This Saturday is going to be really important for Borussia Dortmund, and also their fans. They are going to play their 3rd Champions League Final in history. As of now they have won this cup in 1997, and lost in the final of 2013. Worth mentioning is also that the club legend, Marco Reus is going to play his last game for the club, and he can win first major trophy. This would be a great way of saying goodbye to the team and fans, after all what he has done for the club. In contrast Real Madrid is the most successful club on this field with 14 cups. Also they haven’t lost any of the last finals. The last time they were beaten in the Champions League Final was in 1981, when the rival was Liverpool. Now let’s take a look at how the teams were performing through this season. First will be the underdogs.

Borussia Dortmund

They have been written off since the beginning of this season of the UEFA Champions ććLeague, as they got into the hardest group in the whole group stage. They were put into with PSG, Newcastle and AC Milan. They didn’t have the best start, as they lost the first game 2:0 against PSG at Parc des Princes, and then drew with AC Milan 0:0 at home. So after just 2 games they had 1 point with no goals scored. But then suddenly something had changed, as they won 3 consecutive games, and before the last matchday they were sure of getting into the knockout phase. 

The round of 16 – Winning the group doesn’t mean an easy opponent 

Although they won the group, they didn’t get the easiest opponent at the beginning of the knockout stage. They were drawn to the pair with PSV Eindhoven, the Dutch club, which hadn’t lost the game by then in the Eredivisie(1st division in the Netherlands). Also as an interesting fact, Borussia Dortmunds winger, Donyell moved to the German club from Eindhoven. This two-legged clash was an interesting one, the first match ended with a draw 1:1, the goalscorers were Donny Malen for BVB and Luuk de Jong, who turned a penalty into a goal. Although the first match was even and interesting, in the rematch Dortmund players left their rivals with no doubts, and after the storming beginning they scored the first goal in the 3rd minute of the match, the one who put the ball into the net was Jadon Sancho, and then at the end of the match Marco Reus determined the result of the match by scoring the second goal. That way Borussia haven’t lost a single match at home in the UEFA Champions League for 2,5 years now. 

Quarter-finals – The rematch that was close, the rival that was tough.

Next up was Atletico Madrid, the third biggest club in Spain, and one of the toughest rivals, when it comes to going through the defense. They have beaten Inter Milan in the Round of 16, the team that in the previous season was in the Final, and Diego Simeone, long-term coach of Atletico, is one of the best coaches all around the world. The task wasn’t easy, and even after the first match at Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid, Borussia Dortmund was one goal behind and was obligated to score at least 2 goals more than the opponent in the rematch in Dortmund. Worth mentioning here is, that the goal that gave BVB hope was scored by Sebastien Haller, who was diagnosed almost 2 years ago with testicular cancer, but fortunately he dealt with it pretty quickly, as already after half a year he made his comeback on the pitch. For the BVB it was important that the second leg was played at Signal Iduna Park(previously Westfalenstadion), where they are unbeaten in this competition in the long term. But they needed something more than the win, they needed a 2-goal difference, so that there would be no extra time or penalty shoot-outs. This way Edin Terzics Borussia advanced to the Semi-Finals of the UEFA Champions League

The Semi-Finals – “Oh shit here we go again”, next meeting with the opponent from the group stage

Borussia Dortmund hadn’t advanced into the semi-finals since the memorable 2013, when they lost in the Final to Bayern Munich. This time they were drawn with PSG, the club they already played twice this season. What was bad for them was that they didn’t have any of those 2 matches, the first one they lost in Paris, and then on the last matchday they drew with them at home. This made PSG fans thrilled, as they were thinking that there is no way of them losing to the team they already went unbeaten against. But the truth was bitter for them, as their favorite not only lost, but also didn’t score a single goal against Borussia Dortmund. The German club won both legs. Whatsmore both ended with the same result, 1:0 for BVB. Another pretty interesting fact is that in both legs the same player won the MOTM Award, and it wasn’t by far an offensive player. In both clashes the ward went to Mats Hummels. He deserved it surely, as he was the player who scored the only goal in the second leg, and was brilliant in the first leg. Something like that doesn’t happen very often. Both legs were really close and intense, but at the end the German team was the one that advanced to the final.

