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Der Klassiker

The Classic rivalry between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, Germany's two most successful clubs of the modern era.

Der Klassiker

Der Klassiker in German (The Classic), also known as the "German Clásico", is the name given to any football match between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. They are two of the most successful teams in German football, having won a combined total of 28 of the past 33 Bundesliga titles as of the 2025–26 season. The two teams fought closely for the Bundesliga title in the early 2010s, and met in the 2013 UEFA Champions League final. However, the nature of 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.

Most wins overall
Bayern Munich
Rivalry type
National championship rivalry

Verified Timeline

19661971197819961997199920012003200820122013

Lore & Background

The first match between the two clubs was a 2–0 win for Dortmund in Munich on 16 October 1965. On 5 May 1966, Dortmund won the 1966 European Cup Winners' Cup final against Liverpool in extra time, becoming the first German club to win a European title. Bayern Munich won the same competition the following season. In 1971, Bayern defeated Dortmund 11–1; this remains Bayern's biggest Bundesliga victory and Dortmund's second worst defeat, after Dortmund's worst defeat of 12–0 v Borussia Mönchengladbach on 29 April 1978. The highest scoring draw in a Bundesliga match between the two teams occurred on 21 May 1983, when Karl-Heinz Rummenigge scored a late equaliser to save Bayern from a defeat against hosts Dortmund, with a final scoreline of 4–4. The rivalry between the clubs 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. In the early 2000s both clubs remained successful, as Bayern lost one Champions League final (1999) then won another (2001) in addition to more domestic success, while Dortmund won the 2001–02 Bundesliga and reached the UEFA Cup final the same year. 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. Luca Toni o

In Their Own Story

The 2013 UEFA Champions League final was the first all-German final in the history of the Champions League (and European Cup). It took place on Saturday, 25 May 2013, at Wembley Stadium in London, England, between German Bundesliga clubs Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. Bayern won the match 2–1 with goals from Mario Mandžukić and man of the match Arjen Robben coming either side of an İlkay Gündoğan penalty for Dortmund. One week later, Bayern won the 2012–13 DFB-Pokal and, having already won the 2012–13 Bundesliga, completed the continental treble. As a result of their Champions League win, Bayern qualified to play against Chelsea, the winners of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League, in the 2013 UEFA Super Cup, and also earned the right to enter the semi-finals of the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup as the UEFA representative. They would eventually go on to win both competitions. A viewership of 21.6 million on the German ZDF and over 360 million worldwide has been reported, making it the most watched sports broadcast of 2013.

Reader's Guide

The rivalry is known as Der Klassiker in German (The Classic), also called the "German Clásico". It refers to any football match between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. The term "German Clasico" was first used after the two German clubs eliminated Real Madrid and Barcelona in the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League, leading to an all-German final. The source does not specify that the press used terms like 'power shift' or 'changing of the guard' after those eliminations. The source does not mention a 2003 loan; it states a €2m loan from Bayern in 2004. The source does not mention a 1–1 draw in the final 2012–13 Bundesliga game between the clubs, nor a red card for Rafinha or an elbow on Jakub Blaszczykowski. The source does not mention a €37 million transfer fee for Mario Götze; it only states that Götze had already agreed to join Bayern in the coming weeks.

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