Bayern – Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund will play host to Bayern Munich with the 2013/14 season’s first piece of silverware up for grabs: the German Super Cup. Fans of both clubs, and a multitude of neutrals, can hardly wait for the mouthwatering rematch of the two sides who contested the UEFA Champions League final only two months ago – as they did this very tournament last year. Indeed, a brief look at the statistics reveals that Bayern and Dortmund have played a defining part in the history of the Super Cup.
This year sees the 14th edition of the Super Cup, which first ran from 1987 until 1996 and was reintroduced in 2010. All things being equal, the one-off contest pits the current champions against the German Cup holders. In the case of a team having won the double – as Bayern did last season, and Dortmund the year before – the Bundesliga runner-up gets a crack at the trophy instead.
Nine of the 13 previous Super Cups have ended with the league champions on top. The most recent exception was last year, when Bayern beat Dortmund 2-1 in Munich, in the process racking up a record fourth success in the pre-season competition after wins in 1987, 1990 and 2010. The Yellow-Blacks are joint-second on the list with three victories in 1989, 1995 and 1996, alongside Werder Bremen (1988, 1993 and 1994). Thus Dortmund have the opportunity to get back to winning ways against their rivals from the Bavarian capital while levelling that all-time record.
With an average of 3.2 goals in the 13 finals to date, Saturday’s meeting is odds-on to have plenty of goalmouth action to offer the fans as well. Interestingly, meanwhile, the team lifting the Super Cup has only twice gone on to claim the Bundesliga title the following season. Borussia Dortmund were the first to do so, in 1995/96. The second were Bayern last season.
Borussia Dortmund sealed third place in the Telekom Cup with a 1-0 victory over Hamburg on Sunday. After their narrow 1-0 defeat to hosts Borussia Moenchengladbach in the semi-final stage, Dortmund recorded their fifth win of pre-season with a Jonas Hofmann first-half strike. Jurgen Klopp’s side had to withstand some early Hamburg pressure but remained solid in defence and always looked dangerous going forward. Marco Reus impressed in attack for BVB and although he was unable to test Sven Neuhaus directly, he turned provider midway through the first half for Hofmann.
Bayern became the first German team to win the treble of European, league and cup titles last season. Having won all six of its pre-season games against minor opposition before this weekend, Guardiola’s team passed its first test against Bundesliga opposition with flying colours. They thrashed Hamburg 4-0 in the Telekom Cup semi-final before hammering Borussia Monchengladbach 5-1 in the final. New signing Thiago scored in the first half of the final to claim his first goal for the Bavarian side. The Spain Under-21 captain signed from Barcelona in a four-year deal with an initial fee of 20 million euros, plus an extra five million euros for a friendly match between Bayern and Barcelona on Wednesday 24 July.
Bayern finished 25 points above Dortmund in the league last season. They were also unbeaten in five meetings last season, claiming three wins in the Super Cup, German Cup and Champions League and two draws in the league. Under Pep Guardiola Bayern can improve to greater heights and they are tipped to show what we can expect from them in the coming season.
