On the penultimate matchday of the first half of this Bundesliga season, FC Bayern will host SC Freiburg at home at the Allianz Arena on Sunday (15:30 CET). In the past, this match has had a lot to offer - be it Klinsmann's barrel kick or a great farewell to a legend. We've selected some of the best and most curious incidents to come out of these encounters.
10 May 1997: Klinsmann and his barrel kick
The league leaders and eventual champions hosted bottom club Freiburg. But, instead of living up to their role as overwhelming favourites, the Munich team struggled against SCF. With the game moving into its final moments, and either side yet to break the deadlock, Bayern coach at the time, Giovanni Trapattoni, reacted and brought on reserve player Carsten Lakies. Lakies replaced Jürgen Klinsmann, who'd been poor on the day. But the substitution did not sit well with Klinsmann at all: his frustration over being substituted was let out via a powerful kick in the direction of the Sanyo advertising barrel set up on the side of the pitch - a barrel that now sits in the FC Bayern Museum. The game remained goalless until the end.
14 October 2017: Dream comeback
It was a perfect fairytale comeback for Jupp Heynckes in his fourth spell at the helm of FCB: In his first match after returning to the Bayern dugout, the Munich team celebrated a convincing 5-0 victory against SC Freiburg on 14 October 2017. An own goal plus goals from Kingsley Coman, Thiago, Robert Lewandowski and Joshua Kimmich ensured that Bayern won in emphatic fashion. The euphoria among fans and players was great and the game showed where the team was to head that season - up to the very top.
12 April 2000: The golf ball
Matchday 29 of the 1999/2000 season was full of adrenaline and emotion: In the away match against Freiburg, FC Bayern had already fallen 1-0 behind in the 11th minute and were playing with just ten men from the 18th minute onwards after a red card for Sammy Kuffour. But Bayern fought back and turned the game around. Three minutes before the end, Mehmet Scholl scored the goal to win the game 2-1 from the penalty spot. However, the match was to be remembered above all for an incident that occurred shortly after the penalty: In the 90th minute, Oliver Kahn suddenly went down while taking a goal kick. A Freiburg fan had hit the goalkeeper on the head with a golf ball. After receiving treatment, Kahn finished the game, but after the final whistle his emotions boiled over in response to the attack. Then Bayern manager Uli Hoeneß had to personally help calm the keeper down.
20 May 2017: Farewell to a Bayern great
It was the end of a great era: Philipp Lahm, Tom Starke and Xabi Alonso said "goodbye" and ended their impressive careers with one last German championship. During their farewell against SC Freiburg on 20 May 2017, the Allianz Arena said a final farewell and celebrated aptly with a 4-1 victory. Goals from Arjen Robben and Arturo Vidal gave Bayern a 2-0 lead before Nils Petersen halved Bayern's advantage. In injury time, however, the Munich team reopened the gap with goals from Ribéry and Kimmich, ensuring a perfect farewell for the deserving legends.
10 September 2011: Unstoppable Gomez
On the fifth matchday of the 2011/12 season, Bayern celebrated their biggest-ever victory against Freiburg. In the 7-0 win at the Allianz Arena, Mario Gomez in particular was in top form. He became the first FCB player since Giovane Élber in 2002 to score four in one Bundesliga game - and he also set up one of Ribéry's two goals that afternoon. In the 90th minute, substitute Nils Petersen, now on the books at Freiburg, scored the first Bundesliga goal of his career to make the final score 7-0.
7 August 1993: Meeting of the debutants
In their very first Bundesliga appearance in the club's history, SC Freiburg played away at Munich's Olympiastadion on 7 August 1993. Bayern also had a debutant of their own on the pitch at the time: Adolfo Valencia, who only spent shy of a year in Munich, celebrated a successful debut against Freiburg in what was probably his best game for Bayern in his FCB career. After Markus Schupp gave FCB the lead in the eighth minute, the Colombian increased the lead to 3-0 with a quick-fire brace (15'/24'). Oliver Freund was able to score Freiburg's first Bundesliga goal (37') a few minutes later, but 3-1 was how it stayed until the final whistle.
All you need to know ahead of MD16:
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