Bayern Munich have rarely been shy about coaxing players to cross the divide and make the move from Der Klassiker rivals Borussia Dortmund.
Their willingness to do so ensured Dortmund's last spell at the top of German football, when a vibrant young side gegenpressed their way to a Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double in 2011-12 and a Champions League final a year later, was an ephemeral one, Robert Lewandowski and Mario Gotze each making the move to Bayern in 2013 and experiencing varying degrees of success.
And the build-up to the most famous fixture in Germany was partially defined by Bayern seemingly beginning a charm offensive to attract one of Dortmund's most prized assets, Erling Haaland, to eschew potential moves elsewhere in favour of following Lewandowski's path.
"Haaland is what a centre-forward has to be," Bayern coach Hansi Flick said in his pre-match media conference. "He has an enormous hunger for goals. The future could belong to him because he has everything he needs for it."
The Norway forward's agent, Mino Raiola, has claimed only 10 clubs in the world would be able to afford to sign Haaland, who has a release clause that does not become active until 2022.
But Bayern president Herbert Hainer told Sport1 this week: "We will go even more down our successful path of signing young players with outstanding skills. We are an economically very strong and healthy club.
"Although we're also suffering massively from the pandemic, we can always bring in players when we're convinced about them."
Bayern clearly have no doubts about their financial capability to sign Haaland, and they may be convinced to make a concerted push to do so after his first-half salvo in Saturday's Klassiker, which forced Flick's men to produce a stirring comeback.
Haaland had two games without a goal prior to Dortmund's trip to the Allianz Arena.
He ended that 'drought' in the space of a minute and 14 seconds, taking a few touches to steady himself on the edge of the Bayern box and power an effort that deflected off Jerome Boateng beyond Manuel Neuer and into the bottom-right corner.
Fewer than eight minutes later, he made it 2-0, his goalscorer's instinct again shining through with a much more simple finish as he popped up in the box to turn home Thorgan Hazard's pull-back from point-blank range at the end of a wonderful Dortmund move.
His double took his tally against Bayern for the season to four goals, but he would ultimately be denied the chance to become the first player since Cristiano Ronaldo (5) in 2016-17 to score more than four in a season versus Die Roten.
A second-half ankle injury forced Haaland off, the looming second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Sevilla likely playing a role in his withdrawal on the hour.
That blow followed a first-half fightback from Bayern, which was fuelled by a predictable source in Lewandowski, who diverted a shot-turned-cross from Leroy Sane into the net before rolling home a penalty after Mahmoud Dahoud's foul on the ever influential Kingsley Coman, taking his tally of Bundesliga goals against Dortmund to a league-record 19.
Dortmund's rearguard action in a one-sided second half looked set to frustrate Bayern and keep RB Leipzig top of the Bundesliga.
But their resilience wilted late on, Schalke product Leon Goretzka hitting home on the volley in the 88th minute and Lewandowski making it 20 against his former club by completing his hat-trick with an unerring finish from the edge of the area.
It was the kind of rapid collapse from Dortmund that illustrated why Haaland, having hastily adapted to life in the Bundesliga following his move from Salzburg last year, could be keen to make a swift departure to a team better prepared to compete at the sharp end of European football, even with the highly touted Marco Rose set to take over as coach next season.
Dortmund are four points behind Eintracht Frankfurt in the race for the top four, and have a fight on their hands if they are to secure Champions League qualification for next season.
Haaland appeared set to steal the show 10 minutes into this storied fixture, but his 20-touch contribution was ultimately overshadowed by the man who reigns supreme as the Bundesliga's most potent goalscoring threat.
With Lewandowski maintaining this kind of form, Bayern have no rush to find the successor for a player under contract until 2023.
But after Haaland produced two goals from a game where had four touches in the box, his supporting role in the latest thrilling episode of this classic rivalry could compel Bayern to open the chequebook and add to what is arguably European football's most extensive embarrassment of riches.
Conte hopes for Ranieri's success at Roma after Napoli clash
Antonio Conte hopes that everything will go well for Claudio Ranieri after he came out of retirement to take charge of Roma, but only after their Serie A clash this weekend.
Ranieri was tempted back into management by a return to where he began as a player. His third spell at Roma comes after the club sacked two coaches already this season and with the team 12th in the standings.
A trip to leaders Napoli is Ranieri's first task, and Conte is looking forward to meeting up with the 73-year-old.
