Original subtitles

MARCH 2019

I think that Augsburg was, so to speak,

the lowest point in a negative phase that lasted several weeks.

Over the weeks, you could see that some players in the team

were suffering more and more self-doubt.

This self-doubts created some tension,

so that outsiders started to suspect

that their attitude wasn't right,

as they were making such a poor showing.

On several occasions this season

we lost points against opponents who are inferior to us,

with all due respect.

We shouldn't be getting beaten purely on mentality,

because we don't have the mentality and will to win that they do.

At the same time, Augsburg was also the point

at which not only the team,

but also the club in general said,

"We need to make some basic adjustments now.

We have to do something different."

So Augsburg was also good,

in that certain things were questioned.

Over the last few days, we've spent hours together

on the training grounds and discussing.

The manager is raising their awareness.

We've also done that in talks with the players,

but it's primarily the manager's job

to point out that their approach was not okay.

We know we have a young team. That's part of the explanation,

but I think it's too easy to use that as an excuse.

Because that young team also got us

to where we are now, at the top of the league.

Perhaps it was all a bit too easy

and now we have to tighten the screws a little

to bring more sharpness into our game.

CL QUARTER-FINAL RETURN LEG 03.05.2019

TODAY WE NEED THE FOOTBALL GOD

UNTIL WE CARRY THE CUP OVER THE PITCH, LIKE IN '97

Hakimi has played a lot in the last weeks

and he may have made a few too many mistakes.

We just reacted to that.

Zagadou needed a rest too.

It wasn't a decision for the weeks ahead,

it was specifically for that match.

Julian Weigl came back in the team as a central defender.

With him, we hoped to gain more control of the ball and improve passing.

We tried to turn the tie around, especially in the first half.

The overall performance was what I envisage for our team.

We dominated Tottenham.

We should be capable, even against a team like Tottenham,

to score one, two, three goals at home.

Lloris had a great match and stopped a lot of shots.

If not for him, we could have scored two or three in the first half.

That gave us strength for the rest of the championship.

Because even in England, few teams dominate Tottenham like that.

Defensively, they're a strong and well-organized team.

When Harry Kane made it 1-0, it was essentially game over.

But although we lost 1-0,

the first half gave the team the confidence

that they still had it

and that they could play brilliantly against a good team.

I thought the scenes after the match were quite remarkable.

I stood on the touchline for quite a while,

looking to the south stand.

Ordinarily you'd cry at the sight of that. It was unique.

It sent shivers down my spine. We were disappointed we got knocked out.

But the fans were incredible.

I've rarely experienced moments like yesterday.

Of course we're disappointed. One reason to do well in the Bundesliga

is to qualify for the Champions League,

and to make a good showing there.

We're out of two competitions and only have the league now.

We're still in the lead. It doesn't feel like it, but we are top of the table.

If you're in the lead on matchday 24,

you're not happy to finish fourth.

You'd still qualify for the Champions League,

but obviously that can't be our goal.

Roman, hi. How are you?

People used to say goalkeepers should be big in stature,

they must assert themselves in the air, and they have to be a bit crazy.

I wondered what they meant by "crazy",

but if you asked a few teammates, they'd say I'm crazy.

It probably rubs off on you

or as a goalkeeper you just become a bit crazy.

Three, two, one, change.

As a goalkeeper you have to be brave.

Sometimes you go in head-first, or you use your whole body

to block a shot and you get the ball smashed at you.

Many players don't dare to do that.

Often when a striker shoots,

the player who blocks the ball turns away.

You can't do that as a goalkeeper.

You have to face the ball,

and even use your face if necessary

to stop the ball from going in the net.

And I think what makes us a bit... crazy

is this total will to defend.

I came here from Freiburg, from a smaller club.

Unlike at Freiburg, I had almost no shots to save.

I thought, "You have to show what you can do.

You're not between the Dortmund posts for nothing."

I think that's when I started wanting too much.

And I often got myself into difficulty.

Last year I had another difficult situation.

We had a coach who wanted me

to get off my line and actively play. I wanted to do too much.

I misjudged some balls, because I wanted to claim them early.

Or I rushed out when I shouldn't have.

I was criticized in the media, and of course that got to me.

That's how the entire last season went.

I was glad that I could start this season from scratch

with a new goalkeeping team, with Eric and Marwin.

I thought things couldn't get any worse.

And I tried to work on myself, to accept things.

I believe in certain things. What you put in is what you get out.

I'm convinced of that, and I try to put in all I can,

to be successful on the pitch.

That includes mental training and training when there is no training.

You must be mentally prepared and train hard.

It has a lot to do with the mind and psychology.

It means a lot to me that the players in the Bundesliga

voted me as the best goalkeeper in "Kicker" magazine.

It's almost worth more than being picked by the editorial staff.

But I still said I have to keep working on myself,

I can do a lot of things better,

I can improve in many areas. We're working on that now.

I've always wanted to take responsibility for things,

regardless of whether or not I'm captain or on the team council.

I still think that, to be able to take responsibility,

you have to perform well, so the players accept you.

I get on well with all the players, but I can still be the one who says,

"That's the second time that you're a minute late for a meal."

At first that player is a bit annoyed and says,

"It's only the second time." And I say, "Two times too many."

But then it's fine.

Or in training, if someone's not being serious enough,

because I can't handle losing, I can't accept that.

Sometimes voices are raised, and then I speak out.

But I think they appreciate my speaking out,

because it's not good if it's all just puppies and kittens.

Basically I like it when players voice criticism.

They must also be critical of themselves.

But we have the situation where Roman

has put in excellent performances all season,

and has also developed personally,

and he has the right and the desire

to speak out openly about any shortcomings and problems that he sees.

That's part of the exchange in this group.

That's conditional upon performance, of course.

It's not good if the goalie lets in goal after goal

and then says, "You're not marking properly."

You always have this discussion within teams.

The defensive players are usually clearheaded.

Attacking players less so, as they think of themselves as artists.

