Can demands: “Shut up”: Borussia Dortmund sinks into complete ecstasy

Can demands: “Shut up”
Borussia Dortmund sinks into complete ecstasy

By Tobias Nordmann
May 8, 2024, 6:34 a.m

The dream of Wembley comes true: Borussia Dortmund passes the test in Paris and advances to the Champions League final. After the final whistle there is no stopping. Mats Hummels storms into the block, Marco Reus acts as capo. And everyone loves aluminum.

Paris St. Germain’s offensive giants were getting angrier. They ran, they dribbled, they shot their feet sore. They fired the ball at goal 30 times. Like a boxer behind on points in the twelfth round, they attacked BVB, but BVB kept their guard up. And this cover had a name on Tuesday evening: Mats Hummels. The 35-year-old wasn’t just one fist for Hallelujah, no, he was also the second one. He scored with a header at the front to make it 1-0, and he cleared everything at the back, with his head and body. And his best defensive employee was the aluminum in the second half. Four times (!) the post and crossbar saved Dortmund from conceding a goal. In the first leg last week the ball also hit the post twice. But why does the oak care if the wild boar rubs against it? Final whistle, ecstasy!

Hummels was the first to turn and sprint towards the visitors’ block. Did someone ever say that the central defender had major speed problems? The rest of the team did the same and in no time there was just a huge black and yellow crowd celebrating. Borussia had achieved what hardly anyone thought possible. After a terrible season in the Bundesliga and DFB Cup, BVB is now in the final of the Champions League. Wembley is calling! Who the opponent will be will be decided in the evening when FC Bayern plays against Real Madrid (first leg 2:2).

Reus has the most magical farewell

There may still be a really happy ending for at least one Dortmunder. Marco Reus will leave the club. His contract will not be renewed after twelve years together. The now 34-year-old returned home from Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2012. And at the end of his first season he lost the premier class final, 2-1 against FC Bayern. He won the DFB Cup twice with the Black and Yellows, but he was denied even more valuable titles. He did not become German champion with Borussia and never will again. But maybe there will be a Henkelpott reconciliation. It would be the most magical farewell imaginable for the offensive player, who was so injured and whose career has the shadow that somehow more would have been possible.

But after that magical, well, rather toilsome night in Paris, none of that mattered. Reus was suddenly the protagonist in the big party. He stood next to the capo in front of the fans and gave the lead singer: “First round of sick leave, then grandma is dead, we’ll take overtime if necessary! Then comes the dismissal – it doesn’t matter! Borussia Dortmund international!” In front of him, the block screamed out the tension of the 90 minutes, behind him the players jumped in a wild final dance. Coach Edin Terzić is also right in the middle. What did the coach have to suffer this season? What did he have to listen to? The worst accusation was that he had no idea for a game. And now his team is standing, he is in the final. There is no more satisfaction. Emre Can, the captain, became very clear about his happiness and asked the critics to “shut up now”.

“On Wednesday no one will ask how anymore”

Of course, this doesn’t solve the mystery of why Borussia are successful in Europe, but all too often roll through the competition in the Bundesliga in a sleeper car. This will be reviewed during the summer break. The splendor of the premier class is outshining everything at the moment. “It’s just pure joy and a lot of pride. We’ve grown with every game,” the coach cheered. His team always rises to incredible heights when they are challenged by the best. First the victory in the “group of death”, then the PSV from Eindhoven and Atlético Madrid were eaten. And now PSG. Reus was also just beside himself: “Hats off, hats off, we had to suffer a lot. On Wednesday no one will ask how. It just says the name Borussia Dortmund. (…) Now we have to get it, otherwise it would be shit.” But first: ecstasy! “All hell was going on in the dressing room, loud music and alcohol,” reported BVB sports director Sebastian Kehl.

What kind of achievement had that been? Especially against Kylian Mbappé, this superstar who really wanted this title. Not only for himself, as a 25-year-old who will probably play for Real Madrid from the summer, he still has enough chances. No, especially for Paris St. Germain. Since 2011, the club has been flooded with endless Qatari money, always with the sole aim of finally winning the pot. Now they have failed again, due to players named Julian Ryerson. The Norwegian Chain Hound is not one for the fine blade, not one for the overachievers. But he is someone who can sink his teeth into his opponent, who gives everything to the point of maximum exhaustion, throws everything onto the pitch, always with the aim of taking away his opponent’s breath and the desire to play.

This opponent was all too often called Mbappé. Of course you can’t completely eliminate this giant, the Dortmund team knew that beforehand. But they did everything they could to give him as little room for heroism as possible. A first shot after seven minutes was harmless. The hosts approached the task of making up for the 0-1 deficit from the first leg with calculated risk, not “full soup”, as they like to say in the Ruhr area. Unlike in the group phase, when both teams had already met and BVB had been played mercilessly in Paris, the guests did not isolate themselves. But they also chose the path forward from time to time. Ryerson and Karim Adeyemi missed good opportunities (19th/35th).

There is a lot of rattling on the BVB housing

Dortmund shone as a collective, as a mentality monster. The Parisians were desperately looking for the heroic football of Mbappé or Ousmane Dembélé, who, like in the first leg, had good dribbling skills, but in the end they lacked the fortune or the right passing partner. After the break, PSG increased the number of hits, but forgot Hummels after a corner, 1-0 for BVB, 2-0 on aggregate. “I didn’t score many goals in the Champions League. I think five. A good time to add something,” said Hummels, who has been in outstanding form for weeks and is making it increasingly difficult for national coach Julian Nagelsmann to forgo a possible European Championship To justify central defenders.

Luis Enrique’s team had to play all-or-nothing after falling behind again. Warren Zaire-Emery had already hit the post once (47th). Paris shook herself after the shock and continued to attack vehemently, without any big creative idea. A shot from Goncalo Ramos flew over the goal (60th), Nuno Mendes only hit the post (61st). Mbappé looked angrily after a shot that sailed miles over the BVB box (74th). The supposed 2-0 for BVB didn’t count because Hummels clearly scored from offside (77′). On the other side, Mbappé and Vitinha only hit the crossbar (87th and 88th). What a treacherous game. But then the final whistle, ecstasy!