Der Klassiker: Bayern vs Dortmund 2014

Lore & Background

The first match between the two clubs was a 2–0 win for Dortmund in Munich on 16 October 1965. The rivalry grew during the 1990s as Dortmund's stature increased to challenge perennial title favourites Bayern, winning two Bundesliga titles in 1994–95 and 1995–96. In 1996, Bayern captain Lothar Matthäus accused Germany teammate Andreas Möller of being a 'crybaby', wiping imaginary tears from his face; Möller reacted by slapping Matthäus. At the end of that season, Dortmund won the 1997 UEFA Champions League final which happened to be played at the Olympiastadion, Bayern's home ground. The teams met in the quarter-finals of the next edition of the Champions League, and Dortmund prevailed over two legs thanks to a single goal from Stéphane Chapuisat. That summer, Bayern hired Dortmund's successful coach Ottmar Hitzfeld to work for them. Tempers flared twice during Bayern and Dortmund's second meeting in the 1998–99 Bundesliga, as Bayern goalkeeper Oliver Kahn first attempted a flying kung-fu kick at Chapuisat, and later appeared to bite Heiko Herrlich's ear. An angry 2001 league meeting between the pair was notable for ten yellow cards and three red being shown (a Bundesliga record for indiscipline). However, Dortmund soon fell heavily into debt, and a €2m loan from Bayern in 2004 played a small role in saving them from bankruptcy. On 19 April 2008, the two sides clashed in the 2008 DFB-Pokal final for the first time that took place in Berlin; Bayern won in extra time. By 2010, Dortmund had put together a strong squad, including Mats Hummels, Mario Götze, Shinji Kagawa and Robert Lewandowski, who led the club to the 2011 and 2012 Bundesliga titles. Dortmund clinched the 2011–12 league championship in a home match where bananas were tossed at Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. Dortmund then claimed the first double of their history by beating Bayern 5–2 in the 2012 DFB-Pokal final with a Lewandowski hat-trick, which was also their fifth consecutive win over the opponents. After seeing two league championships heading to Dortmund and losing the 2012 UEFA Champions League final to Chelsea at their own Allianz Arena, Bayern recovered to clinch the 2012–13 Bundesliga in record time, breaking Dortmund's points record which had been set the year before. At the end of that season, the rivals met in the 2013 UEFA Champions League final. The German clubs had eliminated the t

In Their Own Story

The Olympiastadion vibrated with a suffocating tension, a sea of red and yellow scarves creating a pressure cooker that only Der Klassiker could generate. On the pitch, Bayern moved with the hypnotic, metronomic precision Guardiola demanded, while Dortmund coiled like a spring, waiting for a single mistake to unleash their counter-attack. The deadlock finally broke not through brilliance, but through heartbreak. In the 65th minute, Mario Götze—once Dortmund's savior in 2013, now a Bayern keyman—deflected a cross into his own net, shattering the silence and igniting a roar that seemed to shake the foundations of the stadium. Moments later, the veteran striker Mario Mandžukić added a second, sealing the fate of the match. When the final whistle blew, it didn't just end a game; it crowned a dynasty, leaving Dortmund in shattered silence while Bayern etched their names into history as Germany's first domestic treble winners.

Reader's Guide

The rivalry has been called into question, with many disputing the fixture being a "classic" due to there being little historic rivalry between the teams, in contrast to the long history of many other prominent football derbies in Germany, including Dortmund's Revierderby with FC Schalke 04, the various Bavarian football derbies involving Bayern Munich and 1. FC Nürnberg, and the elder 70s rivalry between Bayern Munich and Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Did You Know?

• Bayern's biggest Bundesliga victory is an 11–1 win over Dortmund on 27 November 1971.
• Dortmund's worst defeat is 12–0 v Borussia Mönchengladbach on 29 April 1978.
• The highest scoring draw between the teams is 4–4 on 21 May 1983.
• Dortmund became the first German club to win a European title, winning the 1966 European Cup Winners' Cup final against Liverpool.
• Bayern Munich won the same competition the following season.