That's a conflict of interests that teams have to withstand.

You even need it in order to develop.

MATCHDAY 25 03.09.2019

We knew it was crucial to win at home.

Because of the conditions, with the rain, it was a physical game.

The weather made it hard. We didn't know

where the wind was coming from. It was swirling around.

That made it even harder for us.

They sat very deep, with nearly everyone in the box.

With teams like that, it's never easy

to score the opening goal or create chances.

I didn't see it. Paco and I were focused on the free kick,

discussing who would take it.

We weren't expecting a penalty.

It took a long time. I nearly froze to death.

But it's one shot.

We've had this weakness at set pieces for a while.

We don't defend them well. No one feels responsible with zonal marking.

We need to make a massive improvement.

It's a question of concentration. When you use zonal marking,

you have to jump into action when the ball is coming.

You have to keep an eye on the ball and any opposing player entering your area.

Some players are taller and out-jump you for the header.

But that wasn't the situation. It was a completely free header.

One, two or three players were sleeping and weren't where they should have been.

And I think that is the problem.

You have to be 100% present for 90 or 95 minutes.

That's football. Or else you get punished.

It was very frustrating.

To be honest, at that moment I was thinking,

"I don't think we can score another."

I was playing in position 9 at the end, which is a different position for me.

Axel fought his way through brilliantly. I didn't know if he still had the ball.

He did that really well. Then he saw me and played me in.

I was in the box, Christian was in a better position.

It was an important moment, as it sealed the win.

I clenched my fists after the final whistle,

because it was important. We hadn't won a few games

and we have a young team that has to deal with the situation.

If we'd played like that in the away games in Nuremberg or Augsburg,

we'd have got a different result.

But you get phases like that in a season and I hope we've put this one behind us.

Of course you always want to be at the top of the table,

but we still have them to play, and we have nine matchdays left

to turn things around again.

No one can waltz through 34 matches without any setbacks.

In England, Jürgen Klopp is having a great season,

but he also had a 7-point lead over Man City.

But you can't shake Man City off. We haven't shaken off Bayern Munich,

or they've overtaken us on goal difference,

not because we have played dreadfully,

but because they won 13 out of 14 matches.

If a team wins 13 out of 14 games, you can't shake them off.

Both teams had poor phases,

Bayern in the first half of the season, us in the second, in February.

Now we're entering the home stretch.

STOCK MARKET LAUNCH OCTOBER 2000

It was a surprise to see a football club go public.

Because it was a first, and because it was Borussia Dortmund,

because you'd have expected that more of Bayern Munich.

But ultimately this step was taken to raise capital,

because as it turned out later, even at this point they were seeing

serious precursors to the impending financial crisis.

I came to Borussia Dortmund in the 2001/02 season

as a very young player from Freiburg.

Matthias Sammer was my manager

and, with his passion, he inspired me to come to Dortmund.

Amoroso never tracked back. Or Ewerthon.

Sammer said, "Dedé, tell them they have to get back!"

But they didn't come back.

"No, I'm staying up here and resting until you give me the ball."

And it worked.

MATCHDAY 34, 2001/02 05.04.2002

We became German champions in my first season, in the last game against Bremen.

Ewerthon scored the goal in the 80th minute,

and we became the German champions.

GERMAN CHAMPIONS 2002

There were relatively expensive players in the team by this time.

Tomáš Rosický, Jan Koller, Márcio Amoroso.

Players that would exceed the financial means of Borussia Dortmund,

unless the club qualified for the Champions League every season.

DORTMUND - CLUB BRUGGE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUALIFIER

In the summer of 2003, it happened.

They didn't qualify for the Champions League.

Catastrophe. We saw the images of Gerd Niebaum sitting in the stadium

when they lost to Club Brugge in the qualifying round,

and he sat hunched over, supporting himself on the barrier in front of him.

I'm not great with numbers, but it was a fine line,

and this tragic story then took its course.

But I'm the last person to say, "That's got nothing to do with me."

As the manager at that time you have to take responsibility and say,

"Man, it might have been possible, if we'd reached the Champions League.

Perhaps we could have done certain things better." No question about it.

First of all, we approached the team

and discussed a reduction in wages.

We said that we wanted to retain 20% of wages.

We didn't force anyone. Those discussions were not easy.

But even now I'm still very grateful

for the acceptance that those players were able to muster.

It was the consequence of Niebaum and Meier's high-risk financial policy.

Added to that, they were investing a stadium expansion.

The two main grandstands had extra tiers added in three expansion phases,

then the legendary south stand was created,

where 26,000 fans can stand,

which is unique in Europe.

From a normal financial point of view, it should never have been built.

It was fall 2004. Reinhard Rauball was elected president

in November, after Niebaum resigned.

I had a close and trusting relationship with Reinhard Rauball from day one.

He asked me to take responsibility.

I never wondered if I'd be at Dortmund for ten years.

The question for me was, "Will we still exist in the three months?"

The pressure was unbelievable, sure,

but I didn't shirk my responsibilities.

To be honest, there was no competition, no one else would do it.

I stayed at a hotel for months

and at first I didn't take a salary at all,

because there was no money. So I had no financial incentive.

It was a really crap time.

We had no money, debts of 122 million,

we played at a stadium owned by a Commerzbank fund...

Since we had no money, the team was no good anymore. Horrific.

In principle the stadium was sold.

Future transfer proceeds from Tomáš Rosický and the like

were assigned.

Future proceeds from ticket sales were assigned.

All of that had to be reversed. We drew up a plan to do that,

but this plan had to be approved by the investors in the fund,

to allow the continued existence of Borussia Dortmund.

When it came to the actual vote, I was asked

not to attend.

It was in this room, the room that he previously occupied.

He wanted to come.

It was a valiant attitude of his, to want to face the situation.

He said, "We have to fight." I said, "Fight, yes. But we'll do it."

I was worried that too many people would say to him,

"You brought this upon us. Why should we help you now?"

