The 111 All-Time Greatest Bundesliga Games

Rank #58

VfB Stuttgart 0
Borussia Dortmund 5



Place: Stuttgart, Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion
Time: Saturday, 8 p.m.
Date: 16 March 1996
Attendance: 51,000
Referee: Heynemann (Magdeburg)

Goal Scorers:
0-1 Riedle 17
0-2 Zorc 41
0-3 Chapuisat 51
0-4 Chapuisat 78
0-5 Ricken 80



Commentary:
One of the defining moments of the Dortmund Hitzfeld era, this game was broadcast live on a Saturday evening and thus millions of TV viewers (5.5 million to be exact) got a chance to see the league leader Borussia Dortmund take apart VfB Stuttgart at their own ground, making Stuttgart concede their highest ever home defeat in their Bundesliga history. Few doubted that they had seen the old and new German champion after this almost flawless display of Dortmund’s finest. Stuttgart’s misfortunes started in the 16th minute, when Brazilian goalgetter Giovane Elber failed to score against Dortmund goalie Stefan Klos despite standing unmarked in front of the BVB goal. Shortly after that, Dortmund scored their first goal via a header by Karl-Heinz 'Air' Riedle: Matthias Sammer and Jörg Heinreich had initiated a quickly executed counter-attack after Elber’s miss, suddenly three BVB players found themselves alone in the abdandoned Stuttgart penalty box and all Riedle had to do was to adroitly head the ball past VfB's goalie Marc Ziegler: 0-1! In the 29th minute VfB wasted another sitter, this time via Bulgarian playmaker Krassimir Balakov, who mistrusted his usual right foot and used his untested left foot instead while facing BVB goalie Klose eyeball to eyeball. The result was a harmless shot that should have been a certain goal if Balakov hadn't lost his cool. Twelve minutes later Dortmund skipper Michael 'Susi' Zorc won a sprinting duel with Thomas Berthold, another counter-attack, another goal: 0-2! For Zorc to score a goal in that game was twice as exciting as it was his 400th Bundesliga game. Six minutes after the break, Swiss Stéphane Chapuisat ended his goal drought by scoring the third Dortmund goal, which was as easy as it gets as Chapuisat only had to tap the ball over the line, but it had the psychological effect of a goal scored by a spectacular bicycle kick, as this was Chapuisat’s first goal for Dortmund in over a year! Incredibly, Chapuisat was to score a second goal 25 minutes later. The rout was completed when young talent Lars Ricken scored the fifth goal eight minutes before time. At the end of the season, Dortmund had won their second straight championship and one year later they went on to win the top crown in Europe as well.


-------------------------------------------------VfB Stuttgart

-----------------------------------------------------Ziegler

----------------------------Th.Schneider--Berthold---H.Herzog---Haber

-------------------------------------Schwarz------Poschner------Legat

-----------------------------------------------------Balakov

----------------------------------------------Elber------------Kruse

---------------------------------------------Manager: Rolf Fringer


---------------------------------------------Borussia Dortmund

-------------------------------------------Riedle------------Chapuisat

--------------------------------------------Ricken-----------Freund

-----------------------------------Heinrich-----------Zorc---------Reuter

----------------------------------------Cesar---------------------Kohler

------------------------------------------------------Sammer

--------------------------------------------------------Klos

-------------------------------------------Manager: Ottmar Hitzfeld

-------------------------------------------Subs:
-------------------------------------------46 G.Schäfer in, Berthold out
-------------------------------------------46 Buck in, Schwarz out
-------------------------------------------63 Gilewicz in, Legat out
-------------------------------------------73 Kree in, Cesar out
-------------------------------------------80 Herrlich in, Riedle out
-------------------------------------------85 Wolters in, Ricken out

 

There are about four or five Schalke games still left in the countdown. Some wins, some losses.

BTW, great to see you around!

 

I've had problems with my regular internet connection since Tuesday last week and thus have not been able to post any further positions in the countdown. Now I've found the time to transfer the data to my brother's laptop, so that I can continue to post some commentaries, but I hate working with a laptop. Will uptade the countdown later today.

 

Thank you very much!

The commentaries are already written, I could post them in one go but then nobody would find the time to read them. In fact, this break wasn't all bad, maybe readers could use the time to catch up reading!

 

Rank #57

1. FC Köln 2
Bayern München 4



Place: Köln, Müngersdorfer Stadion
Time: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
Date: 29 March 1980
Attendance: 60,000
Referee: Luca (Völklingen)

Goal Scorers:
0-1 Hoeness 26
1-1 Müller 56
1-2 Hoeness 58
2-2 Zimmermann 70
2-3 Breitner 85
2-4 Oblak 90



Commentary:
Before this game, Bayern and Hamburg were joint leaders in the Bundesliga table but Hamburg had the far better goals differential (+37 vs +27). In early February 1980, Hamburg had beaten Bayern 3-1 at home in the Volksparkstadion and it looked as if the reigning champs Hamburg could repeat the trick in this season as well. Bayern had fallen back to third position in the league table behind HSV and Cologne. But in their next game, Hamburg lost at home vs. minnows Duisburg which showed that the team was not as stable as it had been the previous season. Still, Hamburg remained a strong contender and did not relinquish the top spot, beating teams like Frankfurt and Bremen each 5-0 at home. Bayern on the other hand recovered from their loss at Hamburg fairly well not losing a single match since then and thus managing to climb back to the number two position. In the meantime Cologne had lost some of its good form, they were trailing the two top teams by four points and thus this game vs. Bayern was their last opportunity to get back into the race for the Bundesliga championship.

The 60,000 spectators in the sold-out Müngersdorfer "Hauptkampfbahn" saw an open exchange of blows between two sides (operating with different tactical approaches) with remarkable fairness that thrilled the crowd. Cologne’s manager Hennes Weisweiler wanted to keep alive the chance of his team winning the championship by all means and thus ordered his side to all-out attacking the Bayern goal. Bayern didn’t mind this tactic at all, as they knew that their defense was in good shape and they were willing to wait for possibilities to start counter attacks. Already during the first 20 minutes it became obvious that Bayern were the more mature team, all players were constantly moving, with Paul Breitner in midfield Bayern possessed the outstanding player on the pitch, embodying the absolute will to win this game. Cologne clearly lacked such a dominating figure in their side, someone that could have withstood Breitner dictating the game. It took Cologne much too long to by-pass the midfield, their defense wasn’t as tight as needed and their forwards showed nerves whenever they had opportunities to score. After 26 minutes Wolfgang Kraus and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge played a 1-2 that broke up the Cologne defense, then Kraus crossed to the penalty spot were Dieter Hoeness headed the ball into the Cologne goal: 0-1! Bayern now benefited from the fact that Cologne absolutely had to win this game while a draw was enough for them. During the remainder of the first half, the Cologne supporters were watching in awe how determined and shrewd, yet visionary Bayern executed their counter-attacking. The bearded Breitner cared for the proper zonal sectioning in his team, dictated the rhythmic changes, addressed accurate long and short passes at will: In short his performance was one of first class. The other outstanding player was of course Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, whose engagement and technical finesse, vision and dynamism made him impossible to be tamed by his marker Herbert Zimmermann (and later Dieter Prestin).

Ten minutes into the second half, the home side managed the equalizer: Zimmermann (now playing in midfield instead of defense) crossed the ball from the left, Wolfgang Dremmler and Dieter Müller both jumped up but the Cologne center forward jumped a tad higher and managed to redirect the ball into the Bayern goal: 1-1! Now Cologne enjoyed its best phase, enthused by the goal, they rushed towards the Bayern goal in more dangerous fashion than in the first half. Shortly after the goal, Dremmler had to kick the ball off of the Bayern goalline. But even during this period of high pressure Bayern never looked as if they were terribly impressed by Cologne’s efforts or fearing to lose their grip on the game. Two minutes later, the unlucky Bernd Cullmann (who already failed at controlling Paul Breitner) intended to play a back pass to goalie Toni Schumacher, but his pass was too soft and Rummenigge quickly exploited the situation: 1-2! But Cologne’s morale was intact, as they continued to rush towards the Bayern goal. Twelve minutes later it paid off for them, Zimmermann had deflected a cross by Herbert Neumann and the sovereign Bayern goalie Walter Junghans found it impossible to stop the ball: 2-2! Spurred by the momentum, Cologne even intensified its attacks, and for a short while it almost looked as if they could score the winning goal, as a couple of dangerous situations in the Bayern box occurred, but Cologne were not cool enough to convert any of them. Needless to say, Bayern found several opportunities to counter attack during this period and five minutes before time, Rummenigge played a through ball to Paul Breitner who shot the ball past Toni Schumacher in cold blood: 2-3! Four minutes later, Branko Oblak executed the fourth goal after a dream pass by Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: 2-4!

