Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern will only play in parallel in the Bundesliga title race on the last day of the game. Before that, there is constant forwarding and catching up. Wonderful moments can be lost as a result.
May 19, 2001 is a day no FC Schalke 04 fan wants to be reminded of. Mathias Schober, four minutes, Markus Merk, Patrik Andersson, master of hearts – painful memories for the royal blue community.
Exactly a week earlier, it was seven seconds that hurt every Schalke player. That period of time was between two goals that went down in league history. Moments for eternity, also for the final conference on ARD radio.
Season 2000/2001: Long-distance duel dramas between Schalke and Bayern
“Tooooor in Stuttgart,” screams Detlev Lindner at 5:17 p.m. Krassimir Balakow scored for VfB, making it 1-0 in the 90th minute. FC Schalke 04, who started the match day as leaders, slipped behind FC Bayern in the lightning table.
However, this lightning table only lasts for seven seconds. Then Hans-Peter Pull yells “Goooor in Munich”. Alexander Zickler, who came on as a substitute shortly before, scored to make it 2-1 for FC Bayern in the game against Kaiserslautern. Now Munich are three points ahead. So a draw is enough for them on the last day of the game. That’s exactly what they did when they made it 1-1 at Hamburger SV with Andersson’s free-kick.
There is no way that the 33rd match day of the current season will offer anything comparable in the title race. When Borussia Dortmund plays FC Augsburg on Sunday (May 21, 2023), FC Bayern has already played. The Munich team will play against RB Leipzig the night before.
Simultaneous kick-off only on matchday 34
Up to and including the 2019/20 season, it was the rule that the games on the 33rd and 34th matchday were scheduled in parallel to avoid manipulation and to enable equal conditions. In the meantime, all nine games are only kicked off at the same time on the last day of the game. Until then, between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern, it will be a constant advance and follow-up.
Saturday (04/22/2023) showed that this can have an effect. Dortmund knew before the game against Eintracht Frankfurt that a win would put them top of the table because Bayern had lost in Mainz. Goalkeeper Gregor Kobel spoke of “extra electricity” that he felt. In the team bus and in the dressing room, the defeat was “of course a big topic”, admitted Dortmund’s sports director Sebastian Kehl. The championship title was now in their own hands again, almost every duel and throw-in won was celebrated by BVB fans in the early stages.
Bayern have to present more often
On Matchday 30, Bayern Munich will hope to feel a similar energy before the game against Hertha BSC. BVB opens the match day on Friday (April 28th, 2023) with the game at VfL Bochum, Bayern only meet the Berliners on Sunday.
In the weeks that follow, Bayern always present. On Matchday 31 they play the top game on Saturday, Dortmund meet VfL Wolfsburg a day later. A week later, both clubs play on Saturday. However, Bayern start at 3:30 p.m. against FC Schalke 04, Dortmund three hours later against Borussia Mönchengladbach.