To have prepared it all and worked hard on it,

and then to be treated as persona non grata...

that is painful.

I thought it was the right decision not to allow

this conflict to crop up in the meeting, so I said,

"No, it's better if you stay here." And he didn't want that.

Then I resorted to the measure available to me by law,

I issued an instruction and said, "No, we're doing it this way."

We'd lost to Stuttgart the night before. The mood wasn't good.

For the first few hours, the atmosphere was so hostile

that I thought we were done for.

If 75% of the Molsiris Fund investors hadn't approved our restructuring plan,

we'd have been finished that day.

Next morning I'd have gone to the local court to file for bankruptcy.

That would have meant instant relegation to the District C-League.

We sat there, after going through it all and making the presentations,

and everyone had to vote.

The result was due to appear above us,

and we waited and waited and waited.

No one said a word. You could hear a pin drop,

because everyone was anxiously awaiting the result.

There was a TV screen, and bang... the number appeared.

It was in the region of 100,

so we could end the day the way people do in Dortmund.

The debt-ridden Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund

has avoided bankruptcy for the time being.

This came as their stadium's owners approved the club's restructuring plan.

Germany's only listed football club hopes that this

will ensure it remains solvent for the coming year.

MARCH 2019

Axel has a muscle tear in the hip flexor muscle area.

On his left side.

With professional footballers, muscle injuries are our biggest problem,

as they are the most common.

We classify these muscle injuries.

This is a medium-severe muscle injury.

CLUB DOCTOR It should take around

three weeks of rehabilitation to make a full recovery.

After the last match against Stuttgart, I was in a lot of pain.

I've sustained a muscle injury.

It's going to take some time.

But I feel...

I feel better now.

Axel is our centerpiece. He dictates our rhythm.

Players follow his lead.

We had a similar situation up front in recent weeks with Marco Reus.

Of course it hurts us, but in the run-up to a match

I don't like making it an issue, as you're just creating excuses.

And you're also slightly degrading the other players,

who have to pull the chestnuts out of the fire.

Paco has muscle problems, too.

And Mario has a bit of a problem with his ribs.

He also caught a cold.

The upshot is that all three are out.

I trained two or three times last week,

but I could still really feel my rib.

It was bitter, after the Stuttgart game, to be ruled out with a broken rib.

Especially with a difficult away game,

tricky conditions and tough opposition.

We'd like to field a full-strength team for this game.

Hertha Berlin is traditionally a tough away game for us.

It has been for years.

So it's frustrating. But what can we do? Give up?

MATCHDAY 03.16.2019

Berlin was a difficult task, because they've developed very well.

They're particularly strong against strong opposition.

In particular, they've managed to get good results

against technically good teams, including Bayern,

SPORTS DIRECTOR and against all the top teams.

I think we last won away in Berlin five years ago.

So we need a top performance here to win. Period.

We also knew that in the south,

they were all hoping that we'd falter in Berlin.

Above all I knew that we would only succeed with emotionality.

We were at lunch and Mr. Watzke said he wanted to say a few words.

He told us that he would also award us a bonus

if we won the game.

He said, "We're in this position because you've been playing well."

"We are so close. We can become legends."

"People will still be talking about us in 15 years,

saying we became champions. They'll know the names of all the team

that won the champions shield. We don't have to win, but we can."

It can sharpen the senses to hear something different.

If I make a counterpoint, I try to do so at an emotional level.

A bit warlike, but not too much.

"If you want to win in Berlin, you must be willing to suffer,

to take the pain, or you won't succeed."

If you do that once in a while to set the mood, it's probably productive.

If you make that appeal every week, no one listens after three weeks.

Right, let's get to it!

Everything was perfect in terms of the conditions,

the rain, the greasy surface.

All the ingredients were there for a great showdown.

A lot of Dortmund fans were there. I heard there were up to 20,000.

SPORTS JOURNALIST The atmosphere was like a cup final.

We conceded what to me was an unnecessary goal.

In the future it would be good not to concede goals that aren't well-executed.

If we play another team that destabilizes us,

and they score a great goal, then you say, "Bravo." End of story.

But with the goals we concede sometimes, it's difficult.

It's my job to hold it. And I tried to.

I discussed it just now with the goalkeeping coach.

He thought, as I did, that the ball took a strange bounce,

as it was suddenly up by my nose, and then it was in the goalmouth.

Unfortunate... That was unfortunate for me today.

No one knows the exact rule.

It's a natural reaction when the ball is shot at your face from a meter away,

to raise your hand. I didn't plan to do that. It's just a reflex.

I didn't make much of a protest,

because I knew I played the ball with my hand.

Normally it goes to the video assistant referee, when your hand

doesn't make the body bigger. That didn't happen.

Sometimes you play well and score, like today or against Leverkusen.

Sometimes you make mistakes. You have to learn from them and keep going.

For me, it was one of the best games of the season. If not the very best.

But it takes two to tango. It was two great teams.

Hertha Berlin put in a great performance, too.

But Borussia Dortmund were being driven by a virtually irrepressible will

to win the match, despite the most adverse of conditions.

92nd MINUTE OF PLAY

Jadon pulled his marker with him into the box.

I wanted to play a one-two with him, but I saw there wasn't enough space.

Then he saw me, and I just had to stick my foot out.

It was pure relief then. We knew it was the last move of the game,

our last chance of taking all three points.

Had it not been for Marco, we wouldn't have won in Berlin. Period.

The 92nd-minute goal was scored by Marco because Marco is predestined for that.

CEO Other players may not have scored.

My heart is still racing, so it's hard to analyze it already.

But the way I saw it, we played with incredible will,

trying to turn it around after we went 1-0 down.

I just read that we had 25 shots on goal, away at Hertha Berlin.

A record for the season. Outstanding.

A huge compliment to the team, because you could see today,

in the 2nd half, they wanted to win with every fiber of their bodies.

Chapeau, I take my hat off.

In fact that is the DNA of this team, of this club,

to go for it, to play an aggressive game.

