A History of BIG Clashes – FC Barcelona vs Bayern Munich

FC Barcelona face off against Bayern Munich in the Quarter Finals of the 2019/20 UEFA Champion’s League. The match is approaching quickly. Today we look at a few notable matches played between Barcelona and Bayern throughout history. One being from Catalonia in Spain and the other from Bavaria in Germany. The two clubs have a total of 10 Champion’s League between them. Both clubs winning 5 each.

HEAD TO HEAD RECORD

Barcelona and Bayern Munich have faced each other 10 times in competitive matches. 2 of them came in the Europa League with the other 8 coming in the Champion’s League. Barcelona’s record isn’t too good. They have won just 2 out of the 10 matches, drawing 2 and losing the other 6. Moreover they have scored 14 and conceded 18 goals in the above mentioned clashes.

1995/96 EUROPA LEAGUE SEMI FINAL

Barcelona and Bayern Munich came in each other’s way for the first time during the 1995/96 Europa League/UEFA Cup Semi Final. Barcelona were managed by Sir Johan Cruyff. It was their first season following the departures of Hristo Stoichkov, Romario and Ronald Koeman. Bayern on the other hand were managed by Otto Rehhagel. Jurgen Klinsmann was the leader of their frontline.

The first leg was played at the Olympiastadion in Munich which ended in 2-2 draw. Oscar Garcia gave Barca an early lead within 15 minutes. Bayern scored 2 goals within 5 mins in the 2^nd half through Marcel Witeczek and Mehmet Scholl. They lead 2-1 until the 77^th minute. Ianis Hagi equalised for the Catalan club to make it 2-2. It ended 2-2 but Barca had the advantage of 2 away goals going into the 2^nd leg.

Barcelona went into the 2^nd Leg with a much more depleted squad. Pep Guardiola and Ianis Hagi missed out. Moreover they had just 5 substitutes available. Markus Babbel gave Bayern the lead in the 39^th minute. The score was 1-0 at Half Time. Witeczek scored again in the 83^rd minute. Bayern led 4-2 on aggregate with Barcelona needing two more goals. They could manage only one though with Ivan De La Pena scoring in the 89^th minute. Bayern won the tie 4-3 on aggregate.

1^st Leg: Bayern Munich 2-2 FC Barcelona.

2^nd Leg: Barcelona 1-2 Bayern Munich.

Bayern won 4-3 on Aggregate. They also went on to win the tournament defeating Bordeaux 3-1 in the Final.

1998/99 CHAMPION’S LEAGUE GROUP STAGE

The two clubs were drawn together in the 1998/99 Champion’s League Group Stage. The same group also consisted of English heavyweights Manchester United.

The first meeting came at Bayern’s Olympiastadion. Bayern won the match 1-0 with Stefan Effenberg scoring the only goal of the match in the 45^th minute of the match. In the 2^nd leg at the Camp Nou, Barcelona led in the 29^th min through a Giovanni Oliviera penalty. But Bayern turned the match in the 2^nd leg. Alexander Zickler scored within 3 minutes of the 2^nd half. Bosnian Hasan Salihamidzic made it 2-1 in the 87^th minute.

Matchday 3: Bayern Munich 1-0 Barcelona.

Matchday 4: Barcelona 1-2 Bayern Munich.

The twin defeats to Bayern meant that Barcelona failed to qualify for the knockout rounds. They finished 3^rd in the group. Bayern topped the group and Manchester United finished as the Runner Up. The two teams went on to play the Final too which the English club won 2-1 at the Camp Nou.

2008/09 CHAMPION’S LEAGUE QUARTER FINAL

This was the first and only Quarter Final meeting between the two clubs till date. They faced each other for the first time after 10 long years. It was Pep Guardiola’s first season in charge of FC Barcelona. They actually made it to the group stages through qualifiers.

The first leg was played at the Camp Nou. Bayern had beaten Sporting Lisbon 12–1 on aggregate in the previous round. But Barcelona posed a far tougher proposition and it showed. Lionel Messi put Barcelona in front in the ninth minute and Samuel Eto’o doubled the lead three minutes later. Messi scored his second goal in the 38th minute before Thierry Henry made it 4–0 in the 43rd minute. The score remained at 4–0 throughout the second half. Barcelona were clear favourites to progress. It was a dominating display by Pep’s men.

