Top 10 South Americans to Have Played in Bayern-Dortmund Der Klassiker Games
Bayern Munich's famous Der Klassiker derby has seen relatively little influence from South American stars. The two great German clubs have tended to trust local talent when it comes down to the clash, and even in recent years, the number of Latin stars playing in the Allianz Arena and Signal Iduna Park have been limited.
Compared to Real Madrid's landmark fixture with Barcelona, or the Milan derby, South American talent has more often than not played a supporting role in the history of Bayern's long-standing rivalry with BVB.
However, none of that implies that South Americans have not left their mark on Germany's biggest institutions. Stars from across the Atlantic, and especially Brazil, have played their part in making Bayern and Dortmund the great sporting entities they are today.
Here are 10 of the best to have appeared in Der Klassiker over the years.
10. Lucas Barrios
1 of 10
Argentinian by birth but a Paraguay player by virtue of his parentage, Lucas Barrios took a long and winding route to regular football with Dortmund. The striker first came to prominence in Chile, scoring at a rate of nearly a goal a game with Colo Colo before landing in the Rhineland.
In just three years, the poacher smashed an impressive 49 in 102 games, forming a vital part of the team that lifted the 2010/11 Bundesliga trophy. The emergence of one Robert Lewandowski limited his chances later and eventually sought his fortunes in China, but his time with BVB was a productive spell for both club and player.
9. Felipe Santana
2 of 10
Blessed with towering height and immense strength, Brazil's Felipe Santana was plucked from Figueirense at the age of just 22 by Dortmund. He went on to give the club five years of service, coinciding with the most successful years for Jurgen Klopp's dynamic charges.
The appearance of Neven Subotic and Mats Hummels as BVB's first-choice central pairing limited Santana's chances in the end, but he played a crucial part in that unforgettable campaign of 2012/13 as injury gave him the opportunity. Dortmund went all the way to the Champions League final against arch-rivals Bayern, driven by the Brazilian's no-nonsense defending in his last season before moving to Schalke.
8. Lucio
3 of 10
Lucio was not the flashiest of defenders, but the Brazilian was almost impossible to pass. Those skills at the back made the former Leverkusen and Inter man an automatic choice for his nation and for Bayern during five years at the club from 2004-2009.
Lucio teamed up with Martin Demichelis in the middle of the back line and helped Die Roten win three Bundesliga titles in five seasons. But there was a sting in the tail. The man who racked up over 200 appearances for Bayern later denied them the Champions League in 2009/10, forming another unstoppable defensive unit with another Argentinian—this time Walter Samuel.
7. Paulo Sergio
4 of 10
Forward Paulo Sergio only enjoyed three seasons with Bayern Munich, arriving in 1999 after productive spells with Leverkusen and Roma, already having reached the ripe age of 30. But they were years to remember both for the Brazilian and for Bayern.
Sergio played as a second striker, linking the midfield talents of Mehmet Scholl and Stefan Effenberg with the prolific scoring of Giovane Elber. The gamble paid off. During the star's short time in Bavaria, Die Roten took on and beat all-comers.
The 2000/01 Champions League crown was lifted in the forward's second season with the club, the first time that the Germans had triumphed since the era of Gerd Muller 25 years previously. Sergio pitched in with three goals during that run, and he also won two out of three Bundesliga titles before playing out the remainder of his career in Brazil and the Middle East.
6. Martin Demichelis
5 of 10
It is too easy to remember the bumbling Demichelis from his final days as a Bayern Munich player. A calamitous Champions League final in 2010 in particular has sullied memories of the centre-back with the flowing locks.
But that is unfair on the Argentinian, who served the Bavarians with distinction for over seven seasons and formed a formidable partnership with Lucio in the middle of defence. Demichelis played a massive 245 times for Die Roten, winning four league titles and proving a great servant for the club.
5. Evanilson
6 of 10
In a similar fashion to longtime Dortmund companion Dede, Evanilson rarely got a chance to shine for his native Brazil. Playing as reserve right wing-back behind the brilliant, seemingly tireless Cafu was hard going; while the ex-Roma man won an incredible 142 caps, Evanilson's tally was restricted to an unlucky 13.
This is an unfair reflection on a defender of real quality, who never hit the heights of Dede in Germany but nevertheless gave BVB six years of exemplary service bombing up and down the right flank. Only seven other foreigners top his mark of 166 appearances for the club, where his finest moment came in 2001/02 with a Bundesliga crown.
4. Ze Roberto
7 of 10
Creative left-winger Ze Roberto was never the most consistent player out there. In six years of service for Bayern Munich, however, the tricky Brazilian lit up the Allianz Arena on many occasions.
In two spells, the former team-mate of Romario at Flamengo made a total of 169 appearances for Die Roten. An exceptional dribbler, Ze Roberto was a key part of a team that lifted four Bundesliga titles during his time in Bavaria, carving out a place in the Bayern history books.
3. Claudio Pizarro
8 of 10
Placing a temperamental, highly strung South American star into Bayern Munich's highly tuned and efficient machine is asking for trouble. But that has never slowed down Claudio Pizarro, who has become a cult figure at the Allianz Arena for his flair and goalscoring ability.
In two spells with the Bavarians, the Peruvian has never showed anything less than admirable commitment. He is used sparingly by Pep Guardiola, but as an impact substitute, the forward belies his 36 years to consistently prove his worth.
The tag of Andean Bomber, a nod to the incomparable Gerd Muller, gives some idea of how highly Bayern fans rate their veteran South American star.
2. Dede
9 of 10
They may not have been Roberto Carlos and Cafu, but Dortmund's double threat of Brazilian wing-backs was a potent danger around the turn of the 21st century. On one side, as we have seen, stood Evanilson; on the left, opponents had to contend with the brilliant Dede.
The rapid defender with an eye for going forward racked up 391 games in BVB's yellow shirt, putting him fourth in the list of the club's most loyal servants. Dede suffered internationally for happening to share a position with Roberto Carlos, earning just one cap in his whole career. But in Germany, he was and still is revered as an exceptional player by the Dortmund faithful.
1. Giovane Elber
10 of 10
Bayern's former sharpshooter Giovane Elber holds a special distinction in Die Roten. The retired forward is the only South American to have been named to the club's Hall of Fame; indeed, along with legendary French full-back Bixente Lizarazu, Elber is one of only two non-German names on the illustrious list.
The Brazilian more than earned his standing next to the likes of Muller, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Franz Beckenbauer. In six years at the club, Elber scored goals freely, reaching an excellent total of 92 goals in the 169 games in which he represented the German giants.
His finest hour in Bavaria came in 2000/01. Only Real Madrid's Raul outscored the star in that season's Champions League, as his six goals fired Die Roten to victory in the European competition. Four Bundesliga titles, three DFB-Pokal trophies and an Intercontinental Cup also crowd the Brazilian's mantelpiece as testament to a brilliant spell with the club.