It reminded me a bit of the approach in the Jürgen Klopp years.

SPORTS JOURNALIST The physicality, the aggressiveness.

That also gets the fans on your side.

After the massive effort that they put in,

to seal such a dramatic win

so late in the game, that's really invigorating.

It also gives you mental strength.

That match really impressed me.

Every season, you get four or five situations you can draw strength from.

That was definitely one of them. That much is obvious.

We just believed in ourselves. We knew we could do it.

GOALKEEPER We created chances, and I think...

I can say it here in private. If you win games... - Yeah!

If you win games like this, you can win the title at the end of the season.

MENTALITY OF CHAMPIONS

EPIC!

He gets the ball here. He's got this solution.

They'll move across, but not to here. It's impossible.

There are two of them. This far is impossible. He has lots of options.

Lucien is a football enthusiast. A real purist.

What interests Lucien most of all in the football business is the ball.

Lucien is someone who spends all day every day

thinking about football.

He comes to here. He can go inside. Risk.

He can go deeper, play a one-two with him. Or with him.

And he can...

He can go here. He stays put, and the ball goes there.

If they don't stay here. Understand? Okay.

When I was 20 I was already interested in tactics. Everything.

I talked about it with the other players and with the manager.

MANAGER That always interested me.

He loves attacking play with lots of possession. That's important for us.

After each match he goes into every last detail

of what we didn't do well.

Stay level! That's important.

Because we have a young team,

he also likes to work on all the young players' weaknesses.

After training, they stay another 10 or 15 minutes.

It doesn't seem like much, but in the end it's important.

I think the players appreciate it, when a manager

not only deals with the tactical macrocosm, so to speak,

with match plans and so on, but also give specific tips

on what to do in individual situations.

That brings the manager and the player closer together,

because of this technical competence, particularly with details.

He doesn't need a big stage, or to be grandiose.

That makes him likeable for the fans,

It creates appreciation for him in the players.

I often see him coaching individual players.

Him and the player doing particular exercises.

Taking the ball, keeping the ball up, skills exercises.

He really explains things. I've never seen that before.

I know the player may find it awkward

to train alone with the manager,

but he gets it across very well,

and the players make great progress as a result.

We have to keep working hard. Not working, but working hard.

People underestimate that, thinking they're all fit and can do everything.

Sorry, that's not the truth. Far from it, far from it.

There are many, many things to improve.

I remember a player when I was at Mönchengladbach: Dante.

His left foot was okay. He was left-footed.

But as a central defender, we wanted him to play in both directions,

right and left.

After training sessions, he would work on it,

and he succeeded. Three or four months later, he was much better

with his left foot, and much better with his right foot.

He could make 50-meter diagonal passes with either foot.

Ronaldo, what does he do?

He's 34.

He stays for a long time after training.

All players say that about him.

He does stretching, strength, technical exercises. He works in front of goal.

That's the truth, and it's no coincidence.

Every player, whether they're 18 or 30,

can improve.

Lucien is the decision-maker. Exclusively so.

But the coaching team is very open, constructive and also critical.

We discuss many things. The way we do it

is that Manni takes care of the set pieces,

both offensively and defensively. He's in charge,

although ideas are also thrown in by Lucien, me and our analysts,

as well as by the goalkeeping coach. It's the same with me.

I'm responsible for opposition analysis. I watch our next opponents,

I analyze it all and I make a presentation to the team.

Everyone feels what an open, kind and warm-hearted person Lucien is.

He's extremely polite, and that's how it is working together.

It gets a bit more hectic in the heat of a match, of course,

but basically he's a very structured, polite and nice man.

He never loses his composure, even if something was really bad.

I think many players appreciate that.

He sets great stock in the way people treat each other,

himself with us, and us among ourselves.

Everyone realizes that respect and discipline

are the two most important qualities for having success.

Yes, that's good.

Mr. Favre, what's your impression of the players? Are they fighters?

I think he's someone who is totally invested in his job.

He looks after everything that constitutes the original job of coach.

But everything else that in the last few years and decades

has become part of the job of manager,

public relations, appearing on the touchline, giving press conferences,

everything that interests us journalists and many fans,

all of that is...

I wouldn't say he's contemptuous of it,

but it's something he doesn't do gladly.

Our collective and individual performances are what's most important.

I have good relations with journalists,

but sometimes even I say, "That's not on!"

What I don't like is the lack of precision.

They want to sell something sensational, and they exaggerate.

I hardly watch TV, and I read...

Usually I don't read papers.

I was really wasted,

which may have been noticeable in some interviews.

And I don't remember much that makes any sense.

ON THE CHAMPIONS' PARTY 2011 I do remember one thing.

I'm not sure if I ever told anyone.

I actually woke up on a truck in the garage. All alone.

I remember that, but I have no idea about the hours before that.

Nobody asked, "What's with the coach?" or anything.

I woke up, climbed out of the truck and found myself in a big factory hall.

Then I walked across the yard and saw the silhouette of a man.

So I whistled, because I can whistle quite loudly,

and I noticed the silhouette slowed down a little.

So I waited and I saw Aki Watzke.

So Aki and I were the only people on this huge yard.

Jürgen was finished. He always partied the hardest of everyone.

He said to me, "Aki, I have to get out of here."

So I said, "Jürgen, let's get out of here.

Let's try our luck. We'll just keep walking until someone passes."

But it wasn't that easy, because the city was closed off.

But after ten minutes or so, a car passed.

So I jumped out onto the road.

Aki held up an old Mercedes on the road.

It was a Turkish feller, in a station wagon.

And Aki says, "Take us to the Italian."

"No, I won't drive you there."

So Aki reaches into his pocket, finds 200 euros and says, "You will."

He sees the money, "OK". Aki sits in the front, I sit back.

I kept slamming my head into the side,

I was a little tired,

and I kept hearing, "cluck cluck cluck".

"What's going on here?" I thought I dreamed it.

But I didn't. The trunk was full of chickens.

There were chickens. That's correct.

