Borussia Dortmund Hopes to End European Final Misery

Borussia Dortmund are looking for another European trophy as well as ending their misery in their continental finals.

Die Borussen is finally the one who reaches the Champions League final instead of the favourite, PSG. They once again thumped the French giant with an identical score in the reverse fixture, 1-0. The veteran centre-back, Matt Hummels, scored the winning goal through his header in the 50th minute. They held back to keep their advantage by sitting deep in the back line to keep Kylian Mbappe and Co. at bay. Edin Terzic’s men did have a bit of fortune, as PSG’s waves of attack could not break the deadlock. Luis Enrique’s men had at least five crucial chances in the second half. Yet, two of them only hit the goal frame.

Their victory undoubtedly brings them back to Wembley, the venue of their last UCL final in 2013. Borussia Dortmund tickets are bound to be in high demand as they are aiming for their second UCL title and third European trophy. They surely hope to overturn the negative results in the summit in their last two continental finals, including the 2013 edition, when they slumped to a 2-1 defeat from their classic rival, Bayern Munich. A rematch versus Die Roten on June 1st would be an ideal opportunity to avenge their loss. Instead, they have to take on the in-form Real Madrid.

Throughout the club’s history, Die Borussen has advanced to the summit five times. However, only two of them had a happy ending. It will be interesting to see if Lady Luck smiles at them again in their sixth final in Wembley later. Here are Dortmund’s results in the previous five European finals.

1966 European Cup Winners Cup Final

Die Borussen reached their first European final in the 1966 Winners Cup. It was UEFA’s second-tier continental competition after the European Cup, the old name of the Champions League. They had eased past Atletico Madrid and West Ham in the quarterfinal and semifinal before taking on Bill Shankly’s Liverpool at the summit.

The final was staged in Hampden Park, Glasgow, which gave the Reds fans an advantage. However, their seemingly ‘home’ advantage did not affect much of the game. The first half was rather uneventful. However, in the second half, Dortmund finally took the lead from Siegfried Held in the 61st minute. Their lead did not last long as England international Roger Hunt netted an equaliser seven minutes later. The match was even, but it was Willi Multhaup’s men who came out as the winners after extra time. Their decisive goal was scored by Reinhard Libuda in the 107th minute. Dortmund snatched a 2-1 win over the Reds. They became the first German side to win in the continental competition.

1993 UEFA Cup Final

Dortmund had to wait for 27 years for their second European final. They were able to progress to the summit after beating AS Roma and AJ Auxerre in the knockout stage to face off Giovanni Trapattoni’s Juventus in the final.

At that time, Die Borussen was led by Ottmar Hizfield, along with several players who would then become key figures in the latter years. The likes of Swiss international forward Stephane Chapuisat, Stefan Klos, Stefan Reuter, and Michael Zorc, the former Dortmund's Sporting Director during Jurgen Klopp’s successful stint, were part of their promising squad. Yet, their opposition was one of the best teams in Europe at that time, with their star-studded squad. Juventus had Roberto Baggio, Angelo Peruzzi, Dino Baggio, Gianluca Vialli, two German internationals, Jurgen Kohler and Andreas Moeller, plus the young Antonio Conte.

At that time, UEFA still used a two-legged final format. Michael Zorc and Co. unfortunately already succumbed to a 3-1 loss at home in the first leg, despite having an early lead from Michael Rummeniege’s goal. The Italian giant did not panic and slowly took control of the game as they replied three times to Dino Baggio and Roberto Baggio’s brace.

In the second leg, Trapattoni's men did not have any difficulty sealing their glory after dismantling Hizfield’s side 3-0 in Turin. Dino Baggio bagged a brace before Andy Moeller put the last nail in the coffin.

1997 UEFA Champions League Final

Dortmund finally had their redemption four years later in a more prestigious competition. Ottmar Hatfield was still in the dugout but had a much better squad with Andreas Moeller, Jurgen Kohler, Mathias Sammer, Paulo Sousa, and Karl Heinz Riedl. However, they were still regarded as an ‘underdog’ compared to Marcelo Lippi’s Juventus, with Alessandro Del Piero, Didier Deschamps, and Zinedine Zidane in the squad.

Dortmund advanced to the final, which was held in Munich, after seeing off Auxerre and Manchester United in the knockout round. They managed to stun the Italians with a two-goal lead in the first half from Karl Heinz Riedl’s brace. Del Piero scored a lifeline in the 65th minute, but Lars Ricken restored their two-goal advantage six minutes later. They held on till the final whistle and clinched their first-ever UCL title.

2002 UEFA Cup Final

Dortmund went to the final again in 2002, but back in UEFA's second-tier competition, the UEFA Cup. They initially played in UCL that season but had to go down after only finishing third at the group stage.

Mathias Sammer’s men reached the summit after knocking out FC Copenhagen, Lille, Slovan Liberec, and AC Milan. Jan Killer and Co. met Feyenoord in the final, which also happened to be staged in De Kuip, Rotterdam, Feyenoord’s home turf.

It was a thrilling game as both sides traded chances and goals. The Dutch giant took the lead first from Pierre Van Hooijdonk’s brace before the interval. Dortmund replied in the second half with Marcio Amoroso’s penalty in the 47th minute, but John Dahl Tomasson extended Feyenoord’s lead three minutes later. Die Borussen cut the deficit with Jan Koller’s goal in the 58th minute. They kept knocking on the door but could not find the equaliser. It was 3-2 for the host.

2013 UEFA Champions League Final

Their last appearance in the final was also at Wembley, 11 years ago. Jurgen Klopp's side sent Shakhtar Donetsk, Malaga, and Real Madrid to the exit on the way to the summit. They faced off against the familiar foe, Bayern Munich, for the first-ever Der Klassiker final.

The match was tight and intense in the first half, but neither managed to open the scoring until the second half. Croatian frontman Mario Mandzukic put his name on the scoresheet in the 60th minute. Ilkay Gundogan netted an equaliser from a penalty eight minutes later. Sadly, Dortmund fell into another misery in the final after Arjen Robben found the back of the net a few minutes before the final whistle. Die Borussen lost again and went trophyless that season after winning a double in 2012.