Bayern and Dortmund take on local rivals as Bundesliga marks its 60th birthday

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This article was published 24/08/2023 (1140 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are each playing troublesome local rivals in the Bundesliga this weekend as the league marks 60 years since it started.

New signing Harry Kane scored and assisted as Bayern routed Werder Bremen 4-0 last week in the opening game of the Bundesliga. He then went back to London for the birth of his fourth child.

The win over Bremen marked a return to business as usual for Bayern after losing to Leipzig 3-0 in the German Super Cup on Kane’s debut a week before.

Next up on Sunday is a team which has given Bayern plenty of difficulty in recent years.

Augsburg, the only other top-division team in Bayern’s home state of Bavaria, has won twice against Bayern in their last five games. Even when Bayern does win, it’s anything but easy, as the 5-3 scoreline in their last game in March showed.

Thursday marked 60 years since the Bundesliga launched as the first nationwide league in what was then West Germany. Strange as it may seem these days, Bayern was left out when teams were selected for the new league in 1963 and wasn’t promoted to the top division until two years later.

Now, though, Bayern’s record streak of 11 titles in a row makes up nearly one-fifth of the league’s entire history.

The potential title challengers have their own tricky games this weekend.

Dortmund — the first team to score a Bundesliga goal back in 1963, just 58 seconds into the inaugural season — visits local rival Bochum on Saturday, returning to the scene of an incident which arguably cost Dortmund the title last season. Dortmund was denied a penalty for a foul on Karim Adeyemi in a game which ended 1-1. The German soccer federation later admitted a penalty should have been given, but that was no help to Dortmund, which went on to lose the title to Bayern on goal difference on the last day of the season.

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Dortmund is likely to remain without American attacking midfielder Gio Reyna, who hasn’t played since a calf injury in June while appearing for the United States against Canada in the CONCACAF Nations League final. Dortmund coach Edin Terzic said on Thursday that Reyna has completed partial training sessions with the team.

Leipzig’s impressive dismantling of Bayern in the Super Cup counts for nothing in the Bundesliga, and a 3-2 loss to Bayer Leverkusen last week meant Leipzig and coach Marco Rose will be searching for their first points on Friday against Stuttgart, which is top of the table after demolishing Bochum 5-0 last week.

Leverkusen makes the short journey on Saturday to Borussia Moenchengladbach, coached by Gerardo Seoane, who was fired as Leverkusen coach last season and replaced with the so-far successful Xabi Alonso.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer