There have been some legendary matches between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 since 1925, 99 of them in the Bundesliga since 1963.
The 100th derby on Saturday (18.30/Sky) is the duel of a championship aspirant at a relegation candidate. Schalke still have a good record: 69 wins, 47 draws and 65 defeats, with a goal difference of 337:286.
In the Bundesliga era, no one played more derbies than Schalke idol Klaus Fichtel and BVB goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller (24 each), no one won more than Dortmund’s Michael Zorc and Mats Hummels (10 each). But it is not statistics that are remembered, but stories. – The eleven greatest derby moments:
THE FIRST DERBY
3 May 1925: Schalke 04 – Borussia Dortmund 4:2
The birth of the Schalke derby in the Ruhrgau championship of the district leagues. “Short and flat, the ball travels from man to man,” writes the Dortmunder Generalanzeiger about the Schalkers’ game in Herne. Ernst Kuzorra, 19 years old, scores twice. He will become a Schalke legend.
THE HIGHEST VICTORY
20 October 1940: Schalke 04 – Borussia Dortmund 10:0
No derby is more one-sided than the one during the Second World War in the Gauliga Westfalen. Ernst Kuzorra is the hero again, this time scoring four goals in the first half. Only 3000 spectators watch the match in the Glückauf-Kampfbahn.
THE FIRST BUNDESLIGA DERBY
7 September 1963: Schalke 04 – Borussia Dortmund 3:1
Reinhold Wosab scores the first derby goal in the Bundesliga in the sixth minute – for the initially superior BVB. But then Dortmund collapses, Schalke scores three times within 14 minutes in front of 38,000 spectators. In the return match, BVB takes revenge with a 3:0 win.
THE FOG DERBY
12 November 1966, Borussia Dortmund – Schalke 04 6:2
Gerd Henning had a tactic. “Whenever the ball was kicked into the fog, I ran after it. That was exhausting, but okay,” reports the referee. Because in the Rote Erde stadium, even the players can hardly see their hand in front of their eyes. “We had to inform each other about the score,” says Schalke’s Klaus Fichtel. The news is sobering: the Königsblauen lose 2:6, three goals scored by Lothar Emmerich. He later says: “If we had seen something, we would have won even higher.”
THE DOG BITE
6 September 1969: Borussia Dortmund – Schalke 04 1:1
Friedel Rausch lies prone on the grass, his backside exposed, a few men sit and stand around quite perplexed. “The scar is a souvenir forever,” Rausch, who died in 2017 at 77, always reported. Shepherd dog “Rex” had bitten heartily when hundreds of Schalkers stormed the pitch in jubilation over Hansi Pirkner’s 1:0. The photo is an icon of the Bundesliga.
FICHTEL’S FAREWELL
22 April 1986: Borussia Dortmund – Schalke 04 1:1
It’s not a big, legendary derby, it draws its significance from the personnel of Klaus Fichtel. He actually returned to Schalke as co-trainer, but then played again – also in his 24th derby. Fichtel is thus the record holder in the Bundesliga era together with Roman Weidenfeller. The game ends 1-1 thanks to a late penalty goal by Michael Zorc, otherwise Fichtel would also be the man with the most derby wins. So he has nine – and Zorc and Hummels ten.
LEHMANN’S GOAL
19 December 1997: Borussia Dortmund – Schalke 04 2:2
It’s a corner kick that shouldn’t have been given, but almost no one cares afterwards – except BVB president Gerd Niebaum, who berates linesman Dirk Margenberg as “Father Christmas”. Margenberg’s wrong decision opens up the chance for a derby classic: Schalke goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, who has rushed forward, scores the equaliser with his head in injury time. It is the first goal scored by a goalkeeper in the Bundesliga from play. Lehmann later moves to BVB.
MÖLLER’S RETURN
23 September 2000: Borussia Dortmund – Schalke 04 0:4
It is the return of the traitor. Andreas Möller moved from BVB to Schalke 04 in the summer, which is an outrage for both sides. The hostility is unquotable. Then that 23 September: Möller makes a huge play, with a naked upper body he celebrates in front of the Schalke curve. The fans chant: “Without Möller you have no chance!” In the end, Andreas Möller becomes champion with Schalke – but only for four minutes.
THE LOST CHAMPIONSHIP
12 May 2007: Borussia Dortmund – Schalke 04 2:0
The sweetest derby win. BVB have had a terrible season, they won’t make it into the European Cup, but one goal remains: to spoil Schalke’s championship! The stadium is boiling as they enter, a banner reads: “Just look, don’t touch!” And indeed: The league leader stumbles, Alex Frei and Ebi Smolarek score for Dortmund. “We only complain when it’s all over,” says Schalke’s Fabian Ernst, still fighting. One week later it is over – and VfB Stuttgart are crowned champions.
THE MATCH OF THE DECADE
25 November 2017: Borussia Dortmund – Schalke 04 4:4
Schalke is down. 0:4 after 25 minutes, coach Domenico Tedesco tells his team he only wants to win the second half. BVB dreams of a historic humiliation of its rival. But it collapses after conceding the first goal in the 61st minute. Naldo heads the equaliser in stoppage time and crowns the greatest comeback in derby history.
THE REVANCHE
27 April 2019: Borussia Dortmund – Schalke 04 2:4
Revenge is sweet. Twelve years after the wasted championship in Dortmund, Schalke takes revenge. With saviour Huub Stevens, the relegation candidate triumphs, BVB coach Lucien Favre laments: “The title is wasted.” Double red for Marco Reus and Marius Wolf – brace from Daniel Caligiuri, who later dances on the table with the fans in the Schalke club pub.