Breitner’s unshakeable will to win had led Bayern to a crucial and highly impressive away win. But it wasn’t only "Breitnigge" (as the two main men were dubbed by the media) that excelled, Dieter Hoeness was as firm as a rock in defense during the period when Cologne pressed forward, midfield workhorse Wolfgang Kraus not only neutralized Englishman Tony Woodcock entirely, but he also shared playmaking duties with his boss Paul Breitner. Yugoslav Branko Oblak excelled in one of his best performances of the season, cleverly dropping back while he was back counter-attacking the next second. Also a superb display by young goalkeeper Walter Junghans, who had to replace goalkeeping legend Sepp Maier since the start of the season (after Maier’s severe car crash). Bayern’s performance was nearly flawless and even the Cologne crowd had to acknowledge with standing ovations for the Bavarians. For Bayern, the rest of the season was one of almost total triumph. They beat Werder 7-0, Uerdingen 3-1 away, city rivals 1860 Munich 6-1, Fortuna Düsseldorf 6-0, a stunning 3-1 away victory at Stuttgart and then beat Brunswick 2-1 in the last game. This series of impressive victories was only marred by a 0-1 loss at Dortmund. Bayern had managed to overtake Hamburg with this run of 12-2 points, as Hamburg in the same period had only managed 10-4 points. Thus after a wait of six years, Bayern were finally crowned German champions again.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------1. FC Köln

----------------------------------------------------------------------------Schumacher

-------------------------------------------------------Prestin-------Schuster-----Strack-----H.Zimmermann

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Cullmann

---------------------------------------------------------------H.Neumann-----------Woodcock

-----------------------------------------------------------Littbarski--------D.Müller-------Willmer


-------------------------------------------------------------Manager: Karl-Heinz Heddergott


-------------------------------------------------------------------------Bayern München

-------------------------------------------------------------------D.Hoeness------K.H.Rummenigge

-----------------------------------------------------------------------Oblak-------------Breitner

----------------------------------------------------------------Dürnberger---------------Kraus

----------------------------------------------------------- Horsmann---Augenthaler----Weiner---Dremmler

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Junghans

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Manager: Pal Csernai

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Subs:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------none

 

Rank #56

VfB Stuttgart 6
Borussia Mönchengladbach 1



Place: Stuttgart, Neckarstadion
Time: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
Date: 20 October 1973
Attendance: 60,000
Referee: Dittmer (Ludwigshafen)

Goal Scorers:
1-0 Handschuh 20
2-0 Brenninger 46 pen
2-1 Heynckes 48
3-1 Ohlicher 55
4-1 Ohlicher 57
5-1 Ettmayer 74
6-1 Ettmayer 88



Commentary:
There was no doubt that the crowd of 60,000 that had entered the Neckarstadion was coming predominantly not to watch their own side but that of the guests, the marvellous Borussia Mönchengladbach, which was topping the league table at the time and which was renowned for its uncompromising attacking football (the team had already scored 32 goals in the first eleven games of the season). After the game, it wasn’t the huge favorites but the unfancied home side VfB that had wowed the 60,000. How did it come to this? After having won the Bundesliga in 1970 and 1971, Borussia came third in 1972, but the team perhaps even played better that season than in the two championship-winning years, but Bayern and Schalke proved too strong. The 1972-73 season however witnessed a clear decline in the team’s fortunes. The alleged heart and soul of the team, Günter ‘King’ Netzer, was plagued by injuries almost all the time and thus couldn’t add a lot to the Gladbach’s fortunes, the experiment of establishing Netzer as Gladbach’s sweeper also met with little success. When Netzer announced his departure from Gladbach shortly before the 1973 German Cup final, the club’s future didn’t look that bright at first sight. But Hennes Weisweiler was a very able manager and he saw the big opportunity that Netzer’s departure could give to the team, many classy players had been overshadowed by Netzer for years, it was now their turn to prove that they could be successful without their long-time boss. This strategy worked very well, apart from Netzer, all the pillars of Gladbach’s previous successes were still there, Berti Vogts in defense, Herbert Wimmer in midfield and Jupp Heynckes in attack. Thus contrary to all the dim predictions before the season, Gladbach had a fabulous start, winning seven of the first eleven games and losing only once (away to Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1). Without Netzer at command, every player had to shoulder more responsibility, it was harder for opponents to adapt to this unfamiliar situation, as Gladbach’s midfielders (Wimmer, Bonhof, Stielike and Danner) were all more or less equal, not one was dominating the others, there was no sole ‘playmaker’ anymore. It looked as if Borussia was on its way to winning the Bundesliga championship for a third time, in similar breathtaking fashion as in 1970 and 1971. But the team was not yet quite ready for it.

In the previous game, Gladbach had only drawn 2-2 at home with Kaiserslautern which stinged Hennes Weisweiler who always wanted to win especially at home and thus he was eager for his side to make up for the lost point at home by taking two points from Stuttgart. Hence the order of the day was (again) all-out attack! Stuttgart being spurred by the 60,000 too had attacking on their mind which assured that this game would be a thrilling box-to-box affair. Gladbach impressed as usual with their technique but also with their stamina while VfB possessed more physique and fighting spirit, rushing straight towards Kleff’s goal. But most importantly, on this day Stuttgart was colder in front of the goal, taking advantage of their many opportunities far better than Gladbach did. Stuttgart’s 1-0 did not irritate Gladbach one bit, they kept on attacking with their usual verve, even the 2-0 shortly after the break didn’t break down their morale (Stuttgart had scored thanks to a dubious penalty), to the contrary, when Jupp Heynckes scored Gladbach’s first goal only 120 seconds after Stuttgart’s second, Gladbach even intensified their offensive operations. It was a bit of bad luck that a blunder by keeper Wolfgang ‘Otto’ Kleff allowed Stuttgart to score the decisive third goal when it was clearly Gladbach’s turn to score the equalizer. Kleff had let the ball slip under his belly, very unlucky as the pitch was drained by rain. Maybe Gladbach could have come closer to a draw in the following minutes, but the Stuttgart goalkeeper Gerhard Heinze was in brilliant shape and the Borussians just couldn’t get the ball past him. Added to that was some bad luck by goalgetter Heynckes as he hit the post twice. For Stuttgart everything went perfect, playmaker Karl-Heinz Handschuh and Austrian ‘Stehgeiger’ Hans ‘Buffy’ Ettmayer as well as center forward Hermann Ohlicher were displaying their remarkable football prowess. Stuttgart’s third goal had released unknown powers, only 100 seconds later they scored the fourth goal. For the last 25 minutes, Gladbach attacked with four strikers but it wasn’t to be. They had opened the floodgates and were in for a very rare hammering. The last 20 minutes were reserved for Buffy Ettmayer, the lazy and overweight Viennese football genius, who ridiculed the Gladbach defense and scored two extraordinary goals with his left foot. Ettmayer himself later described his two goals: “At the 5-1 I played the ball through Berti Vogts’ Schnürsenkel, then I went on to clobber three Borussians and then also Kleff. At the 6-1 I hit the bowl with a perfect volley that even Kleff had to applaud.” Buffy Ettmayer - always an shining example in modesty!



