For decades, Germany was inhospitable terrain for Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, in particular, was the ‘ogre’ of the Spanish team, although this trend has changed in recent years, in which the white team has eliminated the Germans on three consecutive occasions.
Tuesday’s match at the Allianz Arena will be the 27th meeting between both teams, being the European match that has been repeated the most times in history: Real Madrid won twelve of them, for once the Germans. On three occasions they signed the tables.
Despite these numbers, the ‘Rekordmeister’, who has six continental titles, was the authentic ‘black beast’ of the meringues, who with 14 European Cups, have the record for victories in this tournament.
And curiously, they have never seen each other in the final of the highest European club competition.
— These are some of the stories of this great rivalry in the top European club competition:
JUANITO STAMPS MATTHAUS
The Spaniards and Germans played the second tie in their history in the 1986-1987 semifinals, more than a decade after their first duel, won by the Bavarians.
With the ‘Quinta del Buitre’ in charge of Real Madrid, the whites were once again defeated in a tie marked by the trampling of Lothar Matthäus on the head by the temperamental Juan Gómez ‘Juanito’ due to the impotence of not being able to turn around to the tie after the 4-1 win in Munich.
THIRD TIME’S THE BEST
A year later, this time in the quarterfinals, Real Madrid managed to eliminate Bayern for the first time, with a 3-0 result in the first leg that foreshadowed another disaster for the whites.
However, goals from Butragueño and Hugo Sánchez in the final minutes of the first leg (3-2) left everything undecided for the second leg, in which Real Madrid won 2-0.
The euphoria of beating their ‘black beast’ disappeared in the following round, when the whites were unable to win either match against PSV Eindhoven and were eliminated.
PRELUDE TO THE “EIGHTH”
Although Nicolas Anelka’s time with the white team was very discreet, the French forward was the protagonist of the semi-final tie in 2000, with a goal both at the Bernabeu and in Germany, fundamental for the classification of the Spanish for the final (2-0, 1-2).
It was the prelude to the ‘Eighth’ European Cup that Real Madrid won in Paris against Valencia (3-0).
THE FATAL ERROR OF ROBERTO CARLOS
Real Madrid and Bayern met again in the round of 16 of the 2006-2007 season, a tie marked by Roberto Carlos’s mistake in Munich that ended up deciding the pass for the Germans.
Real Madrid appeared at the Allianz Arena with a favorable result of 3-2, but after serving from the center, the Brazilian defense lost the ball and allowed the Dutchman Roy Makaay to score after 10 seconds what is still the the fastest goal. in the history of the tournament.
The 2-1 victory ended up giving the Germans a pass thanks to the then-current rule of the highest value of goals in the opponent’s field.
PENALTY FROM RAMOS TO THE CLOUDS
The semi-final tie of the 2011-2012 season was one of the closest, as demonstrated by the fact that it is the only one that has been decided by penalties.
Each team won at home 2-1, so everything was decided from the eleven meters, where the Germans were most successful. From the penalty spot, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaká and Sergio Ramos failed for the whites, who shot into the clouds in an action that gave rise to many ‘memes’ on social networks.
FIRST TRIUMPH IN MUNICH WITH A BEAT OVER GUARDIOLA
That was the last time that Bayern eliminated Real Madrid, which has managed to pass the last three times it met the Bavarian giant.
The semi-final played in 2013-2014 deserves special attention. Real Madrid entered Munich with a minimal lead (1-0) thanks to a goal from Karim Benzema in the first leg, but they gave a review in Germany to Bayern coached at the time by Pep Guardiola, whom they beat 4-0 with doubles from Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo… on the first occasion that the white team won at their rival’s home!
That result changed the dynamic, since Real Madrid won again in their last two visits (2017-2018 and 2018-2019) to Allianz, both by the same result (2-1).
