Champions League: Black beast in a red jersey: FC Bayern at Real Madrid

The “black beast” was once a big name in the European football circus. FC Bayern Munich liked to adorn themselves with this martial title that was once awarded to them by Real Madrid. “Bestia negra” is by no means to be translated literally – in Spanish it means feared opponent. And it’s been a while since the German record champions spread fear and terror in Madrid. Most recently, in 2014, 2017 and 2018, the Munich team had to say goodbye to Europe against Real; their last win was twelve years ago.

This Wednesday, this classic of world football will be performed for the 28th time. Bayern won twelve times, Real eleven times, four games ended in a draw, like the first leg in the semi-finals of the Champions League a week ago in Munich. And, who knows: the very first one didn’t find a winner either. That was half a century ago, in the spring of 1976, semi-finals of the national championship cup. 120,000 spectators crowded into the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. Real’s conductor Günter Netzer came from the depths of the room, as the feature section demanded of him. His first pass went astray to old friend Franz Beckenbauer, who let it pass elegantly, so that Real’s Argentinian Roberto Martínez was all alone in front of Sepp Maier and scored to make it 1-0. The goalkeeper saved Bayern from conceding further goals.

Circus Europe

Photo: Private

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Then came Gerd Müller – a black-bearded beast in a red jersey. Shortly before the half-time whistle he scored to equalize for Munich, to the great shock of the Bernabéu. However, the goal remained hidden from the audience in front of the television sets because the Spanish cameraman suffered a bit too long from a missed chance from Martínez. In the 1970s, football fields were not yet illuminated by a battery of cameras. The cameraman at the Bernabéu had a monopoly: When he swiveled his lens back to the other side of the pitch, he just caught the ball rolling into the goal. The YouTube generation will forever be deprived of Munich’s first goal against Real.

This goal was revealed to eyewitnesses in Madrid as follows: Maier’s goal kick found Franz Roth, whose cross pass Müller humorlessly pushed into the goal from close range. From then on only Bayern played, although they were lucky that Martínez tripped over his own legs in the final second. Then the game was over. At least as far as the official part is concerned. A Madrid fan interpreted Martínez’s clumsiness as a Munich foul. The man jumped over the barrier towards Bayern and pounced on Gerd Müller until he was knocked down by Sepp Maier.

To take revenge, Müller scored twice in the second leg and Real didn’t score at all. In the final in Glasgow there was a 1-0 win over AS Saint-Etienne with all the Bayern nonsense in the world. The goal was not scored by Gerd Müller, but by midfielder Franz Roth. The man who prepared the phantom goal at Bernabéu.