-------------------------------------------------------------------------VfB Stuttgart

------------------------------------------------------------------------------Heinze

----------------------------------------------------------Weidmann----Zech----Entenmann----Coordes

--------------------------------------------------------------------Mall----Handschuh----Ettmayer

---------------------------------------------------------------Stickel----Ohlicher----Brenninger

------------------------------------------------------------------Manager: Hermann Eppenhoff


-----------------------------------------------------------------Borussia Mönchengladbach

-----------------------------------------------------------------Heynckes----Köppel----Simonsen

----------------------------------------------------------------------Kulik-----Wimmer----Bonhof

-------------------------------------------------------------Klinkhammer--Vogts--Sieloff---Danner

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kleff

-------------------------------------------------------------------Manager: Hannes Weisweiler

--------------------------------------------------------------------Subs:
--------------------------------------------------------------------64 Rupp in, Bonhof out
--------------------------------------------------------------------64 H.Jensen in, Simonsen out
--------------------------------------------------------------------66 E.Müller in, Ohlicher out
--------------------------------------------------------------------80 Siegmann in, Mall out

 

Rank #55

SC Freiburg 5
Bayern Munich 1



Place: Freiburg, Dreisamstadion
Time: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Date: 23 August 1994
Attendance: 18,000
Referee: Weber (Bergkamen)

Goal Scorers:
1-0 Spanring 11
2-0 Kohl 17
3-0 Cardoso 18
3-1 Ziege 33
4-1 Cardoso 59 pen
5-1 Heinrich 68


Commentary:
Bayern president Firtz Scherer after the game commented: "In nine years of my presidency have I not ever seen the team break down like that." Bayern had started ambitiously into the new season, having signed Italian star coach Giovanni Trapattoni, French marksman Jean Pierre Papin, Swiss star Alain Sutter and the new goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, who was signed from Karlsruhe SC. However the team revealed work ethos of a hobby side. Aimless and futile. Fritz Scherer felt sorry for Trapattoni: "He thought he would take over a football side here." Trapattoni had shown his players a video of their previous year’s 1-3 defeat at Freiburg, but he could not imagine that his defense would make such glaring mistakes: Freiburg could score its first three goals all entirely unmarked. Trapattoni later conceded that maybe his lineup was not optimal, after 20 minutes he took off the snug Christian Nerlinger, not that it helped a lot. Jean Pierre Papin claimed that the terribly weak attitude towards direct duels was a result of the miserable preparation: "It all seems like a nightmare to me, since six years I haven’t played in a team that conceded five goals in one game. During the preparation phase we played a game every two days, 17 altogether, no continuous training, we’re all tired as a result." But the three goals Bayern conceded in the first 18 minutes had nothing to do with lack of fitness, it was due to lack of operational availability. Managing director Uli Hoeness stated that his players suffered from mental laziness and over-confidence: "The players think they can win a game without hard work – that never works!" He ended his statement: "Better 1-5 than 1-2, now the players have no excuses, it’s a question of honor now."

Freiburg since had their promotion in 1993 enriched the Bundesliga with their offensive and creative play, but they had struggled against relegation all the same during their first year. They were already very close to being relegated but then somewhat managed to win their last three games which saved them. Freiburg’s manager Volker Finke spent a lot of time dedicating to tactical training in the preparation to the new season and it paid off well. The team became more solid in defense but didn’t lose their uncompromising attacking spirit. Bayern were incapable of stopping Freiburg’s fast combinations, the reigning champs were pushed back deep into their own half right from the start of the game. Jens Todt, Rudolfo Cardoso and Andreas Zeyer dictated the run of play while the Bavarians just looked miserable. Goalkeeper Oliver Kahn was constantly screaming at his defenders, but it all didn’t help. In his desperation, Trapattoni brought Christian Ziege into the game, a measure that briefly paid off, as Ziege scored Bayern’s only goal shortly after half an hour. For a short period, Freiburg were baffled and lost their rhythm while Bayern started to roll forward to the Freiburg goal. But at the latest after Cardoso added Freiburg’s fourth goal with a penalty after one hour, Freiburg were back on top. Jörg Heinrich’s goal ten minutes later further documented Freiburg’s superiority over the holders. For Bayern, plagued by long running injuries (Matthäus, Kahn) the 1994-95 season was a ‘lost year’, only finishing fifth in the league table, but at least the team made it to the Champions League semi final, where eventual winners Ajax proved too strong. Trapattoni said arrividerci after his first season, but he got hired again by Bayern for a second time a year later. Freiburg had the best season in their Bundesliga history, finishing a sensational third in the league and by that reaching the presitigious UEFA-Cup.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------SC Freiburg

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Schmadtke

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Heidenreich

------------------------------------------------------------------------Neitzel---------------Spanring

----------------------------------------------------------------Braun----A.Zeyer----Todt-----Heinrich

----------------------------------------------------------------------Cardoso-----------------Kohl

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------U.Spies

---------------------------------------------------------------------------Manager: Volker Finke


------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bayern München

--------------------------------------------------------------------------Sutter-----------------Papin

---------------------------------------------------------------------------Schupp-----------Scholl

----------------------------------------------------------------------Frey--------Nerlinger------D.Hamann

--------------------------------------------------------------------------Helmer-------------Kreuzer

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Matthäus

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------ä---Kahn

------------------------------------------------------------------------Manager: Giovanni Trapattoni

------------------------------------------------------------------------Subs:
---------------------------------------------------------------------20 Ziege in, Nerlinger out
------------------------------------------------------------------------56 Seretis in, Spies out
------------------------------------------------------------------------62 Sternkopf in, Schupp out
------------------------------------------------------------------------77 S.Müller in, Neitzel out

 

Rank #54

Hamburg SV 3
VfB Stuttgart 2



Place: Hamburg
Time: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
Date: 24 November 1979
Attendance: 56,000
Referee: Hennig (Duisburg)

Goal Scorers:
0-1 Ohlicher 29
0-2 Volkert 39
1-2 Hrubesch 50
2-2 Hartwig 70
3-2 Keegan 71



Commentary:
The previous season’s champions Hamburg were also at the top of the table when they met Stuttgart in November 1979. The top teams were all very close within reach of each other at that stage of the season, Hamburg and Dortmund with 18 points at the top, followed by Bayern with 17, Frankfurt and Cologne with 16 and Stuttgart, Gladbach and Schalke with 15. Although Stuttgart was only listed at position 8 in the league, by defeating Hamburg in the Volksparkstadion they could have come within close reach of the league leaders. Stuttgart was a side that had strengths in all three departments, defense, midfield and attack. Up front they had veteran outside left Georg 'Schorsch' Volkert, himself a former HSV player and his striking partner Walter Kelsch, a national team forward at the time. In midfield left-footed supertalent Hans Müller was responsible for the creative flashes while his midfield mates Hermann Ohlicher and Austrian Roland Hattenberger were responsible for adding stability. In defense the Förster brothers Karlheinz and Bernd were ultra reliable, flanking the seasoned Yugoslav sweeper Dragan Holcer. Stuttgart had finished runners-up behind Hamburg the previous year and were definitely trying to finish a notch higher this time. This game was their great chance to make a stand.

VfB’s tactic and mindset for this game was to simply look at it as if it was a home game, ignoring the unfriendly surroundings. The best way to achieve this was by practising a relentless forechecking that already started in front of the Hamburg penalty box. What played into their hands was actually Hamburg’s famed zonal defense system which didn’t work to perfection on this day, as Bernd Förster (in the role of attacking right back), Hans Müller and Hermann Ohlicher found a lot of free space between them as Hamburg wasn’t concentrating to the degree zonal defending requires. Veteran Georg Volkert was in spectacular form on the left wing – in the first half, that is! His first big scene came after having outsmarted William Hartwig, Peter Nogly and also keeper Rudi Kargus, but Bernd Förster couldn’t make use of Volkert’s set up. Ohlicher wasted another one of VfB’s plenty of opportunities before he exploited an error in the Hamburg defense: 0-1! The second goal ten minutes later came after another trick from the magic box of Georg Volkert, who nutmegged first Hartwig and then Kargus: 0-2! What a goal! At this point nobody in the stadium would have banked a penny on HSV. At half time HSV legend Uwe Seeler commented: "Like children all of them want attack but that does lead to nowhere. They are virtually inviting Stuttgart to attack! The defenders must stay at the back, that’s the foundation of everything." HSV manager Branko Zebec must have said similar things in the dressing room. Zebec: "It could even have come worse for us in the first half."

