Every league in the world has its biggest clash, and for Germany, Borussia Dortmund versus Bayern Munich has become one not to miss in recent times.
In fact, die Schwarzgelben taking on die Roten has become so big that it has been nicknamed "Der Klassiker", or a play on the world-famous "El Clasico" from the bitter rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid.
On Saturday, the latest edition of this classic will feature these two German footballing powerhouses, and to make things even more interesting, they are now ranked no. 2 and no. 1 in the table. However, Dortmund are right now the team playing catch-up after falling behind in recent weeks, while Bayern Munich have righted the proverbial wobbly ship since Jupp Heynckes's return for a fourth spell and have reclaimed top spot in the league.
Here are four interesting things to consider ahead of the latest edition of Der Klassiker.
1. A very unique clash indeed that has graced the biggest stage in club football
What makes Der Klassiker even more unique than El Classico or the Derby della Madonnina, for instance?
Well, it has been contested on the highest level possible in club football: during a Champions League final. UEFA certainly would love to have a Real Madrid-Barcelona UCL final, as it would be a dream for commercial sponsors, but it hasn't happened just yet as other teams have spoiled those plans. Meanwhile, AC Milan and Inter have faced off in the semi-finals, whilst the Champions League did have a pretty big all-Italian affair as Milan and Juve locked horns back in 2003.
Der Klassiker, however, graced the biggest stage in 2013, in a historic all-German final at Wembley that Bayern won 2-1 under Heynckes's tenure as part of a first-ever Treble.
2. It's the game where a certain Bayern icon first made his mark
Unfortunately he won't be playing due to an injury, but Der Klassiker is a game that Thomas Muller certainly won't forget in a hurry.
Especially not on September 12, 2009. One day before his 20th birthday, he netted his first ever brace as a senior Bayern player as die Roten cruised to a 5-1 win over Dortmund, and as the hackneyed, yet oh-so-true statement says, "the rest is history".
Anyway, historical facts aside, let us have a look at some present-day numbers. For starters, both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Robert Lewandowski are top of the goal-scoring charts at the moment, with ten goals each, which brings us to our next fact:
3. They were former colleagues
Yes, that's correct. The two top contenders for the coveted Torjägerkanone were colleagues at Borussia Dortmund back in the day...but now will be competing yet again on opposite sides of the pitch following Lewandowski's move to Bayern in 2014.
Both, as noted before have scored ten goals. Lewandowski has scored three penalties, while Aubameyang has netted two.
In terms of assists, the Gabonese star has chipped in with one, meaning that he has been directly involved in 11 out of Dortmund's 27 goals, whereas Lewandowski has yet to assist any of his teammates, so his involvement comes out to ten out Bayern's 24 goals.
4. Is this game a real title decider?
It's still early in the season, and RB Leipzig will want to have their say about the title race, of course. Die Bullen, despite making their top flight debut last term, managed to shock German football and secure second spot, ahead of Dortmund, and currently sit in third. They definitely will have their eye on this fixture, but one cannot ignore the fact that die Roten and die Schwarzgelben have dominated the German football landscape for quite some time and look set do do so for the near future.
Here's an interesting stat: Since the 1993/1994 season, only four teams other than Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have won the Bundesliga title.
Curious to find who are the other sides besides Bayern and Dortmund to win the title during that run? They are:
- FC Kaiserslautern (1997/1998)
- Werder Bremen (2003/2004)
- Stuttgart (2006/2007)
- Wolfsburg (2008/2009)
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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