') equalised, then Sousa (44') made it 2-1. Lars Ricken came on and scored 7 minutes later to score the third goal, and the match seemed to be decided. After Alexander Dürrs penalty (67') went in after a foul in the box, nerves started to show, but Ricken settled them again with a final goal in the last minute to make the end result 4-2.

A lucky late stab in the dark

The last stop on the way to the final and to the first and only 'double' so far in the club's history, was to beat Fürth on 20 March 2012. The match between the eventual second division winners and the soon-to-be German Champions grew into a heavily contested bout. Dortmund lacked the creative spark and could only pose a threat from set pieces. Only after the break would they raise the pressure, but they handled clear chances with negligence. Großkreutz's header from 6 yards out was stopped by the fast reactions of Grün (56') and Kagawa shot a penalty wide (58'). The punishment was almost dealt two minutes later when Occean headed the ball from 8 yards which skimmed over the bar. The quality dropped drastically in extra-time as the high-intensity play had taken its toll on both teams.

Fürth's head coach Mike Büskens had (supposedly) saved his trump card until the 118th minute, when he brought on keeper Jasmin Fejzic for the predicted penalty shootout. However, he hadn't taken Gündogan into account when making his decision. In the last attack of the game, Ilkay Gündogan slammed the ball from 18 yards onto the left post. The ball bounced out onto Fejzic's back and went straight into the goal...

A Black & Yellow shooting match in Ronhof

The clubs have faced each other twice in the league. "I've never experienced a game like it where absolutely nothing happened in the second half," said Neven Subotić about the 3-1 success on 17 November 2012. The Black & Yellows had the game fully in their grasp and due to the upcoming Champions League fixture in Amsterdam, they saved their energy. Robert Lewandowski (3', PK 15') and Mario Götze had settled the result by the 42nd minute. Zoltan Stieber's early equaliser in the fifth minute was nothing more than a beauty spot.

Jose Mourinho took the opportunity in the second leg to gather an insight on his semi-final opponent in the UEFA Champions League. For a few minutes, the Real Madrid manager might have been under the impression that he would observe BVB in highly competitive circumstances, as the hosts dealt the Black & Yellows an exchange of blows. However, 10 minutes later after Hesl had denied Blaszczykowski of a goal with some quick reaction footwork, the hosts fully succumbed to Dortmund's pace. Mario Götze (12', 45'), Ilkay Gündogan (15', 33') and Jakub Blaszczykowski (39') tallied a 5-0 lead before the break. Edgar Prib managed to score a consolation goal (72') just before Robert Lewandowski scored in the 80th minute to make the final result 6-1. It was the highest scoring victory the club has ever had in the league.