However the scenery changed dramatically five minutes into the second half, when Horst Hrubesch outjumped Karl-Heinz Förster to head in a cross by Will Reimann: 1-2! Hamburg’s all-important first goal. Now Hamburg rediscovered their fighting spirit, driven forward by Felix Magath, Manfred Kaltz and William Hartwig and Englishman Kevin Keegan became the pivot of Hamburg’s game. The decision came within 60 seconds: Hartwig had baffled Uwe Greiner in the VfB goal with a curved shot on goal that first looked like a cross and then Kaltz had sent in a precise cross from the right wing, Keegan was there heading it home: 2-2 and 3-2! Despite this shock Stuttgart somehow found back into the game, fighting until the very last minute but it wasn’t to be. Rudi Kargus dismantled a freekick effort by Hans Müller with a superfast save which almost would have given Stuttgart the deserved equalizer.

Branko Zebec after the game: "Everything was negative in the first half." Especially attacking right back Manfred Kaltz, who had been voted "Man of the Year" by his Bundesliga colleagues the day before, was especially critized. Zebec: "What’s the point if they write he’s the best attacker? First he’s got to meet his defensive duties, he must not treat them negligectable. Only when everything’s solid at the back can he dedicate himself to the offense." Manfred Kaltz understandably wanted to concentrate on the second half after the game: "The coach told us some things at half time, but then we played almost faultless in the second half!" It was the first time since October 1971 that Hamburg managed to turn around a game that had seen them trailing by two goals.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Hamburg SV

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kargus

--------------------------------------------------------------Kaltz--------Nogly-------D.Jakobs------Hidien

-------------------------------------------------------------------Hartwig-----------------------Buljan

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Keegan------------Magath

---------------------------------------------------------------------------Hrubesch-----Reimann


--------------------------------------------------------------------------Manager: Branko Zebec


------------------------------------------------------------------------------VfB Stuttgart

----------------------------------------------------------------------Volkert-----Kelsch----Schmider

--------------------------------------------------------------------H.Müller-----Ohlicher-----Hattenberger

--------------------------------------------------------------Elmer----Kh.Förster-------Holcer-----B.Förster

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Greiner

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Manager: Lothar Buchmann

-----------------------------------------------------------------------Subs:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------65 Hadewicz in, Ohlicher out
-----------------------------------------------------------------------71 Klotz in, Schmider out

 

Rank #53

Bayern München 5
1. FC Köln 1



Place: Munich, Olympiastadion
Time: Wednesday, 8 p.m.
Date: 23 August 1989
Attendance: 68,000
Referee: Wiesel (Ottbergen)

Goal Scorers:
1-0 Wohlfarth 17
2-0 Thon 31
3-0 Dorfner 60
3-1 Götz 67
4-1 Thon 82 pen
5-1 Thon 84



Commentary:
The Bayern side of the late-1980s hardly ever played better and more beautiful than it did during the first half and the last 20 minutes of this encounter between their fiercest pursuer of the previous Bundesliga season, Christoph Daum’s Cologne. Both teams were tops in this season, too, but Bayern made clear which of the two sides was the more talented one. Cologne was still a very fancied team, especially its midfield with Thomas 'Icke' Hässler, Pierre Littbarski and Uwe Rahn had to be rated as one of the finest in Europe. But Bayern were the more balanced side, their midfield with Olaf Thon, Hans Dorfner, Ludwig 'Wiggerl' Kögl plus the wingbacks Stean Reuter and Hans Pflügler was on par with Cologne’s, but Bayern possessed an equally good defense with sweeper Klaus Augenthaler and marker Jürgen Kohler (who had joined Bayern coming from Cologne) and a capable attack with Roland Wohlfarth and Alan McInally. This game also temporarily answered the question which midfield tandem was the more skilled one, Dorfner/Thon or Hässler/Littbarski.

Prior to the game, Daum had arrogantly stated that "Bayern with their emotionless style will not be preserved from the whistles of their fans." His idea was to play it safe with only one striker and an overall defensive gameplan, since he thought that Bayern were not creative enough to break down a defensive team. His idea was to lead Bayern to play cross passes so that the crowd would sooner or later express their annoyance at that. However the desired role of spoilsport was not Daum's on that night as soon became obvious. Instead of being annoyed at their team, it pattered applause from the crowds! Bayern first chance came after Hans Dorfner and Olaf Thon had engaged in a double-1-2, then Stefan Reuter followed this with a short solo and only sharply missed the goal. The first Bayern goal in the 17th minute was scored by Roland Wohlfarth with a header after a cross by Kögl from the left wing. Thundering applause. Then followed a volley shot by Alan McInally that Bodo Illgner just saved, which was quickly followed by a Dorfner-shot. Bayern’s second goal again came after a cross by Kögl, sweeper Paul Steiner had headed the ball out of the box, but there stood Olaf Thon who volleyed the ball with an immaculate dropkick from outside the penalty box: 2-0! A spectacular goal! Cologne’s first notable opportunity didn’t come before the 36th minute after a shot by Pierre Littbarski but Raimund Aumann parried.

After the break it seemed as if Cologne had decided to refuse to accept defeat against the Bavarian superiority, but they lacked the necessary authority in direct duels and hence lost possession too often. Even Thomas Hässler, normally an excellent fighter, wasted his energy in vain. Daum didn’t adapt his tactic, instead of adding a second forward he subbed Ordenewitz out and Falko Götz in, while Bayern’s Kögl had to leave the pitch due to an injury yet this didn’t hurt Bayern’s harmony, they kept on pushing forward with style and elegance. Pflügler broke into the Cologne box undeterred, keeper Illgner didn’t prevent Pflügler’s backpass and there stood Dorfner who without haste put the ball into the empty goal: 3-0! Cologne soon answered this with their first goal, Aumann couldn’t get a hold on Pierre Littbarski’s freekick and Götz managed to score with a header: 3-1! But Bayern didn’t care much about this goal, soon they were up 4-1: Wohlfarth was brought down by Steiner in the box, the ref gave a penalty and Thon scored his second goal. Little Olaf Thon crowned his great performance by adding Bayern’s fifth goal only two minutes later: The ball bounced back from a Cologne defender, he hit it wonderfully with a hard volley: 5-1! Bayern left the stadium as celebrated victors. After the game Christoph Daum had to say the following: "Without wanting to upvalue my side’s performance I have to praise Bayern," he began his statement. "Our opponents today were in superb condition, they had more pace than we had, exploited their goal scoring opportunities way better than we did and generally performed in a way that was worthy of a top European side. My side is still learning." It must have been hard for Daum to acknowledge Bayern’s all-around superiority that Wednesday night, since Bayern’s manager Jupp Heynckes was his arch enemy and the two had duelled verbally most of the previous season.

------------------------------------------------------------------Bayern München

------------------------------------------------------------------------Aumann

---------------------------------------------------------------------Augenthaler

--------------------------------------------------------------Kohler------------Grahammer

------------------------------------------------------Reuter------------------------------Pflügler

------------------------------------------------------------Dorfner-----Thon------Kögl

---------------------------------------------------------------Wohlfarth------McInally

-------------------------------------------------------------Manager: Jupp Heynckes


----------------------------------------------------------------------1. FC Köln

----------------------------------------------------------------------Ordenewitz

--------------------------------------------------------------Littbarski---------Hässler

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Rahn

----------------------------------------------------------Görtz------Drehsen--------Gielchen

-----------------------------------------------------------------Giske-----------Higl

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Steiner

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Illgner

--------------------------------------------------------------Manager: Christoph Daum

--------------------------------------------------------------Subs:
--------------------------------------------------------------39 Janssen in, Gielchen out
--------------------------------------------------------------55 Schwabl in, Kögl out
--------------------------------------------------------------58 Götz in, Ordenewitz out
--------------------------------------------------------------82 Mihajlovic in, Wohlfarth out

 

Rank #52

Hamburg SV 0
Werder Bremen 4



Place: Hamburg, Volksparkstadion
Time: Saturday, 5 p.m.
Date: 13 February 1965
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Weyland (Oberhausen)

Goal Scorers:
0-1 Matischak 16
0-2 Matischak 26
0-3 D.Seeler 78 own goal
0-4 Schütz 85