In the 2^nd Leg, Barcelona and Bayern Munich played out a 1–1 draw at the Allianz Arena. Luca Toni and Franck Ribéry created chances in the first half but Barcelona weathered the storm. Bayern managed to pull a goal back early in the second half through Ribéry. But Barcelona put the tie beyond the reach of Bayern with an equaliser from Seydou Keita at the end of a 17-pass move. The match finished 1–1, giving Barcelona a 5–1 aggregate win.

1^st Leg: Barcelona 4-0 Bayern Munich.

2^nd Leg: Bayern Munich 1-1 Barcelona.

Barcelona won 5-1 on Aggregate. Barca went to win the Champion’s League defeating Manchester United 2-0 in the Final. They won all 6 trophies that season, becoming the first and only club to do so.

2012/13 CHAMPION’S LEAGUE SEMI FINAL

The two rivals faced off again in the 2012/13 Champion’s League Semi Final. This was Barcelona’s first season following the Guardiola Era. His former assistant, Late Tito Vilanova was the manager. Bayern were managed by Jupp Heynckes. But they had already announced that Pep would be managing the first team from the succeeding season.

The first leg was played at the Allianz Arena in Munich. Barcelona Captain Carles Puyol missed the match through injury. Lionel Messi was not fully fit either. Bayern were absolutely rampant. They opened the scoring through Thomas Muller in the 29^th min. The score was 1-0 at Half Time. Mario Gomez scored early in the 2^nd half. Ribery and Muller added two more to make it 4-0 to the home side. It was Barcelona’s heaviest European defeat in 16 years.

Lionel Messi missed the 2^nd Leg at the Camp Nou through injury. Puyol and Sergio Busquets were other key absentees. The score was 0-0 at Half Time but Robben scored soon after resumption. A Pique own goal and another by Muller made it 3-0 on the night. Bayern won the tie by an astonishing margin of 7 goals to nil. Tiki Taka had been destroyed.

1^st Leg: Bayern Munich 4-0 Barcelona.

2^nd Leg: Barcelona 0-3 Bayern Munich.

Bayern won 7-0 on aggregate. They went to win the Champion’s League defeating fellow Germans Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the Final. Thus completing an elusive treble.

2014/15 CHAMPION’S LEAGUE SEMI FINAL

The most recent meeting between the two sides came more than 5 years ago. Luis Enrique’s Barcelona faced off against Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich. Before the match, Bayern Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer challenged Lionel Messi. He said that he would show Messi who was the boss.

The first leg was played at Barcelona’s Camp Nou. The game was 0-0 until the 77^th minute with both teams missing chances. Messi opened the scoring with a low shot from outside the box beating Neuer at his near post. Messi then scored the goal of the tournament 3 minutes later. He received the ball from Rakitic. Then went past Jerome Boateng leaving him on the floor before chipping the ball over Neuer and past another defender. Barcelona added another in stoppage time when Bayern pushed bodies forward in search of an away goal. Messi played Neymar through who slotted the ball through Neuer’s legs. The match ended 3-0 in favour of Barcelona.

Bayern scored early in the 2^nd Leg at the Allianz Arena. Benatia headed home in the 7^th minute. However Neymar got a crucial away goal 8 minutes later. He went on to score another, Suarez assisting him on both occasions. Barcelona lead 2-1 at Half Time and the tie was almost over. Bayern scored 2 more through Lewandowski and Muller and won 3-2 on the night. But Barca won the tie 5-3 on Aggregate and progressed to the Final.

1^st Leg: Barcelona 3-0 Bayern Munich.

2^nd Leg: Bayern Munich 3-2 Barcelona.

Barcelona won 5-3 on Aggregate. Barcelona went on to win the Champion’s League defeating Juventus 3-2 in the Final. They also secured their 2^nd treble that season.

Fun Fact: THE WINNER OF THE MATCH BETWEEN BARCELONA AND BAYERN MUNICH HAS GONE ON TO WIN THE TOURNAMENT EVERY SINGLE TIME EVER SINCE THE NEW CHAMPION’S LEAGUE FORMAT CAME INTO EXISTENCE.