Back when Borussia ended Dukla's dominance

Back in the 1960s, Dukla Prague, the armed forces club from the capital of the former Czechoslovakia, were the dominant force in eastern European football. Between 1958 and 1666, they won the Czechoslovakian league title a total of six times. The team led by talismanic star Josef Masopust were feared across the whole of Europe. Until they were drawn against Borussia Dortmund...

''Borussia Dortmund have done what 11 national league champions before them have failed to do. The goal ratio from Dukla's previous home games in European competition read 25:3 in favour of the Prague-based side; only Benfica were able to escape with a draw. But then came BVB from Dortmund to bring the Prague army XI crashing back down to earth with a final score of 4-0.'' So read the match report from the 4 March 1964 issue of the famous German football magazine kicker. ''Friedhelm Konietzka was the strategic mastermind for BVB… and Aki Schmidt, as is so often the case, was an unrelenting source of inspiration.'' Playing on an icy pitch, BVB opened their account in the 29th minute when Franz Brungs got his head on the end of a free-kick delivery. The ball deflected back off the post, but Brungs was on hand to follow up his header and fire the ball into the back of the net. Ten minutes into the second half, Konietzka won the ball in midfield and embarked on a rampaging 40 metre solo run which brought him through on goal with just the Dukla keeper to beat. He kept his cool to give the Black & Yellows an imposing 2-0 lead. 15 minutes later, Konietzka was fouled in the box. Reinhold Wosab duly stepped up to convert the resultant penalty to extend BVB’s advantage. Right before the end, Wosab got his second goal of the match after some neat interplay with Emmerich to make it 4-0 to Borussia as the referee blew his final whistle.  

The second leg was an equally high-octane affair. Dortmund showed their class in the first half hour, putting their Czechoslovakian guests under constant pressure. Dukla always posed a threat on the counter-attack, but it was the Black & Yellows who created the better chances. Konietzka hit the post in the 10^th minute, and a heroic goal-line clearance from a Dukla defender was then required to keep out the rebounded effort. Ten minutes later, Kurrat went on a 50-metre mazy run before playing the ball to Rylewicz. The BVB right-sided attacker sent an audacious lobbed effort flying over the head of the Prague goalkeeper and into the back of the net to open the scoring for the Black & Yellows, who now boasted a commanding 5-0 lead on aggregate. However, in the 41^st minute, Röder was able to pull one back for the visitors and level the score on the night.

Borussia pushed hard to retake the lead after the interval, creating various chances but failing to convert any of them. They were soon made to pay, as Jelinek popped up with two goals (in the 66^th and 87^th minutes) to ensure that the match, if not the tie, was won by the Czechoslovakian champions. Interviewed after the match, Josef Masopust said: ''Tonight we showed that we’re still up there with the best of them in Europe.’’

Sparta put to the sword

In the 1997/98 UEFA Champions League, BVB came up against another Prague club: Sparta. In the home match, held on 1 October 1997, the Black & Yellows found themselves on the front foot right from kick-off; their visitors from Prague could barely get a hold of the ball. BVB’s dominance hinged on the performances of Heinrich, who managed to neutralise Sparta’s attacking talisman Lokvenc while also launching various Borussia attacks, and Möller, who hovered with intent in the number 10 position. It thus came as little surprise when the home side took the lead through Heiko Herrlich.  The goal was just reward for the striker’s constant willingness to run and jostle for the ball. Credit also went to BVB’s left-sided players ( Feiersinger, Reinhardt), who commanded their flank and provided reliable service to their frontline. Herrlich managed to find the back of the net again in the 33rd minute, but referee Melo Perreira blew his whistle after the linesman’s flag went up. Replays showed that it was a somewhat questionable decision. 

The Czech side were unable to find a way out of the intense pressure BVB were putting them under.  Their primary striker Siegl had been marked out of the match by Kohler. In the 25th minute, Nemeczek, who spent most of the evening chasing Möller’s shadow, had Sparta’s  first effort on goal with a shot from 20 metres out. Not long afterwards,  Ivan Hasek tried his luck from distance but was unable to trouble Stefan Klos in the Dortmund goal. Prague seemed to have run out of ideas – the introduction of Obajdin in place of the injured Hornak failed to give them a new lease of life. 

In the second-half, the home side continued to play to their strengths and apply pressure. This approach soon reaped its rewards with a goal scored by Chapuisats. The result seemed secure at 2-0, and further goals from Heinrich (69th minute) and Chapuisats (75th minute) served to put the icing on the cake before Sparta grabbed a late consolation goal. The only real criticism that could be levelled at the Black & Yellows was that, despite the resounding 4-1 scoreline, they were often wasteful in front of goal and had failed to keep a clean sheet.  

Ricken stars in Prague

In the return match on 10 December 1997, BVB once more enjoyed a comfortable three-goal winning margin. After the 4-1 victory in Dortmund, BVB picked up an equally resounding 3-0 win in Prague. The match was notable as it marked Lars Ricken’s return to action after a long injury-enforced absence. The midfielder, who had been out for nine weeks with a muscle tear, had an important role to play in Dortmund’s opening goal: he played a neat one-two with Reinhardt, who then delivered a pinpoint cross into the box for Möller, whose powerful header crashed into the back of the net. Ricken once more showed his class in the build-up to the second goal as he played a precise pass from the byline into the path of the onrushing Kirovski, who made no mistake in firing the ball home from close range.

Ricken gave an all-round midfield masterclass, regularly popping up to win the ball at vital moments and helping his side to build pressure going forwards, while Kirovski’s performance out on the right wing also drew plaudits. Sparta fell into the trap of playing too many aimless short passes, while Dortmund opted for a far more direct approach of getting the ball forward as quickly as possible. The remainder of the match was fairly uneventful in terms of goalscoring opportunities. Borussia were in cruise control. Booth soon added a third goal, leaving Sparta with no hope of a comeback.

Boris Rupert (with additional material from kicker.de)