Commentary:
There was a duel at the top of the Bundesliga around that time between reigning champions Cologne and northern minnows Werder Bremen. Right behind them were Hamburg and Frankfurt trailing the two top teams by only two points. Cologne was considered the best side in Germany and was generally favored to repeat their triumph of the previous year. For a while, Werder wasn’t taken seriously as a contender for the championship. This was about to change as Werder was to win the 67th Northern German derby with their highest ever recorded win since 1919. Werder wasn’t a particular brilliant team but they were the first side to effectively apply the 'new' 4-2-4 system. Other Bundesliga sides had tried their luck with it previously but generally the right type of players, especially the all-important 'linkmen', where are rare breed at the time. Werder manager Willi Multhaup had the right set of players for applying the 'modern' system: Hans Schulz and Diethelm Ferner as linkmen, Josef 'Sepp' Piontek and Horst 'Eisenfuß' Höttges as full backs, Max Lorenz and Arno 'Pico' Schütz as half backs, Helmut Jagielski, Helmut Schimeczek and Heinz Steinmann as center halves and up front outside left Gerhard Zebrowski and 'center forward' Klaus Matischak. Multhaup did alternate the 4-2-4 system in away games, as he didn’t want to dogmatically stick to four forwards in every game, he effectively played a 4-2-2-2 system at least in away games. This was quite an innovation for German club football at the time, which was still predominantly characterised by a more amateurish and traditional approach. Some of the managers around at the time were already actively involved in football when the last tactical 'revolution' took place, the change from 2-3-5 to the famous WM-system back in the 1930s, which was still applied by many Bundesliga sides during the early-/mid-1960s. And those that had changed to 4-2-4 were not really doing it because they understood the background, but because it was the fashionable thing to do.

Werder demonstrated that there was no other team in Germany that had adopted the new modern tactics to such perfection as they had. Hamburg were outclassed. The guests performed their athletic and pacey approach, showing no opening from keeper Günter Bernard to the withdrawn Arno Schütz. The Werder side proved to be remarkable assured on the ball, even on the snow-covered ground, exceptionally good at direct duels and inventive in setting up opportunities for the two dangerous strikers Gerd Zebrowski and Klaus Matischak. Hamburg’s 35-year-old substitute goalkeeper Hans Krämer (standard goalie Horst Schnoor was out injured) was responsible for Werder’s first goal as he couldn’t get a grip on a shot by Zebrowski, but after that he held flawlessly. Much weaker were the players guarding his goal: Center half Willie Giesemann couldn’t control the explosive dribbler Klaus Matischak and Gerd Zebrowski time and again outsmarted right back Jürgen Kurbjuhn. Hamburg had experimented with a newly assembled pair of half backs in Peter Wulf and Dieter Seeler (late brother of Uwe) but this pairing couldn’t solve Hamburg’s problems in midfield. Not much light in Hamburg’s attack either, where the withdrawn Uwe Seeler was well covered by Max Lorenz and the HSV wings couldn’t get past the gritty Werder full backs and centerforward Horst Dehn simply was not physical enough for the job.

Within the first half hour, Hamburg had several opportunities, but Johanni Peltonen’s header only hit the post and Günter Bernard parried some explosive shots by Bernd Dörfel and the brothers Seeler. During the remainder of the game, Hamburg had half a dozen corners but none of them to any avail. From the start Werder’s tactic determined the game. Their elastic defense was further strengthened by the withdrawn Schütz, which left HSV no choice than to cross pass the ball. The wings were tightly marked and when there came a through ball, then Jagielski, Steinmann and Lorenz were taking care of it. The hosts' attack got truncated. Contrary to Werder’s two strikers, who were expertly set up time and again by the ball-safe Diethelm Ferner, who untiringly worked in the midfield. Bremen made use of the space with their pacey counter attacks and where superior in technique and physical condition. With a little more concentration and determination, Werder could have won by six goals as they completely dominated the demoralized and tired home side in the last 20 minutes.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hamburg SV

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Krämer

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Krug-----Giesemann-----Kurbjuhn

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Wulf--------------D.Seeler

---------------------------------------------------------------------------U.Seeler-------------B.Dörfel

----------------------------------------------------------------------Peltonen--------Dehn-------G.Dörfel

---------------------------------------------------------------------------Manager: Georg Gawliczek


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Werder Bremen

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Zebrowski----------Matischak

------------------------------------------------------------------------H.Schulz----------------Ferner

------------------------------------------------------------------M.Lorenz-----------------------A.Schütz

--------------------------------------------------------------Höttges----Steinmann-----Jagielski---------Piontek

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bernard

----------------------------------------------------------------------------Manager: Willi Multhaup


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Subs:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------none

 

Rank #51

Bayern München 0
FC Schalke 04 2



Place: Munich, Olympiastadion
Time: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
Date: 28 September 1974
Attendance: 73,000
Referee: Horstmann (Gross Escherde)

Goal Scorers:
0-1 Abramczik 68
0-2 Lütkebohmert 89


Commentary:
"The End of an Era" read the Kicker headline the Monday after this game. And indeed, Bayern’s most glorious years in the Bundesliga were now definitely over, poignantly marked by the end of the historic unbeaten run at home, a series of 73 games in which Bayern won 62 games and drew 11, scoring 257-74 goals. Their last defeat in a home game had occurred over four years earlier on 28 March 1970 against VfB Stuttgart. In these four years, Bayern won the Bundesliga three times in a row and twice ended up runners-up. Bayern skipper Franz Beckenbauer after the game said: "This has long been overdue." Sometime this unreal run had to end, but that the task would fall to FC Schalke 04 out of all sides, nobody could have foreseen. Schalke was one of the most unlikely candidates as in their previous nine games at Munich, they only managed to score two goals and lost eight times (one draw) and their record at Munich during the last three years had been downright depressive: 1-5, 0-5, 1-5. This Bayern team had become fat and lazy, they had virtually won everything there was to win and the leading players had also won the World Cup two months ago. This total lack of motivation was coupled with a ridiculous preparation phase. In order to earn money, Bayern played countless friendly games all over Europe with the result that no serious training sessions could be held. Paul Breitner had left the club only a month ago, joining Real Madrid and the Beckenbauer/Müller tandem was simply too tired to make a difference at that stage of the season. But what had not changed was that every team Bayern had to face in the Bundesliga was still highly motivated especially when it became known that Bayern were highly vulnerable. All this lead to Bayern’s domestic downfall that season, if not for Maier, Beckenbauer and Müller, the team would have been relegated at the end of the season. It was only in European Cup games that the whole side’s concentration and motivation was up to old standards and thus surprisingly this troubled and tired Bayern side managed to repeat its European Cup triumph of the previous year.

Their opponents Schalke 04 had some very troublesome years behind them. The young team that came in second in 1972 was involved in the 1971 Bundesliga scandal and almost all the major players were banned in all or most of the 1972-73 and the beginning of the 1973-74 season (among them Libuda, Fischer, Rüssmann, Fichtel and Lütkebohmert). Many youngsters had to fill in their places in 1973 and miraculously the heavy depleted Schalke side managed to avoid relegation. By 1973-74 most of the old players were allowed to play again and thus Schalke was relieved from immediate relegation worries. But the scandal still loomed over Schalke until 1976, the players who had committed perjury finally admitted this in 1976.

