Real Madrid – Borussia Dortmund, a match with history in the Champions League

The match this Saturday will be the fifteenth clash between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.

The Champions League final is just around the corner. Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund will battle it out at Wembley to win the coveted European Cup. The Whites are aiming for their fifteenth, while the Teutonic team, which no one expected to be there, will fight for their second.

In Valdebebas there is maximum respect. They do not trust at all the pupils of Edin Terzić, who have reached this appointment after eliminating Atlético de Madrid and PSG. Carlo Ancelotti considers that it will be a very difficult match. This is the idea that is present in the white house. It is the right one.

In a match of these characteristics, absolutely anything can happen. See, for example, the Europa League final in which Bayer Leverkusen lost 0-3 to Atalanta. Xabi Alonso’s team were the favorites, but they did not have their best day in Dublin.

Madrid, who have only lost one match in 90 minutes, hope that the same does not happen to them.

14 matches between the two teams

Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund have met on a total of fourteen occasions. Saturday’s clash, which will obviously be the most important between the two clubs, is number fifteen. What a beautiful number, isn’t it?

I hope this is a sign of what is to come in London. Maybe it’s just nonsense from me, but I admit that I cling to anything in the days leading up to the signal.

I’m superstitious, as Carlo Ancelotti acknowledged during the Open Media Day: “It’s nothing special, but there is a bit of superstition because I’ve been taught that not having it brings bad luck. Now we have to enjoy the final. We are aware that we have done something good and we have to put the icing on the cake by winning,” said the Italian coach.

The south end goal and Karembeu’s ‘puntazo’

The first two clashes between the two teams came in the 1997/1998 season. Specifically in the semifinals of the Champions League, which would later be the seventh. The first leg went down in history for Karembeu’s ‘puntazo’, which sealed the tie, and for the incident at the south end goal, which delayed the match.

In the return leg, Jupp Heynckes’ side, who was the coach of the Whites at the time, knew how to suffer and got the ticket to Amsterdam.

First match in the group stage

Five seasons later, in the 2002/2003 campaign, they met again. This time it was in the group stage. At the Santiago Bernabéu, the Whites won again. This time it was with a comeback.

The Germans took the lead at the Santiago Bernabéu thanks to a goal from Koller in the 30th minute, but the home side turned the score around with goals from Raúl and Ronaldo. The following day, which was played in Germany, ended in a 1-1 draw. Portillo scored the equalizer in the last minute.

Four matches in the 2012/2013 season

We had to wait a decade to see another Real Madrid – Borussia Dortmund. The truth is that there are no good memories of those clashes. Two of them were in the group stage. It was here that the Germans’ first victory came. It was on matchday 3 and ended 2-1 in Dortmund’s favor thanks to goals from Schmelzer and Lewandowski. The return leg, which was played at the Bernabéu, ended 2-2 in a quite attractive match. Pepe and Özil were the scorers for José Mourinho’s team.

However, the really important thing about that campaign came in the semifinals, which ended with Borussia Dortmund qualifying. We all remember that first leg clash in which Lewandowski scored four goals against Real Madrid and made himself known to the world of football. The first leg ended 4-1 and the Whites, who were looking for their tenth, clung to the ‘spirit’ of the Santiago Bernabéu and were only one goal away. That match in Chamartín ended 2-0. They died on their feet.

On the Road to La Décima

The following season they faced each other again. This time it was in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. In this case, Madrid came out on top, but Ancelotti’s side, who had already taken over the Whites’ bench, had to suffer a lot.

Although in the first leg, which was played at the Santiago Bernabéu, the Whites won 3-0, thanks to goals from Isco, Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo, the return leg was very difficult at the Signal Iduna Park. Borussia pressed and won 2-0, coming close to forcing extra time. That night in Germany was Casemiro’s first big game. The rest, as they say, is history.

Last matches

The last four matches against Borussia Dortmund have been in the group stage. In the 2016/2017 season, both matches, both at the Santiago Bernabéu and the Signal Iduna Park, ended in 2-2 draws.

However, that equality was not seen the following season. On matchday 2 of that campaign, the Whites won the clash 1-3 and on matchday 6 they won 3-2. That campaign ended with Madrid being champions of Europe. It was their thirteenth.

On to the 15th

Saturday’s match will be the fifteenth clash between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund. Hopefully it will end with the Whites’ fifteenth Champions League title. That is what we all want. La Cibeles, meanwhile, is waiting and hoping to receive the Madrid fans to celebrate another title. There is a calm in Valdebebas, but there is an atmosphere of tension typical of a final. It will be a great occasion, without a doubt, which hopefully ends with another European conquest for the best team in the world.