Borussia Dortmund have endured a poor domestic campaign after years of losing their best players – finishing fifth in the Bundesliga – yet they have found a way into this year’s UEFA Champions League final. Ahead of their showdown with Real Madrid live on TNT Sports and discovery+, Owen Hargreaves explained how, against the odds, they have performed so well in the competition.
Owen Hargreaves believes that collective hard work and “going that extra yard” are what Borussia Dortmund will need if they are to cause an upset in the UEFA Champions League final.
The Bundesliga side find themselves in the showpiece match at Wembley on June 1, when they face the daunting prospect of tackling Real Madrid, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
A star-studded Real go into the game off the back of a dominant domestic campaign, which concluded with them lifting the Liga crown ahead of their arrival in London. Meanwhile, Dortmund’s inconsistency saw them slump to a disappointing fifth-placed finish in the Bundesliga.
However, Edin Terzic’s side have excelled in Europe’s premier club competition, having escaped the ‘group of death’ which featured Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Newcastle, before knockout wins over PSV Eindhoven and Atletico Madrid. They then faced PSG again for a place in the final.
A shock 2-0 aggregate win over the Parisians booked their place at Wembley and Hargreaves, speaking to TNT Sports, says they have somehow found a “formula” to perform in Europe this year.
“Well, I think they probably could have been knocked out in their other games,” Hargreaves admitted. “They probably could have also been knocked out in the group stage. All the games are really tight but somehow they found a way in the Champions League.
“The one thing that sticks out is looking at all the attacking players who work incredibly hard, tracking back, and it looks like they’re going that extra yard.
“Those games that I saw, the wide players [Karim] Adeyemi, Jadon [Sancho], [Julian] Brandt, they were putting such a shift in there. It was unbelievable and I think it’s great for coaching, showing players ‘look what happens when you guys push, look how far you can go? Look, you can get a Champions League final!’
“These guys are 27 points behind [German champions, Bayer] Leverkusen but also in a Champions League final, so I think they’ve worked incredibly hard in those games [in Europe].
“Also, [Nico] Schlotterbeck, [Mats] Hummels have been terrific. The keeper’s been really, really good. Solid. [Ian] Maatsen has been amazing at left-back, the midfield three have good balance, help each other. [Niclas] Fullkrug is a super-underrated finisher as well. So I think they’ve found a little formula, right at the most important part of the season.”
Dortmund have reached the Champions League final twice in the past, stunning holders Juventus to lift the trophy in 1997, before a heartbreaking late defeat to German rivals Bayern Munich in 2013.
Despite this European pedigree, Dortmund are perhaps lacking in star power, in part due to the club’s strategy of selling their top players for massive profit.
However, despite the losses in recent years of the likes of Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham – the latter lining up for Madrid on Saturday – Hargreaves suggested that the current team might be more united than those arguably stronger sides of the recent past.
He said: “It’s tricky. This is probably, with respect, one of the weaker Dortmund 11s we’ve seen, but for whatever reason, they come together as a team.
“If we think of the past, the star names, the firepower they’ve had, this isn’t one of those teams, no Haaland or [Ousmane] Dembele or Jude Bellingham, but they’re the sum of their parts. Good goalkeeper, Hummels… everything starts with a good defence.”
PRESSURE STILL ON FOR UNDERDOGS
With Real Madrid the clear favourites for the title, Dortmund will have their work cut out.
This being the case, Hargreaves does not agree with the suggestion they will be under any less pressure to succeed, but advised the Dortmund players to “enjoy” the occasion as best they can.
“When you’re playing the Champions League final, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience probably for most of those guys,” he said. “So with that comes pressure. And in a way, the pressure definitely won’t be off, the pressure will be on.
“They’re not favourites. So either way, you got to find a way to enjoy it too, even though it’s a lot of pressure.
“From when you’re a young kid and you start playing, you would never dream that the whole world is watching one game that you’re playing in. So you have to find ways to enjoy it.”
He added: “Pressure is on for both. But I think they need to find a way to enjoy the pressure. They’ve been the underdog all season and they’ve beaten everyone.”