Blast from the past as Bayern face resurgent Gladbach
By Karolos Grohmann
BERLIN (Reuters) - When Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich travel to fellow title contenders Borussia Moenchengladbach on Sunday, it will be a remake of those classic 1970s encounters when both teams battled it out for domestic supremacy.
From 1969 to 1977 the two shared the league titles between then for nine consecutive seasons, creating one of the best rivalries in the history of German football, with such big names as Franz Beckenbauer, Berti Vogts, Guenter Netzer and Gerd Mueller gracing the pitch.
While Bayern have maintained the same hunger for success and added dozens of titles both at home and in Europe since, Gladbach have never won the league title since their last and fifth championship in 1977, and at times have dropped into the second tier.
This season, however, Gladbach are looking better than they have in years, with Swiss coach Lucien Favre having assembled a squad capable of giving Bayern a run for their money.
Gladbach have the league's second best defence (after Bayern) with four goals conceded in eight games, to sit in second place, four points behind leaders Bayern.
They are also one of only four teams, along with Bayern, Mainz 05 and Hoffenheim, to have remained undefeated so far this season. In fact Gladbach have lost none of their 13 games in all competitions this term.
DOMINANT WIN
With fit-again Max Kruse and Raffael in attack, Gladbach look much sharper up front, having netted 12 times, three of those goals coming last week in their dominant win over Hanover 96.
They will also have history on their side -- Gladbach is where Bayern traditionally struggle to win.
Gladbach have lost at home only three of their last 12 encounters against Bayern since 2000 and just 11 of 46 in total home games against the record champions.
But that is all still a few days away for Favre, whose team prepare for their Europa League game against Cypriot side Apollon on Thursday.
"I do not want to think about Bayern yet," said the Swiss, who will also have World Cup winner Christoph Kramer back after a stomach virus had ruled him out for days.
"First comes Apollon, and then Bayern."
Last season's runners-up Borussia Dortmund, buoyed by Wednesday's 4-0 win against Galatasaray in the Champions League, will want to make up for lost ground when they take on Hanover 96 to improve from their current 14th spot.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Ossian Shine)
