Historical analysis of the Revierderby (Schalke 04 - Borussia Dortmund)

The Revierderby, also known as the Ruhr derby (Ruhr being the region in which both clubs are located), is the derby in German football between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04. It is yet another big place if you're looking to find adrenaline, passion, hate at its purest expression, and much more. The first game was in 1925, with a 4-2 Schalke victory. Since then, rivalry has become more and more present, mostly because Gelsenkirchen (Schalke's town) and Dortmund are only 35 km away from each other. That's why it is probably the most intense opposition in German football, as in first division, there haven't been so many towns sharing different clubs, not even thinking about different powerful clubs. That's why for hardcore fans, the derby remains the most important game of the year. It is about dividing offices, factory floors, school playgrounds and even families.

As for the history, it was all Schalke's domination until 1945, with 14 wins in 19 games. Then we could say there was some kind of powershift, with Dortmund winning 16 games and drawing 10 times in 33 games between 1945 and 1963. But now, we can say results are well-balanced : between 1963 and 2012, Dortmund won 27 times, Schalke 21 times, with 21 draws. Needless to say as an overview of almost a century of rivalry in both cups and Bundesliga, we have very well-balanced results too, with 58 Schalke wins, 42 draws and 51 Dortmund wins (Schalke scoring 287 goals and Dortmund scoring 234 goals).

As for the trophies, it is well-balanced results too, with 20 for Dortmund and 17 for Schalke, Dortmund having only 1 more Bundesliga title than Schalke (8 to 7). If we look at the European glory though, we could say Dortmund has more achievements with 1 Champions League (1997), with Schalke having only won the Europa League once (1997) , and in spite of their 2011 run stopped by Manchester United in the semi-finals, they still haven't won it.

The most interesting and breathtaking moments of these derbies are summed up here, and needless to say that it shows how fundamental it is to even prevent your opponent from getting to any trophy in those kind of games.
Their first draw in 1938 was still far from being goalless : 3-3.
The most important number of goals was scored during a game where Dortmund lost 7-3 on its own ground.
The most humiliating defeat was in 1940 when Schalke won 10-0. Dortmund won 7-0 in 1966.
Jens Lehmann (goalkeeper) scored a miracle goal just before the end in the 2-2 draw in 1997.
At the end of the 2007 season, Dortmund prevented Schalke from their champions dreams by winning 2-0 against a side that had Neuer and Özil at the time.
Last but not least, we have interesting comebacks, with Dortmund turning a 0-3 into a 3-3 during the last 21 minutes in September 2008.
And Schalke recently turned a 0-4 after 25 minutes into a 4-4 in November 2017.

The massive presence of the police in every single game is surely one of the most relevant clues that this is more than a simple game, and that like a firework, it can worsen at any moment.