Champions League
BVB in a party frenzy: Wembley as a historic coup
Dortmund’s Marco Reus (M) celebrates with the fans traveling with him about reaching the Champions League final. photo
© Robert Michael/dpa
In the end there is no stopping you. The ticket for the Champions League final at Wembley is intoxicating for BVB. The Paris coup fuels belief in a happy ending in the ongoing football fairy tale.
Jadon Sancho danced on the table while singing, here and there the victorious Champions League heroes from Borussia Dortmund already had a bottle of beer in their hands. Shortly after the final whistle the sensational 1-0 (0-0) in the semi-final second leg at Paris Saint-Germain began for the BVB in the changing room at the Prinzenpark Stadium getting in the mood for the big final dream at Wembley. “It was difficult to get the boys out of the locker room. You quickly get lost,” said Julian Brandt.
Dortmund party until morning
Videos of the BVB party went viral on social media that night. The team euphorically belted out the actually rather quiet pop song “Someone Like You” by Adele. The large table in the cabin has now been used as a slide. Nico Schlotterbeck announced that he shouldn’t go to bed “before five or six o’clock.” Teammate Marcel Sabitzer seemed similarly inspired: “If you don’t celebrate today, you’ll never celebrate again.”
The fact that the next Bundesliga game was scheduled to take place in Mainz next Saturday was completely forgotten on this historic evening for BVB. Excited about reaching the final of the Champions League for the third time after the triumph against Juventus Turin in 1997 and the bitter 1-2 defeat against FC Bayern at Wembley in 2013, the BVB professionals let it rip. The T-shirts with the inscription “Yellow Wonder Wall” and “London 2024 – Finale” were already waiting on the sidelines and were quickly put on.
“All hell broke loose in the dressing room. Loud music, alcohol, good atmosphere,” revealed sports director Sebastian Kehl. “One or two glasses of red wine” will definitely be drunk. “Maybe a cigar will come out,” said the ex-national player, who was in the squad in 2013.
The other BVB in the premier class
As is so often the case in this rather modest season, at least in the Bundesliga, BVB outgrew itself on the international stage. Thanks to a passionate defensive performance, coach Edin Terzic’s team kept a clean sheet against Kylian Mbappé’s star ensemble – both in the first leg (1-0) and in the second leg. The fact that there was luck involved in the French champions’ four aluminum hits on Tuesday couldn’t dampen Dortmund’s joy: “We’ve rightly taken a lot of heat in the league,” said Brandt. “But in the Champions situation we showed a completely different face. That’s why we deserved the final.”
The international press rated it similarly. “It was an evening in which Borussia Dortmund wrote one of the most beautiful chapters in its history, in which a seemingly inconspicuous team – without big names – achieved something completely astonishing,” commented the English “Guardian”. “Dortmund conquers Paris while PSG and Mbappé stumble,” headlined the Spanish newspaper Marca. “Edin Terzic’s side had weaker players but greater collective strength and they fully deserved a place in next month’s final,” said The Telegraph.
The player of the game
Led by a once again outstanding Hummels, who was named “Man of the Match” in the international spotlight for the fourth time this season and scored the winning goal with his powerful header in the 50th minute, the Dortmund team refined their strong performance in the premier class . They had already won what was probably the toughest group with Paris, Newcastle and AC Milan. With every game the self-confidence increased. “I’ve scored far too few Champions League goals in my career anyway. This is a good time to increase,” joked match winner Hummels.
Regardless of Borussia’s role as outsiders in the final, the 35-year-old veteran, whose contract with BVB expires at the end of the season and whose future is still unclear, believes his team has good chances of winning the title: “There is no reason for us not to believe in it believe we can win the final.”
In addition to Hummels, coach Terzic emerges from the game as a big winner. His tactical plan against Paris proved ideal in both games and silenced his critics. The 41-year-old, who was threatened with expulsion at the end of December, was celebrated by fans with chants. “I don’t feel any satisfaction, the joy outweighs it,” he said beaming with joy. When asked how it feels to be a Champions League finalist, he replied: “That sounds good – surreal.”
Brandt, the pacesetter, is not satisfied with just taking part in the final. “Everyone knows we haven’t won anything yet, we’ve just qualified for a new experience.” Marco Reus, who along with Hummels was the only BVB professional to have taken part in the final against Bayern in 2013, saw it in a very similar way. “Now we have to Get a handle pot, otherwise it would be shit.”