Bayern vs Real Madrid is a high-voltage rivalry

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There aren’t many international rivalries in club football, given how infrequently teams from separate countries meet each other, but Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid is the most frequently played fixture in Champions League history and there has been plenty of bad blood between the two clubs over the years.

Their first meeting was in the 1975/76 European Cup and the hostility began there and then, as a fan ran onto the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu pitch to attack the referee Erich Linemayr and the Bayern striker Gerd Muller, resulting in sanctions for the club.

They then met in a friendly in 1980, but the 9-1 victory for Bayern left Real Madrid humiliated.

One year after that, Bayern Munich were invited to take part in the Bernabeu Trophy, but a flurry of red cards upset them so much that they left the pitch, even if they weren’t actually playing Los Blancos – the opponents were Dinamo Tbilisi – in that particular match.

Their next meeting in official competition came in 1986/87 and Juanito lost his temper, famously stamping on Lothar Matthaus and earning a five-year ban from European competition.

The rivalry was relit at the beginning of the 21st century, as they met four times in the 2000/01 Champions League season.

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The German side won three of those meetings and Real Madrid only won once, but it was enough for them to make the final and to win the tournament.

After one of the matches, Casillas asked Oliver Kahn to swap shirts, but the German legend refused.

“Kahn was rude and has disappointed me,” Casillas said of the incident.

Over the next few years they met time and time again and there was several more incidents to add to the footnotes of this rivalry, from Roberto Carlos punching Martin Demichelis in the face to Hasan Salihamidzic claiming “Real Madrid were sh***ing their pants” to Mark van Bommel’s provocation of the Bernabeu crowd.

More recently, Manuel Neuer ridiculed Sergio Ramos for his missed penalty in the 2011/12 semi-final shootout.

“I didn’t know Sergio Ramos liked to hit penalties above the goal,” the German said.

Then, there was the controversial meeting last year, when Bayern were outraged at the refereeing and felt they had been robbed.

This rivalry if legitimate and there is so much history to this fixture.

Over the next week, another chapter will be written.

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