Both teams began palpate in the first 20 minutes, but there were already fine opportunities: after four minutes Bongartz had tested Maier, two minutes later Fischer sent his shot over the top. After these first attacks by Schalke, Bayern understood that one forward up front (Müller) was not enough and began to move forward more determinedly. Bayern started to control the game more and more. Franz Roth’s shot from 18 meters was just saved by Nigbur (9th minute), seconds later Katsche Schwarzenbeck tried a shot but Klaus 'Tanne' Fichtel got his head in the way. After 20 minutes Gerd Müller had his first opportunity after Klaus Wunder had set him up with a short pass, but Rolf Rüssmann interfered before it could become dangerous. A minute later, Beckenbauer served Müller, who turnt around and shot in one move (like in the good old times) but his shot didn’t find the goal. Bayern actually didn’t play badly in the first half, especially between the 20th and 40th minute they should have scored the lead if they had had a little luck. In the 23rd minute Hans Bongartz intended to play the ball back to his goalie Norbert Nigbur, but he didn’t notice Müller was lurking and the ‘Der Bomber’ grabbed the ball, both center back Rolf Rüssmann and Norbert Nigbur were already beat but Müller’s shot only hit the post! A Müller in top form probably would have aimed a bit better, hitting the net not the post, but Müller was not his usual self those days. After half an hour Swede Conny Torstensson’s header Norbert Nigbur could only master after a second try, this happened at the goalline so Bayern protested that it should have been a goal but referee Horstmann correctly gave a goalkick to Schalke. After 37 minutes, Schalke were the ones protesting: Jupp Kapellmann couldn’t tackle the ball off Erwin Kremers in the penalty box, Schwarzenbeck interfered, bringing Kremers down, if it was a dive or a foul was hard to tell, but ref Horstmann decided it was a regular interception by the Bayern center back. At half time, the corner ratio had been 8-3 for Bayern, but no goals.

The game kept being an exciting encounter in the second half, goal scenes in both boxes were a plenty, but the two goalkeepers, especially Schalke’s Nigbur, were in top shape. In the 53rd minute Sepp Maier saved a header by Klaus Fischer from four meters, a fantastic save, ten minutes later Bayern wasted their greatest chance: Müller had passed the ball to Klaus Wunder, but he shot over instead into the goal despite having found himself unmarked 10 meters in front of the goal. A ridiculous effort. In the 68th minute, Fischer dumbfounded Schwarzenbeck close to the corner flag, hitting a cross towards the box while turning around Schwarzenbeck, outside right Rüdiger Abramczik stood unmarked at the edge of the Bayern box and scored with a vehement header: 0-1! A shock to Bayern and their supporters. Now they had to play even more offensively, corner after corner, but to no avail. Norbert Nigbur became the best player on the pitch, he saved shot after shot, some of them looked like 100% certain sitters. Maier also had a fine day, but one minute before time, when Bongartz crossed the ball from the left wing, the Bayern keeper made a blunder which would ascertain Bayern’s defeat: He miscalculated the cross, then with a desperate jump tried to reach it, but came too late, Herbert Lütkebohmert was there and put the ball past Maier, who was laying on the ground, into the Bayern goal: 0-2! The sensation had been completed. All of Bayern’s efforts had been in vain.

This game was lost by Bayern’s midfield players. Rainer Zobel couldn’t keep up with his counterpart Rainer Budde and Uli Hoeness totally disappointed against his opponent Herbert Lütkebohmert. Hoeness only tried to score goals, he didn’t track back to aid the defense. The press later caught a dialogue between Bayern’s Kapellmann and Hoeness’ opponent Lütkebohmert:

Kapellmann: "You started to run while he just kept standing."
Lütkebohmert: "True, and to think he’s a professional..."
Kapellmann: "Right, a professional. Everyone must run for the other. What he did today was a impudence. But a big mouth he has!"


---------------------------------------------------------------------------Bayern München

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Maier

--------------------------------------------------Kapellmann---Schwarzenbeck---Beckenbauer---Dürnberger

-------------------------------------------------------------------Roth-----------Zobel---------U.Hoeness

-----------------------------------------------------------Torstensson--------G.Müller---------Wunder

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Manager: Udo Lattek


------------------------------------------------------------------------------FC Schalke 04

-------------------------------------------------------------E.Kremers---------Fischer-------Abramczik

--------------------------------------------------------------Bongartz---------R.Budde------Lütkebohmert

--------------------------------------------------------B.Thiele-----Rüssmann------Fichtel------H.Kremers

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Nigbur

-----------------------------------------------------------------------Manager: Ivica Horvat

-----------------------------------------------------------------------Subs:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------73 Hadewicz in, Zobel out

 

Rank #50

Borussia Dortmund 4
Hamburg SV 4



Place: Dortmund, Westfalenstadion
Time: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
Date: 15 January 1977
Attendance: 42,000
Referee: Aldinger (Waiblingen)

Goal Scorers:
0-1 Reimann 9
1-1 Burgsmüller 21
1-2 Steffenhagen 23
2-2 Gayer 25
2-3 Huber 26 own goal
3-3 Burgsmüller 57
3-4 Bertl 59
4-4 Huber 85 pen


Commentary:
The first game between these two teams after Dortmund’s promotion back to the Bundesliga in 1976 already had been a stunner (see some commentaries above), but it was even topped by the return game in freezing Dortmund in January 1977. The guests were leading four times and each time the home side managed to equalize, BVB coach Otto Rehhagel commented: "You couldn’t think it up any better" and Hamburg’s president Dr. Peter Krohn said: "I will never again watch a thriller on TV. This game overshadowed anything in that direction." The constellation of the guests always being in the lead led to a mesmerizing attack-at-all-costs performance by the home side, pushed forward by its fanatic supporters. Hamburg just couldn’t withstand Dortmund’s non-stop pressure and dynamism. Mistakes in defense were virtually forced by BVB which led HSV manager Kuno Klötzer to mercifully not criticise his side. Although it must be said that if Hamburg’s standard keeper Rudi Kargus had been able to play instead of back-up keeper Vladimir Kovacevic, Dortmund might have found it harder to score but at the same time one must concede that BVB’s goalie Horst Bertram also didn’t look the most assured goalie.

After nine minutes, Hamburg’s center forward Willi Reimann headed in a cross by right back Manfred Kaltz: 0-1! This was Hamburg’s first shot on target. Kaltz would prove to be Hamburg’s most dangerous forward, since his opponent, veteran left winger Willi 'Ente' Lippens, was either not willing to track back to cover Kaltz' expeditions on the right wing or was simply overrun by the dynamic Kaltz. However Lippens made up for his lack of defensive qualities with his great offensive qualities. It was Lippens' header that hit the post in the 21st minute, Manfred Burgsmüller was there and tapped the ball over the line: 1-1! Within the next three minutes, three goals were scored: Arno Steffenhagen with a header after a cross by Kaltz: 1-2! Then Peter Geyer converted a corner ball directly: 2-2! Kovacevic didn’t look good there, but he was handicapped by one of his own defenders. Seconds later right back Lothar Huber shocked his teammates and the BVB fans with an own goal by hitting the ball unstoppably into his own net: 2-3! It was a wonderful own goal. The game continued to thrill the crowd with non-stop box-to-box action during the next 30 minutes, as Dortmund’s constant attacking made them highly vulnerable to Hamburg’s counter attacks. It was a real joy to watch. In the 57th minute, Dortmund managed the eagerly awaited equalizer via Manfred Burgsmüller, but as if it was jinxed only seconds later Hamburg again scored the lead via Horst Bertl: 3-4! Utter desperation in the faces of all Dortmund people. Five minutes before time, after Dortmund in desperation had sent wave after wave of attack towards Kovacevic’s goal, the HSV keeper fouled center back Herbert Meyer – penalty! Right back Lothar Huber, who had become a right winger in this game, had the nerves to convert the penalty and thus made up for his own goal earlier: 4-4! His penalty shot had been just as unstoppable as his own goal one hour earlier. A just ending to a remarkable thriller on a freezing cold winter day!