But there were also three dead rams he had just slaughtered.

But he probably didn't notice that.

But those rams spread a pervasive smell through the car,

which wasn't a Mercedes, it was a Ford Transit.

But nobody will be surprised that I was a bit more sober than him.

Then we had to drive through all the road blocks.

We went through the road blocks, with Aki shouting out the window.

"Oh, Herr Watzke! Please pass."

That was... I don't remember much more.

We drove to the city center like that.

I dropped Jürgen off with his family.

The second year went much better. I made sure I paced myself.

We came out of a very difficult time. We had had big financial problems.

The stadium was still full, we were still seen as a Champions League club.

But we didn't have the horsepower to live up to our reputation.

We had to give up our best players,

A to make money, B to lower our wage budget.

Jürgen was a lucky find in 2008.

We fit together like peas and carrots.

Jürgen suited Borussia Dortmund,

the Ruhr area, our region, as if he had been born here.

We had lost our confidence in that period

and he basically kissed us awake.

From day one, it was a win-win situation.

The club needed a manager with low budget expectations,

and I needed a club that would give me the chance

to grow to the next level.

Because Mainz had been like a playground for us.

I wasn't aware of the severity of Borussia Dortmund's financial situation

when I arrived in 2008.

But I quickly found out that it was no picnic.

Because of our financial trouble, together we developed the philosophy

to build things back up slowly, one step at a time.

Considering where Dortmund came from, what Klopp pulled off here,

with his ability to captivate everyone and cover all the bases...

He became a role model figure for so many people in the city.

To create that and then translate your philosophy into successes,

all within three years... That's extraordinary.

MATCHDAY 1, 2008/09 08.16.2008

We put together a team who were clearly not the best 11 players

ever signed by Borussia Dortmund,

but when you put them all together, they complimented each other well.

It was tight-knit group who all worked hard for each other.

It was a group of wild dogs who went at anyone wearing a different kit.

It was a very fortunate combination of events.

Getting a team like that for the little money the club paid at the time...

They really won the lottery.

We'd go forward with immense speed.

Hitting on the break was our greatest strength.

Everyone tried their best to help the others.

Everyone held back their ego.

Everyone was like that. We really wanted to work as a team.

The connection between Jürgen Klopp and the team was very passionate and close.

He was incredibly involved in the development of his boys.

He picked them very carefully and nurtured them,

but he could also be quite unpleasant at times.

Kloppo is always fired up. That's his strength.

Like with most people, his greatest strength is also his Achilles' heel.

Back then, he found it hard to relax

or to accept that some boys might be tired.

He wanted us to always give it our all.

So of course we'd sometimes clash.

You had to keep up with him, if you couldn't you were lost.

He had a clear vision, which he implemented completely.

I had just turned 18, it was my first season, I'd just left school.

Everything was new and I was always nervous.

It was just unbelievable.

He was the man who made the difference.

On the one hand, we demanded that of him,

his dribbling and the one-on-ones,

but our team also needed

an 18-year-old to assume responsibility.

I think the goal against Hanover is symbolic of that,

when he dribbled past four or five players.

The energy was lacking in the stadium and the squad

and he woke up the entire team.

After that, we overwhelmed Hanover, but he initiated that.

From the first moment, we all said,

"OK, we'll see him at the Ballon d'Or and I hope he will remember us."

Because we all saw that he was an incredibly talented footballer.

MATCHDAY 32, 2010/11 04.30.2011

The first league win came as a surprise to us as well.

When we were 2-0 up against Nürnberg on matchday 32

and Nobby Dickel announced that Cologne were ahead against Leverkusen...

That will always give me goosebumps.

GERMAN CHAMPIONS 2011

We didn't really have time to prepare. It wasn't supposed to happen.

Because nobody dreamed that Leverkusen would lose at home to Cologne.

But then it did happen and the following hours were like a trance.

We knew we were champions, so you look at each other and think,

"Awesome. This is just what we've worked so hard for and it's really happening."

It was such a great feeling to win it with that team,

because we were all very close friends.

We spent so much time together.

It was very special.

An extremely strange evening followed.

I actually doubt that could happen today.

It's only a few years ago, but somehow it feels like it was a different age.

It came at a perfect time for Dortmund,

because for many years the club had made it hard for fans.

It almost went bankrupt, with one foot in the grave,

and suddenly there's this resurrection.

And with a team that was very easy to identify with.

That was probably the best time in the club's history,

although the '97 Champions League title has greater sporting value.

Who is German champion? BVB Borussia

Who is German champion? Borussia BVB

That video is world famous.

With Neven standing bare-chested on a car. Fantastic.

That team was only a little worse at playing football than at partying.

German champion is only BVB

Only BVB, only BVB

GERMAN CUP FINAL 2012 05.12.2012

This climaxed with us winning the league again in 2011/12.

We even won the double that year,

which was a first in the history of Borussia Dortmund.

Bayern were great that day, they really caused us problems,

but we were so clinical.

We played really well. Lewy was exceptional.

Winning a final is something different than a league.

Bayern must have played 50 finals and never conceded more than two goals

and then they conceded five. It was extraordinary.

Winning the double on that pitch in Berlin,

I think that was the most beautiful moment in Aki Watzke's football career,

the most beautiful moment in his life at Borussia Dortmund

after taking over in difficult times.

You're always inclined to glorify the past,

but the collaboration between me, the sports director and the manager,

that's unbeatable. It will not happen anymore.

No matter how good the manager and the sports director are.

This cooperation, especially on the human level...

That was a unique experience. You can't even put it into words.

The 5-2 against Bayern Munich was the match that evoked the most emotions,

but in retrospect it also hurt us the most.

That evening, somewhere in Munich after this severe humiliation,

someone made the firm resolution: "This will not go on.

SPORTS JOURNALIST We will fight back."

And history would show that the empire did indeed strike back.

CL QUARTER-FINAL RETURN LEG 2013 04.09.2013

SCORE 1-2 91st MINUTE OF PLAY

There's nothing to say about the Malaga match.

