Good omens: FCB heading to Dortmund with the Kane factor

The 2026 Franz Beckenbauer Supercup is more than ‘just’ the first trophy of the season. Once again, there's a great deal of prestige at stake in this version of Der Klassiker: for the 140th time since the Bundesliga was founded, the clash pits Borussia Dortmund against FC Bayern – no other fixture in German professional football has been played so often. Historically, BVB are the opponents who have caused Bayern the most pain (33 defeats), but the momentum has now shifted: Dortmund have won just one of their last 16 competitive matches against FCB and haven't recorded a home win against the Munich men in eight encounters. In the Supercup, BVB have not beaten Bayern since the 2019/20 season – FCB have won the last two Supercup Klassikers (3–2 in 2020/21, 3–1 in 2021/22).

And the Munich side are coming off the back of an exceptionally strong season: 55 competitive matches, just three defeats, 46 wins and six draws, plus the double of the league title and the DFB Cup. From Bayern’s perspective, it was a year in which new records were being broken almost every week. What is particularly striking is the blend of consistency and potency. Domestically, FCB have lost just one of their last 50 competitive matches; away from home, they’re unbeaten in 31 competitive matches since December 2024. This speaks volumes about a team who see away grounds not as a risk, but as a stage. In the Bundesliga, these performances resulted in 89 points – the third-best tally for a single season in the club’s history – and an attack that opponents could scarcely contain. This also underlines the significance of the Supercup: it offers the chance to lay down a marker right from the outset.

The focus is of course once again on Harry Kane, who was presented with the Golden Shoe as Europe’s top goalscorer just yesterday. The stats for the Supercup are also fascinating: the only German club Kane has scored more often against than Borussia Dortmund is VfB Stuttgart. Ten goals against BVB in competitive matches show the England captain regularly makes the difference, particularly in big games.

Test your knowledge of the fixture against BVB:

Supercup facts

• 140 meetings
  This is how many times Bayern and Dortmund have gone head to head since the Bundesliga was founded – a record in German professional football. So Der Klassiker, both statistically and emotionally, is the country’s most important clash.

• 33 defeats
  FC Bayern have lost more often to BVB than to any other club in professional football. At the same time, the most recent run of results shows just how much FCB have now tipped the balance in their favour

• 1 win in 16
  Dortmund have won just one of their last 16 competitive matches against Bayern, so for BVB, the Supercup is also an opportunity to end a long and frustrating run of results.

• 8 away encounters without defeat
  Bayern have gone eight consecutive competitive matches without defeat in Dortmund (six wins, two draws). Signal Iduna Park is currently more of a stage than a difficult venue for the Munich side.

• 27 Supercups, 10 Klassiker
  In the 27 editions of the competition, this is the tenth time the final has pitted BVB against FCB. So the Supercup represents a chapter of its own in this great rivalry – one that has been clearly dominated by Bayern in recent years.

• 11 wins
  With 11 Supercup triumphs (nine of which have come since the competition was reintroduced in 2010), FC Bayern are the competition’s record winners. For the club, winning the trophy is familiar territory – and, at the same time, it always acts as a starting signal for the new season.

• 3 defeats in 55 games
  Bayern lost just three competitive matches in the 2025/26 season. That's a new club record and reflects a season in which FCB remained in control pretty much across the board.

• 184 goals last season
  Never before have Bayern scored as many goals in a single competitive season. The figure reflects the enormous breadth and depth of their attacking options.

• 15 clean sheets
  Dortmund kept 15 clean sheets in the Bundesliga – the best stats in the league and equalling their club record. The BVB defence is therefore the most intriguing test for the Bayern attack.

• 61 Kane goals
  Harry Kane scored 61 goals in 51 competitive appearances for Bayern. No other striker in Europe’s top five leagues came anywhere near that tally in the 2025/26 season, making him a global benchmark in attack.

We’ve taken a closer look at BVB’s summer signings: