OPINION
As Europe’s underdogs, BVB made it to the Champions League final at Wembley. Now FC Bayern has to follow suit. It couldn’t be nicer than a German-German final – after all, we still have a score to settle…
It was already dark, but still relatively warm on May 25, 2013. I was sitting in a friend’s garden, a draft beer in my hand, the 89th minute was playing. The pulse hadn’t dropped below 150 for hours when Jerome Boateng hit a long ball forward, Franck Ribery extended and Arjen Robben pushed past Roman Weidenfeller into the goal. Bayern were Champions League winners. And I was overcome by a mixture of sadness and anger. This story was too good to “just” come second.
The miracle of Dortmund against Malaga. Madrid’s defensive battle after Robert Lewandowski’s four-pack against Real. None of that mattered because of Arjen Robben. Of all people, Robben, who missed a penalty against Weidenfeller in Dortmund a year earlier and thus decided the championship. Now he ran towards the Bayern curve, his arms outstretched, his eyes wide. And black and yellow were on the ground.
Dortmund and Bayern were the underdogs in the Champions League
That was eleven years ago now. And this German-German final, as traumatic as it was as a BVB fan, it can – no – it has to be repeated! Dortmund again, Bayern again, Wembley again. Looking again with a mischievous smile at all the experts who had already declared German football dead before the season.
After the draw for the “group of death” against Newcastle, Milan and Paris, Didi Hamann announced loudly that BVB would no longer be playing internationally in January. Now he is in the final. The tickets have been booked, the black and yellow stadium banners have probably already been ordered.
That I would write this: But Bayern were also somewhat of an outsider in this Champions League season from the quarter-finals at the latest. The performances in the league were too inconsistent and the environment around the fired coach Thomas Tuchel was too unsettled. Now it’s just one more step to London for the long-time champion.
The 2013 final was a holiday for German football. This year its significance could be even greater. Shortly after the tussle over the failed investor entry into the DFL, a new edition of the Bundesliga duel in the biggest game in European club football would be another exclamation mark against the financially strong clubs from England, Spain and France. I would much rather see the red head of Uli Hoeneß sitting in the stands than the dead eyes of Qatari donors like Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
© Photo: Instagram / bvb09
Pop ballads, declarations of war and goalkeepers with “knacks” – this is how the BVB players celebrated their entry into the final
01:33 minutes
You can’t imagine anything more beautiful than another yellow and red invasion of London with hundreds of thousands of fans. And this time the cards for BVB would probably be a little better, precisely because a certain Arjen Robben is missing.
So come on, you Bavarians! Come with us to Wembley – we still have a score to settle!
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
