Between 1969 and 1977, the German championship was a carve-up between Bayern (four titles) and Borussia Mönchengladbach (five titles), but it was well into the 1980s before the great rivals of the 70s met for the first time in the cup. The five clashes since then, comprising six matches in total, have always been exciting and tight: by way of evidence, the first four all went to extra time or even penalty shoot-outs.
The good news for Bayern fans is that the men in red have emerged triumphant on every occasion - and the FCB reserves even managed to ice the cake with a cup win over Gladbach of their own. In the build-up to Wednesday’s DFB Cup semi-final at Borussia Park, fcbayern.de looks back at the history of the fixture.
May 31, 1984: A legendary final
The first cup clash between the great rivals of the 70s was a final, and it was utterly memorable too, as the trophy was won on penalties for the first time in the history of the competition. In his last match for Gladbach before joining Bayern, Lothar Matthäus missed from the spot, but although the incident has passed into German footballing lore, it was not actually the event which decided the game.
It was the last time that the Waldstadion in Frankfurt served as the venue for the final, which has always taken place in Berlin since then. The game was the final match of an extraordinary season, in which Bayern finished fourth in the Bundesliga and Gladbach third, although the Foals only missed out on the title on goal difference.
Borussia, coached at the time by Jupp Heynckes, made the better start to the final and took a 33rd-minute lead through Frank Mill, but Wolfgang Dremmler equalised eight minutes from time. The game was deadlocked after extra time and went to penalties. Matthäus was first up but blasted his penalty over the bar. Borussia keeper Ulrich Sude made amends by saving from Klaus Augenthaler, and the shoot-out was only settled by the 15th and 16th kicks: Gladbach's Norbert Ringels hit the post, leaving Michael Rummenigge to seal Munich's seventh DFB Cup triumph.
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