Terzic-Elf in front of a spectacle record
BVB must write Bundesliga history in Bochum
08/24/2023, 1:30 p.m
It was only last weekend that Mainzer Ludovic Ajorque entered the history books of German football rather involuntarily. He misses two penalties in one game. On Saturday Borussia Dortmund also beckons a new record. Then you would also pull away from arch-rivals Schalke.
When Donyell Malen scored the undeserved 1-0 lead for Borussia Dortmund in the 88th minute of last Saturday’s game against 1. FC Köln, those responsible in nearby Gelsenkirchen shrugged their shoulders in frustration. They may not be playing in the Bundesliga this season at Schalke 04, but local rivals’ victories are still painful.
But they should be used to that in Gelsenkirchen in 2023. After all, BVB wins almost all games, just not those in which the black and yellow champions could become champions. Together, the two hostile clubs have shared the record for the saddest runners-up of all time since May 27, 2023. While it was the legendary “four minutes in May” in Gelsenkirchen in 2001 when Schalke 04 actually had their hand on the bowl, this year Borussia Dortmund’s fear ate too big a hole in the self-confidence of players and fans.
Schalke 04 has held the record for almost 50 years
The two clubs not only share this record, but also another unbelievable one in the 60-year Bundesliga history due to the Malen goal: the one for the most entertaining games in a row, the “kicker” found out.
When the clubs play there is always something going on or, in the case of Schalke, there was always something going on. Between October 1971 and August 1975 they avoided a boring 0-0 in 128 league games in a row. It was impossible for BVB to even come close to thinking of such values in these years. After going under regularly for a year in 1971/1972, they were relegated to the Regionalliga West. It wasn’t until 1976 that the resurgence succeeded.
So they took their time to snatch this remarkable record from their neighbors from Gelsenkirchen. Dortmund only drew level last weekend. The Black and Yellows last parted ways goalless at the end of October 2019 from an opponent who was of course called Schalke 04. The “Kicker” then spoke of a “fast-paced derby” and distributed the grade 2.5. But Alexander Nübel on Schalke and Marwin Hitz on the Dortmund side as well as referee Felix Brych, who overlooked a handball by Thorgan Hazard in his own penalty area, prevented anything that could be counted.
Since then there have always been goals. Sometimes against BVB and often also for Borussia, who could now become the sole record holder against VfL Bochum in the jewel box at the Ruhr Stadium on Saturday. The ball only has to go into the goal once. Donyell Malen will fix it, as will ex-Borusse Felix Passlack. He announced full-bodiedly that he wanted to defeat his former club.