Swipe dating back to his BVB days: Germany manager Jürgen Klopp pokes fun at Bayern Munich’s successes

Germany coach Jürgen Klopp (59) provided laughs during a visit to the FC Bayern Museum at the Allianz Arena at the end of September.

Standing in front of a wooden board of honour listing the German record champions' title-winning years, Klopp jokingly paused at the gaps for 2011 and 2012. With a wink, he pointed to the breaks in the chronology and quipped: "Something's missing there, isn't it!"

Those two seasons were the years Klopp's Borussia Dortmund side got their hands on the championship shield. When the Germany head coach then looked at the cup chronology and spotted the gap from Dortmund's Double year in 2012 there too, he added with a grin: "And here too. That's strange." It was a typically "Kloppo" appearance and social media loved it.

A classic in the 2010s: when BVB were Bayern's ultimate bogey team

Klopp's playful dig brings back memories of what was probably the most intense era in recent Bundesliga history. Borussia Dortmund enjoyed a golden spell under him between 2008 and 2015 and, at times, became FC Bayern's "ultimate bogey team".

With stars such as Robert Lewandowski, Mario Götze and Mats Hummels leading the way, BVB tore through the league with their high-intensity style. The peak came in 2012, when Dortmund not only took the title from Bayern but also thrashed their rivals 5-2 in the DFB Cup final at Berlin's Olympiastadion to seal a historic Double.

"Bayern reflex" brings about a shift in the balance of power

That humiliation sparked the notorious "Bayern reflex" and set up the ultimate showdown in the 2012/13 season. At Wembley Stadium in London, the two arch-rivals met in the first all-German Champions League final in history at the height of their rivalry.

Bayern won 2-1 thanks to Arjen Robben's late goal. That proved the starting point for a historic title run, one also closely tied to the transfers of BVB stars Götze, Lewandowski and Hummels.

After moving to Liverpool in 2015, Klopp began a new chapter and won the Champions League with the Reds in 2019. A year later, he led them to their historic 20th English league title.