Biggest Rivalries in Football: Der Klassiker

Although in Germany, the term “Der Klassiker” refers to some other games and rivalries, primarily Schalke – Dortmund or Bayern – Monchengladbach, this term has become synonymous outside of that country with another game, 

namely the Bayern Munich – Borussia Dortmund derby. 

The matches of these two clubs certainly deserve the tag of a derby, but the fact is that in the country of the multiple world champions, there are several duels with much more pronounced and even older rivalries. 

Many Germans do not consider the matches played by Bayern and Dortmund to be a real rivalry. 

For most, these are still mutual relations, which, in addition to the two mentioned, also have Hamburg—Werder, Hamburg—St. Pauli, Nuremberg—Greuther Furth or Bayern—Munich in 1860, the local derby between Schalke and Borussia, etc. 

However, in recent years, the matches between Bayern and Borussia have been considered “Der Klassiker” of the Bundesliga. 

Part of the reason is that these two teams have won twenty-two of the last twenty-six titles in the Bundesliga. 

Several decades ago, Bayern’s main rivals were Monchengladbach, Hamburg, and Werder Bremen, and the match against Schalke is still considered the biggest rivalry of Borussia. 

At that time (1971), Bayern defeated Dortmund with an incredible 11:1, which is still the biggest victory of the Reds in the Bundesliga.

This is quite a “young” rivalry compared to many old European club rivalries. 

Compared to some English teams dating back over a hundred years, Spanish or Italian ones, Bayern and Dortmund are only newcomers with just over fifty years of history. 

Interestingly, the first match was played in Munich in 1965, and it was the first derby in which Franz Beckenbauer participated. 

Kaiser Franz then missed the penalty, and Dortmund won 2:0. 

Only thirty years later, the Yellows won the German championship for the first time. Ottmar Hitzfeld, who made Dortmund a champion team and a club with such ambitions, was the most deserving. 

The hint of creating a rivalry appeared in the second half of the nineties. 

One of the most memorable matches of that era is the 1999 match in which Oliver Kahn performed a real karate kick on Stefan Sapuiza and tried to bite Heiko Herrlich. That match ended without a winner (2:2). 

One of the most valuable victories achieved by Dortmund was the one from 2012, when in the final of the German Cup, the current center forward of Barcelona, Robert Lewandowski, scored a hat trick. 

The Yellows and Jurgen Klopp celebrated winning the trophy with a score of 5:2. A year later, Bayern took cruel revenge in the Champions League final. 

Mario Mandzukic and Arjen Robben made the turnaround with their goals, preventing one of the biggest surprises in the elite European competition’s history.

Before the Bundesliga was founded in 1963, Bayern had 11 titles, and Borussia were rarely in the trophy race, finishing fourth, third, second, and third in the first four years of the League’s formation. 

In 1966, Borussia became the first German team to win a European trophy in the Cup Winners’ Cup. 

During the 1970s, Borussia was in the second division for four consecutive years, while Bayern won three consecutive European titles in 1974, 1975, and 1976. 

During that decade, the Bavarians recorded their biggest win over Borussia in the Bundesliga, 11-1. 

For many, that era was the birth of Germany’s original “classic” Bayern – Borussia Monchengladbach, when they dominated the domestic football landscape, winning nine titles.

Bayern is without any doubt the best and most successful German team, winning 32 domestic titles, while Borussia Dortmund has only five. Bayern also dominates in the head-to-head stats against Borussia. 

They have played 135 matches so far, and Bayern has won 67, Borussia won 33, and 35 matches ended in a draw.

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