One of football’s most recognised classic games is the German Clasico, popularly known as Der Klassiker. Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, having won 25 of the last 29 Bundesliga titles combined, you can easily accept that they are Germany’s best teams.
Founded on 27 February 1900, Bayern Munich is the most successful team in German football history. It has been on a record-winning title run since 2013, with ten consecutive Bundesliga titles making it 32. They also hold the record for most DFB-Pokal, and DFB/DFL Supercup wins, with 20 and 11 wins, respectively. Despite achieving such a massive fit in their local competitions, Bayern Munich has won six UEFA Champions League titles, one UEFA Europa League, two UEFA Super Cups, and two FIFA Club World Cups. Overall, they have won 83 trophies in its 123 years of existence.
Borussia Dortmund was founded nine years after Bayern Munich on 19 December 1909. Though Dortmund’s trophy gallery is far from Bayern’s achievement, they have won eight Bundesliga titles, five DFB-Pokal, 6 DFB/DFL Supercup, and one UEFA Champions League. Borussia Dortmund has amassed 22 trophies in 113 years and was the first German club to win a UEFA competition.
Image Copyright: PA
There has been some friendly atmosphere between the two most successful German clubs, especially regarding a player transfer. Dortmund has a habit of selling the big players in their squad (Mario Gotze, Mats Hummels, Robert Lewandowski, and a few others) to Bayern, which could be because Bayern Munich once saved them from bankruptcy. It was a sad moment for Dortmund fans to see Robert Lewandowski leave and to also score against them in several Der Klassiker games. He is the top scorer in Der Klassiker encounters with 32 goals, while Thomas Muller holds the record for the highest number of appearances with 39.
Dortmund fans were relieved of their fears as Erling Haaland’s transfer to Manchester City was completed. Rumours that Bayern Munich wanted Haaland as Robert Lewandowski’s replacement were looming, and the yellow and black fans were scared of losing yet another prolific goal scorer to their rivals.
Of the two, Bayern Munich is the superior team, not only with their trophy cabinet but also in their squad’s quality. Bayern has won 65 matches out of the 107 games with Dortmund. They also hold the record for the biggest win in a Der Klassiker matches, beating Dortmund 11-1 on 27 December 1971.
Image Copyright: Sky Sports
It’s been easy for Bayern Munich to win the Bundesliga title, as the quality of their squad has been superior to not only Dortmund but all the football clubs in Germany. This led to Bayern winning the last ten league titles making it nearly impossible for Dortmund to beat Bayern recently, losing nine out of the previous ten matches.
The sale of Lewandowski to Barcelona in 2022 hasn’t stopped Bayern from displaying top-notch performances, especially in the UEFA Champions League, winning all six matches and averaging three goals per match in a group involving Barcelona and Inter. On the other hand, Dortmund has struggled to find consistency since the sale of Erling Haaland, and they are currently 6th on the table with 25 points. Having lost just one match in the Bundesliga, Bayern sits at the top of the table with 34 points and 9 points over Dortmund.
Bayern Munich look set to continue their Bundesliga winning streak this season, and they appear to have coped well with the departure of Lewandowski, who scored 35 goals in the last Bundesliga campaign. So far this season, they have scored 49 goals in just 15 Bundesliga matches.
The second Bundesliga tie between Dortmund and Bayern comes up on 01 April 2023, and Bayern is easily the favourite of the times as they will host Dortmund in the Allianz Arena. Although Dortmund’s games are a little shaky, there is still every possibility of them catching up and surprising everyone in their upcoming match. There is a higher chance for Bayern to win their game as they have a higher performance index and better quality of players, unlike Dortmund. That said, they do have a strong defence system.
