GGFN Advent Calendar | Day 12 – Borussia Mönchengladbach 12-0 Borussia Dortmund | OneFootball

Welcome back to the Get German Football News advent calendar. As the countdown to Christmas continues, so does our festive fun on day twelve, as we remember how Borussia Mönchengladbach achieved the largest margin of victory with their 12-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in 1978.

On April 29, 1978, Borussia Dortmund travelled to the Rheinstadion in Düsseldorf due to Gladbach’s usual home, the Bökelbergstadion, undertaking renovation. However, this was no normal end to the season, as the Foals had an opportunity to win the Meisterschale.

Köln, who were leading the Bundesliga, were facing St. Pauli away from home, and a win for the Billygoats was all but guaranteed. Nevertheless, as the league leaders had established such a large goal differential, Gladbach knew that they would have to beat BvB by over ten goals if they were to overtake Köln in the most unlikely of outcomes.

Regardless, a Jupp Heynckes strike within the first minute gave the hosts belief that they could achieve the impossible. By the 32nd minute, Heynckes had completed his hattrick to make it 5-0, and as the interval arrived, Gladbach were 6-0 up.

At half-time, Dortmund head coach Otto Rehhagel had asked if Peter Endrulat, in the BvB goal, wanted to be substituted, but he declined. As the teams emerged for the second half, he would soon regret his decision. The Gladbach surge did not stop, and at the hour mark, it was 8-0.

As the final whistle blew, Die Fohlen had their victory by 10 plus goals, with Dortmund put to the sword with a 12-0 defeat. Nevertheless, with a 5-0 victory for Köln in Hamburg, Gladbach would ultimately miss out on the Meisterschale, despite their impressive victory.

Suggestions of match-fixing after the game led to further investigation, but nothing came of it. Dortmund defender Amand Theis would explain that “in the end, every shot was a goal, and we just gave up.” While Gladbach may not have won the title, they can still boast a Bundesliga record that seems almost unbeatable.

GGFN | Will Shopland