FC Bayern v Werder Bremen. No match has been played more often in the German top flight than the North-South classic between the two long-time rivals. fcbayern.com looks back at the most legendary matches between the men from Munich and the Green-Whites.
18 Dec 1965: Birth of a record-breaking fixture
The first top-tier clash between Bayern and Werder took place just under 55 years ago, on 18 December 1965, and on that day no-one could have guessed that the game would give birth to a Bundesliga classic. As the reigning champions, Bremen were the clear favourites against the newly-promoted men from Munich, but Franz Beckenbauer and his teammates wouldn't be overawed and ran out 3-1 winners of this first battle, despite Josef Piontek firing Werder into the lead in the 24th minute. Rainer Ohlhauser (40'), Dieter Koulmann (48') and the Kaiser himself (90') scored the goals.
04 Oct 1969: 'Der Bomber' single-handedly destroys Werder
With 18 goals, Gerd Müller is FC Bayern's record scorer in the so-called North-South classic. The Bomber of the Nation laid the foundations for this in October 1969 in the 4-1 home win over the North Germans, when he netted all four of the Munich team's goals. To this day, no other player in this fixture has managed to score so many times in one game. Following closely on Müller's heels is Robert Lewandowski, who has also scored 15 times against Bremen in FC Bayern colours.
22 Apr 1986: Kutzop's miss leaves the championship wide open
It's perhaps the most famous penalty miss in Bundesliga history: on 22 April 1986, Michael Kutzop could have sealed the championship for Bremen on the penultimate matchday against closest rivals Bayern. But instead of scoring to put Werder 1-0 up, he hit the post - in the 88th minute! The 0-0 draw ensured the title race remained open, and the Bavarians secured the Meisterschale on the last day of the season. Particularly bitter for Bremen was the fact that defender Kutzop had previously converted every penalty-kick in his career, and in that 1985/86 season alone he scored seven goals from the spot.
17 Jun 1995: Bayern ruin Rehhagel's title challenge
Nine years later, Werder had another match-point against Bayern. On Matchday 34 of the 1994/95 season, they travelled to Munich as league leaders to take on the sixth-placed Bavarians. After 14 years in Bremen, head coach at the time Otto Rehhagel wanted to finish the season in style by winning the title in his last game. But that game was against his new employers of all people - and they weren't in the mood to hand out any presents on that day. With goals from Christian Ziege (13') and Alexander Zickler (41'/78'), the Reds ran out 3-1 winners and Bremen were overtaken by Borussia Dortmund.
20 May 2000: Job done, Haching cause a sensation
The clash with Bremen on Matchday 34 of the 1999/00 season was won by Bayern early on after a stunning start and goals from Carsten Jancker (2'/12') and Paulo Sergio (16'), while Werder's Marco Bode (40') got a consolation goal in the 3-1 loss. So the story of the game is quickly told, for the real sensation took place less than 20 km further to the south. There, league leaders Bayer 04 Leverkusen lost 2-0 to SpVgg Unterhaching and were overtaken by the Bavarians - and so the North-South classic was the starting point for one of the biggest championship celebrations Munich had ever seen.
06 May 2004: Bremen delirious in the Olympic Stadium
In the 2003/04 season, Werder travelled to Munich on Matchday 32 with a comfortable six-point lead over second-placed Bayern, who needed to win to keep the race for the championship open. But this time Bremen did not give up their grasp on the title: After just over half an hour, the visitors all but wrapped things up with goals from Ivan Klasnić, Johan Micoud (26') and Ailton (35'). Roy Makaay (53') was only able to pull one back after the break - and so the Green-Whites secured the championship by beating their closest challengers from Munich 3-1.
18 Aug 2007: Ribéry enchants the Bundesliga
With four new signings starting the game on Matchday 2 of the 2007/08 season, the Bavarians wanted to set the course for a successful campaign against their closest rivals from Bremen. Lining up against the previous season's third-placed team, who had qualified for the Champions League the year before with a six-point lead over FC Bayern, were World Cup winner Luca Toni, World Cup runner-up Franck Ribéry, returnee Zé Roberto and Miroslav Klose. The Germany striker had spent three years under contract at Werder and moved to Munich in the summer of 2007. On this day, however, all eyes were mainly focused on Ribéry's game. In his first away match for FCB in the Bundesliga, Ribéry not only enchanted the spectators with spectacular passes, but also made the Bremen defenders look decidedly ordinary. It was the Frenchman himself who put FC Bayern on the winning track in the North-South classic with a 31st-minute penalty taken in Panenka fashion. In the end the Munich team ran out 4-0 winners after further goals from Toni (51'), Hamit Altintop (79') and Andreas Ottl (87').
07 Dec 2013: Highlight of a record-breaking season
Bayern's winning run against Bremen reached its zenith - at least in terms of results - in the 2013/14 season, when the Bavarians inflicted the highest Bundesliga home loss on Werder in their 121-year history at the Weserstadion. The dominant league leaders from Munich thrashed the fourteenth-placed team 7-0. In addition to Man of the Match Franck Ribéry (38', 82'), who also added two assists to his two goals, Daniel van Buyten (27'), Mario Mandžukić (60'), Thomas Müller (68') and Mario Götze (90') also got their name on the scoresheet. The lead resulted from an own goal by Bremen defender Assani Lukimya in the 21st minute. The impressive performance in the north of Germany was also a highlight for FC Bayern on their way to creating a piece of history: 19 consecutive Bundesliga victories in one season is a record which to this day has never been equalled.
16 Jun 2020: Lewandowski fires FCB to the title - Neuer dazzles
Fans of the Bayern family fondly remember the last clash with Werder Bremen. On Matchday 32 of last season, on a rainy Tuesday evening, the Bavarians sealed the 30th league title in the club's history, and at the same time secured their eighth straight championship. Robert Lewandowski scored the golden goal in the 43rd minute after an exquisite pass from Jérôme Boateng, but it was also thanks to some outstanding saves by Manuel Neuer that the Bavarians managed to hold on to the narrow 1-0 lead and win the first title of what would be a record season.
18 Aug 2023: Kane's perfect Bundesliga debut
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After the last-minute Bundesliga win in the 2022/23 campaign, Bayern headed into the following season with a new star striker. Harry Kane had joined the record champions in the summer and delivered the goods in his first Bundesliga appearance for FCB. The men from Munich travelled to Bremen to kick off the 2023/24 season. After Leroy Sané's early opener (4'), Bayern had a long wait to make sure of picking up three points. In the 75th minute, new signing Kane scored his maiden Bundesliga goal to make it 2-0 and crown his Bundesliga debut. In the dying seconds, Sané (90) and Mathys Tel (90.+4) wrapped up the game.
The facts on Friday evening's clash:
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