"I am pleased to see Claudio, I have great esteem for him and there is also friendship," Conte told reporters ahead of Sunday's game.
"I am happy with the chance he has been given. It will be a tough game, for us and for them. Last year, Roma finished ahead of Napoli, they are in the Europa League and had a good transfer window.
"They are not performing according to expectations and I hope for Claudio that everything starts to work after Sunday's game."
The arrival of Ranieri in place of Ivan Juric brings with it not just the danger of the 'new manager bounce' but also upsets Conte's plans for the game.
"When a team changes coach there is an important input on a nervous level," Conte said.
"They are at the third change on the bench. It's inevitable that, if Juric had remained, we knew what kind of team we were going to face.
"Now it's an enigma, we don't have much information nor do we know how they will deal with us. So let's think about ourselves, there is a desire and enthusiasm to continue this path."
After a streak of 21 consecutive home wins in Serie A, Conte lost his last home league match (0-3 against Atalanta). Only once in his career has he recorded two consecutive home defeats in the competition: in November 2009, when he was in charge of Atalanta (against Juventus and Roma).
Napoli are top of the table, but Conte knows it is still early, and with just two points separating the top six clubs, which includes the likes of Atalanta, Fiorentina and Lazio, for now, it is a different title race than usual.
"Only 12 games have passed and there are many teams within very few points," he said.
"We are doing well, but so are the others. There isn't one team which has distanced the others. Perhaps there is a little amazement in seeing some teams in those positions in the standings."
'It's a shame' - Alonso confirms Leverkusen's Boniface out with thigh injury
Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso confirmed that Victor Boniface will be sidelined for some time after picking up a thigh injury on international duty with Nigeria.
Boniface, who has scored eight goals in 15 appearances in all competitions this season, was replaced late on in the Super Eagles' 2-1 defeat to Rwanda on Monday.
It is another blow for Leverkusen, who have managed 17 points from 10 games so far this season, the worst start to a league campaign in 12 years by a defending champion.
Only Omar Marmoush and Harry Kane (both 11) have scored more goals in the league than Boniface this term (six).
Alonso revealed that the 23-year-old will miss Saturday's Bundesliga encounter against Heidenheim and their Champions League tie against RB Salzburg next week.
"We will have to see how long he will be out. It is a shame," Alonso told a press conference.
"He has a thigh injury. For tomorrow, for Salzburg and maybe a bit longer. We will have to wait and see.
"It is too early to say but we hope he can still play this year. We have to see with the recovery and improvement but it is not a matter of six or eight weeks."
Leverkusen have dropped points in six Bundesliga games already this season (D5, L1), as often as they did during the entirety of their 2023-24 title-winning campaign (D6).
They come into this weekend's fixture against Heidenheim on a three-game winless run in the Bundesliga (D3), the first time they have gone this long without a victory since between April and May 2023 (five games).
Leverkusen sit fourth in the Bundesliga, already nine points behind leaders Bayern Munich as the busy festive schedule kickstarts on Saturday.
Alonso's side have eight games in just under a month, including a DFB-Pokal round of 16 clash with Bayern at the start of December.
"Eight games in four weeks. It is nothing new for us," Alonso said. "An intense phase is coming up for us and it starts tomorrow.
"We have clear goals for the Bundesliga, the Champions League and the German Cup."
Object thrown at City striker 'Bunny' Shaw in Champions League win over Hammarby sparks UEFA investigation
UEFA has opened an investigation after Manchester City striker Khadija Shaw was hit by an object during their Women’s Champions League win against Swedish side Hammarby on Thursday.
The towering Jamaican striker scored both goals in City’s 2-1 win at the Stockholm Arena to see her side through to the quarterfinal stage.
Her animated celebration in front of the home fans after her first goal saw the 27-year-old being booked, with replays also showing an object seemingly thrown her way from the stands.
“Proceedings have been opened against Hammarby IF for throwing of objects (Article 16(2)(b) of the Disciplinary Regulations),” UEFA said in a statement.
“Manchester City player Khadija Shaw received a yellow card following her goal presentation for unsporting conduct,” the statement added.
Following the game, City captain Alex Greenwood chided match broadcaster DAZN for failing to mention the incident in a social media post.
The post on X, external said Shaw “antagonised” the home fans and received “stick” from them.
Greenwood replied, "Correction. Travel to Stockholm, score a big goal. Celebrates her goal. Gets objects thrown at her.”
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