Soccer: Champions Bayern Munich slip to surprise opening day defeat

BERLIN - German and European champions Bayern Munich slid to a 0-1 defeat at promoted Borussia Moenchengladbach on the opening day of the Bundesliga season.

A goal after 25 minutes from Arie van Lent sent the capacity crowd of 35,000 into ecstasy.

Bayern, going for what would be an unprecedented fourth straight Bundesliga title, had the bulk of the possession but were having difficulty brushing off the summer cobwebs and were duly slated by their coach Ottmar Hitzfeld afterwards.

Gladbach, despite having their backs to the wall, held out in what used to be a classic fixture in the 1970s which the two clubs dominated, with Bayern winning three consecutive European Cups and their rivals winning three straight league titles.

Franz Beckenbauer, who played for Bayern in many of the 1970s encounters, had said on Friday that he might step down as club president at the end of the season so he could concentrate on the 2006 World Cup which Germany will host, if they are champions again.

But judging by this tepid performance he might have to change his view, if not stay on for an extra season unless Bayern can get the motor revving much better. Beckenbauer, presciently, had also warned his team that nine defeats last season were simply too many and said he had not expected to see the first up on the board quite so early.

Bayern manager Hitzfeld, who insists he will not be a contender in the race to succeed Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford, demanded an immediate improvement.

"We didn't get into the match at all well," he said.

"We were missing that extra 10 per cent you need to beat a side which has just been promoted."

Borussia Dortmund, the 1997 European champions, could pose a strong challenge this time round and saw off Nuremberg 2-0 with a brace from $US25 million Brazilian forward Marcio Amoroso in the first half.

Habitual bridesmaids Bayer Leverkusen also got off to a winning start, thanks to a Brazilian of their own, 2-1 against Wolfsburg, with Lucio netting either side of halftime.

Easterners Energie Cottbus, meanwhile, fielded a team of non-Germans as they shocked Hamburg 1-0 with a last-gasp penalty from Romanian-born Hungarian international Vasile Miriuta.

Elsewhere, Kaiserslautern got off to a flyer with a 4-0 win at 1860 Munich, while Freiburg beat Werder Bremen 3-0, Stuttgart and Cologne had a goalless draw.

* In France, Paris Saint Germain drew a blank on the opening day of the French league season with a goalless draw at the Parc des Princes against Lille, while recently retired international midfielder Didier Deschamps saw his first match as Monaco coach end in a surprise 0-1 home loss to promoted Sochaux.

With Bordeaux having shown the route to goal by beating champions Nantes 2-0 on Saturday, both PSG and Monaco, as well as last season's runners-up Lyon had a lot to live up to.

All three failed to do so, failing to score a single goal between them as Lyon, without the injured Sonny Anderson, slid to a 2-0 defeat at Lens.

Auxerre scored the biggest win of the day, 5-0 at Rennes, with Djibril Cisse making an early claim for the top goalscorer's crown by scoring four.

- AGENCIES