------------------------------------------------------------------------------Borussia Dortmund

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bertram

-------------------------------------------------------------Huber------H.J.Wagner-----H.Meyer----Ackermann

------------------------------------------------------------------------E.Wolf----------------------Segler

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Burgsmüller

----------------------------------------------------------------------Vöge-----------Geyer----------Lippens

---------------------------------------------------------------------------Manager: Otto Rehhagel


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hamburg SV

-----------------------------------------------------------------------Memering---Reimann---Steffenhagen

------------------------------------------------------------------------Magath--------Bertl---------Björnmose

------------------------------------------------------------------Ripp--------Nogly---------Blankenburg----Kaltz

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kovacic


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Manager: Kuno Klötzer

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Subs:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------46 Kostedde in, Vöge out
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------46 Hartl in, Wolf out

 

Rank #49

Borussia Mönchengladbach 1
Bayern Munich 4



Place: Mönchengladbach, Bökelberg
Time: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
Date: 6 June 1981
Attendance: 34,800
Referee: Föckler (Weisenheim)

Goal Scorers:
0-1 Rummenigge 20
0-2 Rummenigge 56
0-3 Niedermayer 63
1-3 Nielsen 76
1-4 Rummenigge 89


Commentary:
Three months prior to this game, in March, Hamburg looked most likely to win the 1981 Bundesliga championship, as the team was leading the league table three points ahead of Bayern and were expected to be cool enough to keep that advantage until the end of the season. Hamburg had the chance to finish off the reigning champs from Munich when both teams met in March ’81 in the Volkspartstadion and it looked terribly good for the Northerners, they were close to expanding their lead over Bayern to five points (which was a lot in the two-points-for-a-win era) but then wasted their 2-0 lead in the dying minutes. This gave the Bavarians an extra power-boost for the rest of the season: Of the remaining nine games they won eight (one draw) scoring some 31 goals, 13 of them by superstar striker Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. In fact, Bayern's finish in the 1980-81 season must rate as the strongest showing by any team ever in Bundesliga history. A week before this game Bayern beat Frankfurt 7-2 while Hamburg drew 1-1 in Karlsruhe which gave Bayern a three points lead over Hamburg and to seal the championship the Bavarians needed a victory at Gladbach’s Bökelberg Stadium in the next game. That game at Gladbach would have to be their examination for Bundesliga master degree and Bayern passed the test with distinction.

Borussia Mönchengladbach had two strong reasons to withstand the Bayern onslaught: firstly they were still competing for a place in the UEFA Cup and secondly they wanted to prevent Bayern to win their sixth Bundesliga championship which would have them put one above Gladbach’s five titles. But Bayern were in such tremendous shape during May and June 1981, that even the Gladbach crowd had to acknowledge their superiority with crackling applause for the masterly demonstration of the Bavarians. Bayern played with pace, wily, always dangerous and impressed with their seamless combinations. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge especially was arguably in the best shape of his entire career and the three goals he scored only gave a glimpse of how well he played. Bayern’s midfield overpowered Gladbach’s, performing a sovereign mixture of zonal marking and man-marking which Hungarian manager Pal Csernai had taught his side to perfection during the past two years. Probably caused by the guests’ awe-inspiring series of victories, the hosts started the game restraint and cautious, with the whole guest team and especially Breitner and Rummenigge in excellent from, this hesitant attitude by the hosts was the wrong recipe, but Gladbach just couldn’t get that huge respect they had for Bayern at that phase of the championship out of their heads.

Munich’s performance in this game only confirmed what had been revealed in the previous two months: Bayern played the best football in Germany. In fact it looked as if someone had shot a demonstration film on how football has to be played with the Bayern players as the stars and the Borussians as extras. Even the fanatic Gladbach crowd knew a great side when they saw it and thus applauded rupturously as Bayern’s 'zero gravity' football was a delight to watch.



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Borussia Mönchengladbach

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kleff

-----------------------------------------------------------------------Ringels------Hannes------Bödeker----Fleer

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Matthäus------Bruns

----------------------------------------------------------------------------Schmider--------------------W.Schäfer

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------H.Nickel-----Lienen

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Manager: Jupp Heynckes


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bayern München

-------------------------------------------------------------------------K.H.Rummenigge--------D.Hoeness

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kraus----------Breitner

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Dürnberger------------------Niedermayer

-------------------------------------------------------------------Dremmler---Augenthaler---Weiner---Horsmann

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------M.Müller

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Manager: Pal Csernai

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Subs:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------58 C.Nielsen in, Bruns out

 

Rank #48

Bayern München 7
Eintracht Frankfurt 2



Place: Munich, Olympiastadion
Time: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
Date: 30 May 1981
Attendance: 48,000
Referee: Eschweiler (Euskirchen)

Goal Scorers:
1-0 Kraus 54
2-0 Breitner 60 pen
3-0 Breitner 64
4-0 Rummenigge 77 pen
5-0 Rummenigge 80
5-1 Borchers 81
6-1 Breitner 85
6-2 Cha 86
7-2 Hoeness 90



Commentary:
As was already pointed out in the previous commentary, Bayern were in exceptional shape in May and June 1981 and this game has to be rated among the best performances of the 'Breitnigge' era (1978-1983). This match also set a new Bundesliga record with all nine goals having been scored in the one half, six of them in the last 13 minutes. The old record stood at eight goals scored in one half, which was also held by Bayern (1971, 11-1 vs. Dortmund). That record was to be broken again in November 1982 when Dortmund scored ten goals in one half against Bielefeld (11-1). Statistically the spectators saw a goal every four minutes in the second half! The spectators had every right to be excited about how this game went, as it still ranks as one of the best demonstrations of attacking football every staged in Munich's Olympic Stadium. The first half was already very convincing, it only lacked the goals. Bayern manager Pal Csernai told his players at half time not to become impatient if it would take some time scoring a goal, little did he know at that time that his side was about to score seven goals after the break. Bayern had practised high-speed football in the first half and by the second half, fifth-placed Frankfurt was too exhausted to keep up with that tempo.

The goals were scored as follows:
1-0: After a corner by Rummenigge, Kraus scored out of a melee.
2-0: Rummenigge was fouled by Eintracht keeper Jürgen Pahl, Paul Breitner converted the penalty.
3-0: Breitner and Kraus engaged in a 1-2 which opens up the Eintracht defense. Breitner stormed towards Pahl undeterred and scored with a powerful right-footed shot. Werner 'Beinhart' Lorant deflected the ball.
4-0: Rigobert Gruber fouled Norbert Janzon just inside the box. This time Rummenigge converted the penalty, as he was still vying for the top scorer’s crown with Dortmund’s Manfred Burgsmüller.
5-0: A cross by Janzon is volleyed into the goal by Rummenigge!
5-1: Ronald Borchers scored from the edge of the box after a pass by Bernd Nickel.
6-1: Breitner started a solo from the mid circle, outsmarting two Eintracht players and then proceeded to hammer the ball into the Frankfurt goal from 20 yards. Not a bad effort. This goal was later voted 'Goal of the Month' June.
6-2: Korean Bum Kun Cha hit the ball into the far corner of the goal after a pass by Nickel.
7-2: Dieter Hoeness headed the ball into the Eintracht net from a distance of one yard after a cross by Janzon.

Eintracht could in fact have lost with double digits if Bayern had converted more of its goal scoring opportunities close to the end of the game. Hoeness, Rummenigge and sweeper Hanne Weiner wasted three sitters and Wolfgang Dremmler hit the post once, all during the final 15 minutes. Eintracht goalie Jürgen Pahl was in good form despite the seven goals, his only mistake was bringing down Rummenigge unnecessarily in the 61st minute which led to a penalty. Next to Paul Breitner, 'joker' Norbert Janzon was Bayern’s best player, having assisted three goals. He still had to leave the club after the season, though.

Before the kick-off, former Bayern center back and sweeper Hans-Georg 'Katsche' Schwarzenbeck was bid farewell by Bayern president Willi O. Hoffmann and the fans in the stadium. Schwarzenbeck had joined the club in 1966 and had been a regular starter since 1967. Together with libero Franz Beckenbauer he formed the most successful central defense pairing in the history of football, having won the World Cup, the European Championship, the European Cup four times, five domestic championships and four domestic Cups during the 14 years he played professional football. He had to end his career after a severe harmstring injury suffered in August 1979, after which he never found his way back into the team.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bayern München

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Junghans

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Dremmler----Weiner---Augenthaler----Horsmann

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Niedermayer------------Dürnberger

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Breitner-----------Kraus

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------K.H.Rummenigge------D.Hoeness

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Manager: Pal Csernai


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Eintracht Frankfurt

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Cha------Borchers

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------B.Nickel--------------------Nachtweih

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Trapp------Lottermann

----------------------------------------------------------------------------Neuberger-----R.Gruber------Pezzey-----Lorant

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pahl

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Manager: Lothar Buchmann

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Subs:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------46 Janzon in, Dürnberger out
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------65 M.Müller in, Junghans out
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------75 Blättel in, Pezzey out

 