You should just watch and listen to the BVB TV recording.

There is nothing better in a bad moment.

Just let it run and then... "now the miracle of Dortmund begins".

And off he goes. Sensational.

Now the miracle of Dortmund begins.

Throw-in, Schmelzer, Lewandowski with the cross to the middle,

Schieber, Reus... Reus in the middle! Get it in!

Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal!

Goal! Goal! Goal!

Goal for Borussia Dortmund!

3-2, we're all flipping out!

All of Borussia Dortmund are on the pitch!

I don't believe it! I don't believe it!

3-2 for Borussia Dortmund!

I don't even know who scored!

I really don't give a damn!

I think it was Reus. I don't know!

Santana! - It was Santana! Felipe Santana!

Friends, this is awesome!

That match was special. It felt incredible.

Incredible.

Very liberating.

Dortmund had played a fantastic season in the Champions League.

But then, just before what was considered the most important match

in the Champions League, at home against Real Madrid,

news was leaked that caused a lot of shock.

Not just at Borussia Dortmund, but in the whole city.

I think I was already in bed or on my way to bed.

I believe it was late on Monday night, when Michael Zorc texted me.

He wrote, "Mats, I wanted to tell you, as it will be in 'Bild' in an hour."

I was at home, when the doorbell rang.

Mario was outside with my consultant, who worked for both of us.

So I thought, "What are they doing here?"

I'd just made myself dinner.

There were a few moments when I thought, "Who will I tell first?

What order makes sense? Who should I tell in person?"

Then Mario told me he was moving to Bayern Munich the following season.

I thought, "No, you're joking!"

I remember I didn't sleep much that night, or not at all.

Because it really hit the community that we had built up there.

I wouldn't have been too pleased if Marco, Mats, Schmelle or Lewy

had all gotten up and said, "We're moving away."

We had a special relationship. We'd won a lot together.

That's why I could understand that they weren't pleased

and that the news wasn't too well-received.

But I'd made up my mind and I wanted to do it.

Decisions are never easy.

You can't assume that everyone will like what you do.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL

During the press conference the day before the Madrid match

I had to make sure the proverbial Dortmund soul wouldn't rip Götze apart.

We needed him to be in top form to beat Real Madrid.

Right from the start, the fans made a lot of noise.

They supported the team. Mario provided the assist early on to go 1-0 up.

After the break, a 20-minute frenzy followed,

with Lewy's goals, 2-1, 3-1 and 4-1.

Then came the showdown in Wembley.

They went through to the final against Bayern Munich.

Unbelievable, a German-German final on the holy pitch.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL 05.25.2013

I'll never forget, on the eve of the Champions League final in London,

Jürgen Klopp said to me, "The history we've written here in recent years

is so magical, what will we do if we win tomorrow?

It'll be over."

From insolvency management in 2005/2006

to winning the Champions League in 2013.

Maybe it would have been too much. We had so much luck in those years.

Decisions we made two years earlier would turn out to be essential later.

We really rode our luck in those days.

We were the better team. Bayern took the lead, but we were in the game.

Bayern really had to be aggressive.

They made a ton of niggling fouls.

Then we equalized, 1-1, with Ilkay's penalty.

The match was open, both teams at the end of the season.

We had a little more left in our tank than Bayern.

That's how it looked to me.

But Bayern had Robben, who scored the goal.

That defeat hurt more than losing the Champions League final normally would.

But to know we were losing Mario Götze, the greatest talent we ever had

to our arch-rival Bayern Munich...

That really hurt. Because if the team that played at Wembley in '13

had stuck together for two more years,

they would have most likely won the Champions League.

That team was one in a million.

Unfortunately, we had to give it up. We didn't have the finances to keep it.

There he is, the thinker and doer.

The critic. How are you? - Come sit down.

I spent four years with Borussia Dortmund's biggest rival Bayern Munich.

When I started there, 2011-2012, Dortmund were double-winners.

They won the double in 2012 and were Germany's number one.

Of course I had a few arguments with Aki Watzke,

but also with Jürgen Klopp.

That's the way it is in football. Friendships are hard to maintain.

When one guy works for Bayern and the other for Dortmund,

and considering that we're both extremely ambitious,

CEO there's no place for friendship.

Of course, as sporting director of Bayern Munich, it's only normal

that he realized the best way to weaken us was to sign our players.

But at the time, of course I cursed him.

You're right to call Bayern the favorites.

Of course Mario and Lewy were outstanding

and it was Bayern's mission to get the best players, not the worst.

If they have to come from rivals, then so be it.

That's difficult.

We had to find common ground again when we met again.

There were several discussions. About three or four, I think.

To see if we could clear the air or not.

People who were connected to both him and me

repaired our line of communication.

That's how it came about.

Before the match in Berlin, I spoke to the team for the first time in ages.

Really? - I pulled all the stops. Three hours before the match.

All the stops.

That worked out pretty well though.

It's cold in here. A cold wind blows through Dortmund.

You have to call a spade a spade if you want to analyze it...

A hot topic right now is Sancho and Manchester United,

both his discussions with the club and mine with the consultants.

A meeting did take place. Man United invited the consultant.

But according to what I know, the consultant told the club

that no matter how much money they offer,

we won't let him go this summer.

But the player also has no intention of taking that step this summer.

We're not constantly receiving faxes or emails,

saying, "We're offering this or that". That's a myth.

It's really more subtle, more indirect.

Normally it's first explored through third parties,

to find out if there is any willingness to let a player go.

I think clubs first try to find out,

"How serious are Borussia Dortmund when they say they won't let a player go?"

In this case, we're quite serious about it.

Very serious even.

I had to call them to order and get a little louder to keep it constructive.

Usually it begins after transferring a player to Borussia Dortmund.

They don't come to us because Dortmund is the center of the world,

but because we offer certain features

that they don't find at other clubs, especially for young players.

We put faith in young players.

