How Borussia Dortmund ensured TWELVE Bundesliga teams qualified for Europe in unprecedented turn of events
GERMANY are hoping to bag an extra Champions League spot ahead of England next season, giving them five teams in the competition.
But even if they gain another spot, they’ll still be some way off the TWELVE Bundesliga teams who qualified for Europe in the 1996/1997 campaign.
Borussia Dortmund’s win over Atletico Madrid on Wednesday saw them book their place in the Champions League semis against Paris Saint-Germain.
Meanwhile, the likes of Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich are hoping to progress further, with both facing Premier League teams to boost Germany’s coefficient chances.
However, there were no less than 12 Bundesliga teams competing in Europe nearly 30 years ago after an astonishing end to the 1996/1997 season.
Dortmund won the Champions League that year, confirming their place in the following term’s competition.
Meanwhile, top two Bayern and Leverkusen both sealed spots in the elite competition thanks to their league finishes.
Fourth-place Stuttgart then booked a place in the Uefa Cup Winners’ Cup after winning the German Cup.
It meant their spot in the Uefa Cup, as well as Dortmund’s through their third-place finish, went to the next teams in line.
Bochum, Karlsruhe and 1860 Munich made it seven teams in Europe for the following season.
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However, the numbers continued to pile up for Germany’s sides.
Free spots were suddenly available for the Intertoto Cup, with those going to Cologne, Werder Bremen, Duisburg and Hamburg.
The latter made it after Gladbach, who finished above them, rejected the chance to participate in the competition.
Finally, a 12th and final spot went to Schalke, who won that season’s Uefa Cup and therefore qualified for it once again despite finishing 13th in the Bundesliga.
German teams who qualified for Europe 1996/97
Those 12 teams and the competitions they reached:
- Champions League: Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen
- Uefa Cup Winners’ Cup: Stuttgart
- Uefa Cup: Schalke, Bochum, Karlsruhe, 1860 Munich
- Intertoto Cup: Cologne, Werder Bremen, Duisburg, Hamburg