Germans 7-2 for red card in Wembley showdown
THE rivalry between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund has been turned up several notches in recent weeks and Hills go 7-2 about a red card being produced in regulation time of the Champions League final at Wembley on Saturday.
Bayern and Dortmund played out a 1-1 draw in the Bundesliga since qualifying for the final and Munich right-back Rafinha was sent off for an elbow while tempers flared in the opposition dugouts as the bad feeling hanging over from recent transfer dealings continued.
Dortmund have been angry with Bayern for their sneaky capture of Mario Gotze – BVB coach Jurgen Klopp said it was “like a heart attack” – and it’s been widely reported that striker Robert Lewandowski is also being lured to Munich.
The rise in hostilities between these two teams is possibly best illustrated by their two league meetings this season.
The 1-1 draw in December finished with no cards and is the only time in 17 Bundesliga battles this term that arbiter Peter Gagelman has completed a game without taking any names in his notebook.
However, Gagelman was also in charge of the reverse fixture earlier this month and, as well as Rafinha’s red card (for two yellow card offences), five other players were booked.
It could get feisty once more so Uefa’s decision on Monday to appoint Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli is not without risk. Rizzoli has dismissed five players in his last seven matches and has also been extremely card-happy in this season’s Champions League.
The Italian has refereed four matches and his yellow-card tallies have been six (Celtic v Benfica), five (Schalke v Arsenal), six (Braga v Galatasaray) and seven, including two for Steven Defour, in Porto’s defeat at Malaga.
Despite the referee and the fact that there is clearly no love lost between the Bundesliga teams, Sporting Index expect the Germans to be on their best behaviour judging by a bookings quote of 40-44.
It’s also worth remembering that Rizzoli was Italy’s representative at Euro 2012 and brandished only eight yellows in three high-profile fixtures.