Rank #47

Werder Bremen 6
VfB Stuttgart 0



Place: Bremen, Weserstadion
Time: Friday, 8 p.m.
Date: 29 November 1985
Attendance: 21,000
Referee: Kautschor (Eschweiler)

Goal Scorers:
1-0 Burgsmüller 17
2-0 Kutzop 34
3-0 Kutzop 43 pen
4-0 Ordenewitz 56
5-0 Ordenewitz 74
6-0 Burgsmüller 85




Commentary:
This game’s significance comes from being Werder’s 'answer to Munich'. The 1985-86 season definitely marked the peak of the heated Werder-Bayern dispute, both teams desperately fighting for the championship. The previous week, Bayern had beaten Werder in the Olympic Stadium in Munich 3-1, but the game was marred by Klaus Augenthaler’s allegedly vicious foul on national team comrade Rudi Völler, who had just came back from a lengthy injury. Völler was out for over five months and it seemed as if the whole Republic was against Bayern in general and Klaus Augenthaler in particular after that incident. There were no neutrals, either you wanted Bayern to win or Werder, and after this incident the vast majority of Germans it seemed wanted Bayern to lose this duel as Völler’s health was considered vital for Germany’s performance in the 1986 World Cup. Werder had to come to terms with again having to do without their most important player and goalscorer. It was this game versus VfB Stuttgart that showed that Werder’s morale was strong and that they were still a force to be reckoned with even without Völler. They also had to play without Wolfgang Sidka and skipper Benno Möhlmann and replacing them were untested youngster Matthias Ruländer and up front 20-year-old Frank Ordenewitz. This game set the tone for the rest of the season, as Werder strode from victory to victory, at the end of the season they had scored 83 goals in 34 games, and that without their best striker for the majority of the games.

Like a thunderstorm Werder came over VfB! Werder had their aim set on topping the league at the half of the season, which traditionally was a strong hint towards the later champion. Bremen were in good spirits and superior in all aspects to their hesitant and insecure guests. The youngster Ruländer impressed by marking the sole striker Pasic out of the game and Günter Hermann fulfilled the midfield playmaker position flawlessly. Stuttgart didn’t grasp that the standard defenders Okudera and Schaaf this time were playing as pure midfielders. The Japanese Okudera together with Norbert Meier caused quite a stir on the left side in the first half, in the second half Thomas Schaaf became the constant driving force on the right side. Being up 3-0 at half time, Rehhagel decided to rest Frank Neubarth who had played with a flu. For him came Frank Ordenewitz, who proved he was a dangerman himself by scoring twice after the break. 35-year-old veteran forward Manfred Burgsmüller had just been signed from second division side Oberhausen and he already became the darling of the Werder crowd in his first game at the Weser Stadium, having scored the first and the last of Werder’s six goals. His marker Andreas Müller (these days Schalke managing director) looked distinctively bad against the wily Burgsmüller’s many feints and trickery. VfB at times appeared as if paralysed! Guido Buchwald did look quite good in the first half against the weakened Neubarth but went down with the others in the second half in the Werder tornado. Stuttgart didn’t forget this beating and how they were outclassed by Werder. At the end of the season, they were to meet Bremen again in a crucial game and they had a lot to prove to them that time around...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Werder Bremen

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Burdenski

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pezzey

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kutzop------------------Ruländer

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Schaaf------Votava-------Okudera------N.Meier

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------G.Hermann

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Neubarth-----------------Burgsmüller

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Manager: Otto Rehhagel


[------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------VfB Stuttgart

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pasic

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Schlegel---Sigurvinsson----Allgöwer

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Nushöhr------J.Hartmann

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Buchwald-----A.Müller--------G.Schäfer

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kh.Förster

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Roleder

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Manager: Otto Baric

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Subs:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------46 Ordenewitz in, Neubarth out
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------46 Klinsmann in, Schlegel out
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------65 Zietsch in, Nushöhr out

 

Rank #46

Werder Bremen 4
Bayern München 2



Place: Bremen, Weserstadion
Time: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
Date: 9 February 1985
Attendance: 40,500
Referee: Ahlenfelder (Oberhausen)

Goal Scorers:
1-0 Völler 8
2-0 Reinders 12 pen
2-1 Nachtweih 44
3-1 Hermann 48
3-2 Wohlfarth 61
4-2 Völler 71


Commentary:
This game was arguably the best encounter between Werder Bremen and Bayer Munich, the two dominating Bundesliga sides of the mid-/late-1980s. Already the first leg between these two teams in the Olympiastadion in August 1984 had proved to be one of the better games. Bayern won 4-2. The contrast to the sunny Wednesday summer night back then couldn’t be any bigger, as the return leg was held at a time when gritty, freezy winter had a grip on Germany. Four clubs were vying for the top spot at that time: Bayern with 26 points at the top, followed by Cologne with 24, then Werder and Uerdingen with both 23 points. Out of these four, Bayern and Werder proved to be the strongest contenders. For Werder, hosting Bayern was the big chance to get within close reach of the league leaders. This game also marked one of the first peaks of the Otto Rehhagel/Udo Lattek "war of managers".

40,000 spectators in the Weser Stadium saw a great fight on freezed ground and already after seven minutes Werder was leading through a goal by Rudi Völler. 15 minutes later Uwe Reinders converted a penalty and the game looked as if it was already decided, much to the joy of the Werder crowd. But Bayern were a team that didn’t give up that easily, especially not in a prestigious encounter like this one! From then on the game developed into an uncompromising battle between two relentlessly fighting teams. A minute before the break Norbert Nachtweih managed to score Bayern’s first goal, needless to say at a very crucial moment. However three minutes after the half-time break Günter Hermann added Werder’s third goal, which meant that Bayern had to throw everything they had towards the Werder goal in order the keep their hopes alive. After about an hour, Roland Wohlfarth managed to score Bayern’s second goal and the drama was reaching its peak when Rudi Völler added his second goal and Werder’s fourth eleven minutes later. Bayern later complained that both of Völler’s goals came after he had irregularly pushed his opponent but referee Wolf-Dieter Ahlenfelder wouldn’t have any of it.

After the game a downcast Udo Lattek conceded that Werder’s victory was a deserved one, but added that it all went a bit unlucky for his side. Lattek faulted his players for not having converted enough of their goal scoring opportunities, stating that compared to one Rudi Völler, his strikers were all but greenhorns. Especially Reinhold Mathy was simply outstanding in wasting sitter after sitter (three times altogether). Werder now officially aimed to win the Bundesliga championship, fittingly 20 years after they won the first one, but at the end Bayern proved too strong, winning their first championship since 1981. Of the old side of the Breitnigge era, only Dürnberger, Dremmler, Hoeness and Augenthaler were still around. This Bayern was maybe not as brilliant as the one from the early 1980s, but it was less dependant on superstar players and hence harder to play against. Werder had to wait three more years before their dreams would finally come true, paradoxically in their first year without Rudi Völler, similar to this Bayern side, who won the championship in their first year without Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, when it was least expected.



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Werder Bremen

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Burdenski

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pezzey

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Schaaf--------------Otten

---------------------------------------------------------------------------Okudera----------------Möhlmann

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sidka---------G.Hermann

---------------------------------------------------------------------------Reinders----Völler----N.Meier

------------------------------------------------------------------------------Manager: Otto Rehhagel


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bayern München

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mathy-----------Wohlfarth

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Matthäus

-----------------------------------------------------------------------Nachtweih-------Lerby--------Dürnberger

------------------------------------------------------------------------Willmer----------Eder----------Dremmler

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Augenthaler

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pfaff

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Manager: Udo Lattek

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Subs:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------30 M.Rummenigge in, Dürnberger out

 

They played with a 3-4-3 formation.

The tactical scheme is in fact not showing it clear enough, now that I look at it again. It will become clearer this way:


-----------------Burdenski

------------------Pezzey
------------Schaaf-----Otten

---Okudera------------------Möhlmann
-----------Sidka--------G.Hermann

-------Reinders----Völler----N.Meier


Maybe I should move defense, midfield and attack closer together like in this scheme (*makes note*). The tactical formations since the 1980s have become more sophisticated and to overview them is harder if the different parts are not clearly distinguished. BTW Bruno Pezzey was a offensive libero who could also move forward playing in front of the two man-markers.