That's part of our approach to developing the club

and being competitive with the top 12 to 16 clubs in Europe.

We're lacking a little in terms of sales from normal business,

so we have to try to compensate a little.

Sancho. - Sancho, correct.

Sometimes players develop very quickly

and you're almost overwhelmed by it, like with Jadon.

And then it's always good to remember what you discussed before.

You don't just want to develop players, but also benefit from their quality.

Scoring goals in the stadium is our first priority.

We should talk about a topic we already broached a bit internally.

There's a saying, which is easy for me to say: "failure is expensive".

You always have to make sure you maintain a capable team

who can achieve the goals you set as a club.

And, yes, they've had to lose players at times for financial reasons.

That's Borussia Dortmund's way.

They're not Barcelona or Real Madrid, who don't have to.

Bayern don't have to either. Dortmund do sometimes.

But when it gets out of hand, you're not a big club.

In my eyes, though, Borussia Dortmund is a big club.

That's why, especially when there is no pressing need,

it would be a fatal sign if we just became a selling club.

I'm really starting to get nervous.

It gets even worse when you're in the delivery room.

The thing is, I've been on pins and needles for three weeks now.

And, uhm...

You're eager for it to happen at some point.

That Thursday, two days before the game, I asked our manager

if I could sleep at home, because my wife was very pregnant

and could have gone into labor any moment,

so it was important to me to be with her from Friday to Saturday,

before I had to go to the hotel. That's what we agreed.

MATCHDAY 03.30.2019

Sometime around 8 o'clock, my wife came in, as she'd woken up earlier.

She said, "I think it might be starting."

So I was very excited.

So I called the manager and told him my wife was having contractions

and that I couldn't come to the match.

I think he didn't get it at first though,

because five minutes later, Edin called me and said,

"Marco, what's happening? Are you coming or not?"

I said, "No, I'm not coming."

Then we drove to the hospital and waited for the baby to be born.

Meanwhile, as the baby only arrived in the evening, I watched the game.

One hand on my wife, one hand on my cellphone.

MATCHDAY 27 03.30.2019

Of course, our plans had included Marco.

But he was at the hospital, so it was a matter of hours.

And, well... We have to adapt quickly.

And we have to be very clever.

We have to defend very well and attack very cleverly.

Because this team can counter well.

They have many athletic players.

They're dangerous on the break and in set pieces.

Welcome to matchday 27...

I've missed less than five matches in the last 20, 25 years.

I won't miss any matches in the next 25 years,

CEO as long as I can get around.

Is the security under control? - Everything was checked. - Great.

When I arrived, we had 144 employees. I knew everyone personally. Now we're 800.

That year, we had a turnover of 75 million. We made 539 million last year.

But we were 122 million in the red and the stadium was no longer ours.

Now we have zero debt and the stadium is ours again, it's completely paid off.

I also see that football is on the verge of becoming too commercial.

I don't like it either. But no matter how much we say we resent the fact

that the figures keep rising, which is true. We do set limits.

We only raise ticket prices to match the rate of inflation.

As Borussia Dortmund, we have a sense of socio-political duty,

because of our origins and because of the region.

We're happy to do that, it's part of our conviction,

but we also have to go along to a degree or give up our international ambitions.

Nobody wants that either.

That's a typically German attitude, "Let me have my cake and eat it too".

I CAME HERE WITH MY FATHER AS A CHILD AND HE CAME HERE WITH HIS FATHER

My colleagues all know that you can't talk to me on a match day.

I'm in a tunnel on days like that.

I have stomach ache and I get more and more nervous.

All that's really hard about this job is the tension.

For me, every defeat is a disaster.

It's as if it were my own business.

When you're at the head of the company, you feel responsible for everything.

But when you're sitting in the stands,

from the moment they kick off, you're powerless.

That creates internal pressure. That imploding feeling.

Pass him on the outside!

We're not even playing football.

Of course Marco is missing.

And because Marco is out, we lack a bit of edge.

He was hard to replace today, especially since we trained with him in mind.

Fourth best away team.

We'd better not go behind.

I think we didn't play well.

We didn't have good rhythm, not enough tempo in the game.

Wolfsburg are physically strong. They passed forwards well

and they even had some chances.

Shit!

The day after a league match or a European Cup match, my body aches.

I also lose one and a half kilos during the match,

because I tense up completely and all my muscles are working hard.

I can hardly get up the next day.

He didn't even touch him. He just fell over from weakness.

We're not even getting shots on goal.

90th MINUTE OF PLAY

And then he smashes it in. That was the third or fourth time this season.

It's extraordinary, but not good for the heart. Though maybe in the long run.

It was one of those moments when you think, "That could define the season."

When you look back in May or in ten years, that's the moment when you say,

"This is where we became champions. Not in the match against Munich.

We realized if we believed in ourselves, we could win those matches."

When you win, serotonin and endorphin rush through your body.

It's like being intoxicated. It's probably addictive, too.

It was really a present at that moment. Those two goals by Alcácer.

Everyone was full of joy.

Then we heard Bayern had dropped points. We were top of the table again.

Considering that we were going to Bayern next, that was really big news.

Because it turned the league situation upside-down.

There's somthing almost mythical about Bayern.

You think that once they're on top, you can't pass them.

Perfect. Perfect.

We're heading to Munich as league leaders, which I prefer.

Of course we shouldn't go there thinking Bayern are under pressure now.

Bayern have always known pressure. They're almost immune.

We should go there feeling we have to and want to win.

DORTMUND LEAGUE LEADERS AGAIN

The manager has scenes in his head he considers important,

and we have scenes in our heads that are important.

Those scenes are then passed on to our analysts and edited together.

Then everyone watches the analysis and reports what they're noticed,

in what scene what player did what right or wrong.

OK, guys. Good morning. Let's do the analysis.

We need to work on

tactical ball-winning up front,

we need to move more and play more compact.

I think we...

It wasn't compact enough, I think.

After the Wolfsburg match, the main topic was

that sometimes we weren't compact enough.