The Big Final – what is good to know

These two teams(Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid) had played against each other 14 times. There 5 draws, 3 times the German side was better(as for example in the Semi-Finals in 2013 when they beat Spanish champions 4:1), and 6 times Real Madrid was the team that had won the duel. 

The players that deserve shoutout after this season are definitely, Mats Hummels, who is by far the best defender in the whole season of Champions League, Gregor Kobel which ended as of now with 6 clean sheets, 2 of which he got in the Semi-Finals. Another player that was incredible throughout the season is Nico Schlotterbeck, who alongside Hummels created the best defence in the whole competition. And last but not least, so that there weren’t only defensive players mentioned, good season had also Niclas Füllkrug, who ended up scoring 3 times, and 2 times was he the one that passed the ball to the goalscorer.  
Squad Predictions:

Borussia Dortmund:

Real Madrid:

The beast when it comes to these competitions, and also the record-holders, they have already won 14 Champions League, and are rooting for the 15th. Although the rival doesn’t seems to be tough one, they shouldn’t and are not disrespecting the opponent, with his manager, Carlo Ancelotti who says that BVB is no without a reason in the final, as they beat some big names on the way to Wembley and they should be treated with respect. Because of the theoretical differences in the quality of the players between those 2 teams, the club from Madrid is unquestionable the team that is said to be the front-runner, but with those roles comes also a great deal of stress and pressure which is put onto players. Although the players that choose to play for “Los Blancos” should be aware of this and be ready to deal with it. The team from the capital of Spain are not used to losing in the final of these competitions, as they haven’t lost in 43 years. The last time they had to walk off the field defeated was in 1981, when they lost against Liverpool. That puts them into a much better position than their opponents, which their last Champions League Final lost at Wembley as mentioned earlier in 2013.

To be in the Final, Madrid had gone lossless through the group stage and then through the knockout stage. That means that they can win the trophy and the whole competition without actually losing a single game. That kind of thing does not happen everyday. They got almost only wins, except from the first match against Bayern Munich in the Semi-Final, the second game against RB Leipzig and both legs in the Quarter-Finals against Man City(they won after a penalty shootout). 

After they won the group, as mentioned without losing a single game, it was time for the knockout stage. The first opponent was RB Leipzig, which didn’t give up and was fighting till the end. Unfortunately for them it wasn’t enough as they lost the first game, after a controversial decision about the canceled goal for the German team, but then they got their chance in the rematch, which they blew, as they only drew. Next up was the title-holders, Manchester City. Through both legs the more dominant team was Manchester City with plenty of situations to score a goal. But more efficient was Real Madrid, as they scored the same amount of goals with fewer occasions. This duel had to go into the penalty shootout, so that it would be decided who is going into the semi-finals. After Modric missed the first penalty for Madrid, the biggest chance and the greater hope had fans and the club of Manchester City, but then the 2 consecutive players of the English club also missed it, to be more accurate the goalkeeper of Madrid saved them. In the Semi-Finals Bayern Munich was awaiting for them, both matches were close and stout, with some controversial decisions, which led then to the “agenda” saying that Real Madrid is the team that is buying the referees to win the match, which is of course not true. The duel ended with a win for “Los Blancos” in the rematch, which after a draw in the first leg give them the spot in the UEFA Champions League Final, which will be played at Wembley in London on the 1st of June at 21 CEST.

It will be a tough game for both teams, as they both have something to prove, and since it is the final none of them are going to take it easy, and will give their best to bring the trophy home. As many sports people have said before, the final is not a match that you play, it is the match you win. It could also be a decisive match in the Ballon d’Or rivalry between Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr. The best group of players Real has in the midfield with Kroos, Modric, Bellingham and Valverde as main midfielders, and Ceballos Camavinga Tchouameni as their competition. That does not mean that in the defensive or offensive line they are somehow worse, but surely the best depth they have in the midfield.

What will happen, who will raise the trophy? Who will get the best possible farewell to the team, Reus or maybe Kroos? It will all be clear in just a few days. But surely we are going to see a really intense and probably as well interesting duel for the trophy.

Sources of the photos: Own graphics and UEFA Champions League Social Media Profile