Compactness in defending.

That in combination with a lack of pace, those were the main themes.

That's dangerous. Ball loss here. Counter.

He should play more calmly here.

The counter is dangerous. The cross doesn't come in.

This... He plays here... Abdou, Jadon, he crosses.

This is dangerous, boys. He shouldn't cross here.

We played badly in the beginning.

We can't allow that in the next matches.

When you play against Bayern Munich, you have to defend really well.

You have to be good in possession, you have to be able to counter,

but you also have to survive phases where you sit deep and defend deep.

They have a lot of ways to score a goal and you have to be prepared.

You have to play along, you have to ramp it up sometimes.

It's multi-faceted. That's why it's very hard to play in Munich.

In the second half of the season,

Dortmund were lagging behind until the match against Wolfsburg.

So you travel to Munich as league leader and have a chance to pull away.

That means you're actually in a very comfortable position.

It looked as though Borussia Dortmund were mentally up to the task

of facing Bayern in Munich,

and Bayern were under pressure after dropping points in Freiburg.

So, you go there full of anticipation.

I think that rarely have so many Dortmund fans

SPORTS JOURNALIST looked forward to the match in Munich.

Because everyone was very confident.

MATCHDAY MUNICH

Good morning.

Today I'm a bit more nervous than usual, before a normal Bundesliga match.

Everything around it, the media coverage, it's brutal.

You can't escape it. You're confronted with it everywhere.

That's fine though. It means we've accomplished something.

You can't walk a meter in any direction in Germany

without people asking you about it.

It's the first time in years that everyone's this excited.

This year we have a situation where the league is undecided until the end,

probably until the last matchday.

So of course there is much more excitement before this match.

Because you feel like this day might be decisive.

The match feels like a final, and how do you deal with that?

MATCHDAY 28

There's not much to say. A lot is at stake today.

It makes a difference whether you play Bayern on matchday 2

or a few matches before the end.

There is more of an adrenaline rush. No question about it.

I just saw a new poster.

You don't have to be a psychologist to see it's meant to intimidate.

I should ask some of my colleagues if that's just for us or not.

I think they hang up a few more when we come.

We just saw it when we drove by.

They hung up their league titles all around the stadium.

That's why it's time that changed this year.

What sets Bayern apart from all the other teams is their consistency.

The concentration and endurance they show over 34 matchdays,

approaching each game with the conviction there can be only one winner,

which to them is Bayern Munich.

And that's where we have to go, too.

When our opponents arrive at our stadium, they should think,

"We can't win here."

You've got everything to win this game! You need courage!

It will be important to keep Bayern away from the goal.

They will play an extremely high line. The usually have a lot of possession,

so it's important that we keep possession ourselves.

That we get some relief and that we become dangerous.

We just need courage today.

Come on, men!

It's the ultimate match. The Bundesliga's prize attraction.

The global media attention is enormous.

I think it's broadcast live in over 200 countries.

And it arouses a lot of emotions.

Matches like these often come down to details.

In the beginning, Mo Dahoud had a huge chance.

If it had gone in, it would have changed the game.

They were very dangerous at set pieces.

We knew that before the match.

We saw that in the videos.

They're especially dangerous from corners, as they proved today.

We have to step up our game.

We know where the ball should go

and we have 3, 4, 5 guys who are 1.90 meter tall.

In that match, many balls fell right for us.

Some days you just know where the ball's going to go.

You just know, "If I go there, the ball will follow."

We lost too many headers and struggled with the set pieces.

Our positioning was bad.

It's been a problem in this half of the season, and it was fatal here.

The match started with a huge chance for Mats Hummels and then he scored.

All set pieces and aerial duels, where we weren't ready and nobody took charge.

That can't be explained by tactics.

If you take a closer look at the videos, it was also about timing.

It's about when you jump and about determination.

I think that's why it went wrong in those situation.

There was a lack of determination.

Bayern pressed very well, but we also couldn't deal with it.

We barely even tried. And that's how Bayern like to play,

they use tight pressing to win the ball

and then they're off.

Zagadou, 19 years old, an extremely talented defender,

but he's not always focused.

Lewandowski isn't even pressing him at that moment.

He probably can't explain it himself.

Something like that can always happen when you let a player like him play.

On the other side, you've got Hummels, who's 19 years older.

Then we just defended, or put in a showing on the pitch,

like children playing against men.

We didn't really have duels.

In situations like that, you need to get physical.

But if there are no duels, that's difficult.

Up until the 45th minute, we didn't make a single foul,

which we could have used to make a stand, to disrupt the game a little.

That could have maybe helped us pick up the pace a little and wake everyone up.

That's rough. It was already decided at half time.

It's hard to accept.

After winning the ball, they could counter immediately at pace

technical pace, technical movement, right movement and good ball control.

They really taught us a lesson.

I almost broke my hand at half time, because I hit the door so hard

trying to force a reaction from the team,

but it was deathly quiet in the dressing room.

I think the decisive point was that Bayern

put in by far their best performance of the season,

and that Borussia Dortmund obviously had enormous problems

dealing with this pressure and with the mental aspect of playing in Munich

and possibly making the decisive step towards winning the league here.

Because they could have been five points ahead of Bayern.

Today, we failed when it mattered. We say we want to measure up to them,

but if you look at today and compare us, we're still far off.

I think we can be happy with 5-0.

Unfortunately, our opponents taught us a lesson on all fronts.

We never actually got into the game.

No balls! We're playing like children!

I was angry about the way we played, because we were too scared.

The pressure wasn't on us, but on Bayern.

That bothered me, that we didn't play with the joy

and the confidence you have when you're ahead.

When you lose there 5-0...

Of course everyone processes it differently, but I was pissed off.

We have to analyze this game in detail. That's the only way to improve.

EPISODE FOUR FROM 09.13.2019 ON PRIME VIDEO

Yes! Yes!

Yes!

Damn it!

Anything is possible. You don't know what will happen.

But we have to focus on our game.