Bayern Munich dominates Germany’s football nowadays. Robert Lewandowski is very close to his eighth title in a row, since 2013. Jose Mourinho has even talked about whoever is the coach of Munich will be a winner right away. Mourinho actually insinuated his rival, Joseph Guardiola, when throwing a statement of sarcasm.
At the moment we are bringing up one of the most historic moments for the Ballspielverein club, Borussia 09 EV Dortmund, known as Borussia Dortmund, the club from the Ruhr valley in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Exactly 23 years ago, on May 28, 1997, Juventus met Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final held at the Olympia Stadium, Munich. Historical stadium as the final venue for the 1974 World Cup. Normally the stadium is a red sea, because it is a stable Munich. But in the afternoons the red of Munich’s pride was covered in yellow and black shirts and flags, the sacred color of Dortmund.
Dortmund reached the final for the first time and challenged Juventus, the most brilliant team in the mid-1990s. Defending Champions Champions, winning the 24th Serie A, following two trophies in the same year: the UEFA Super and the Intercontinental Cup.
Juventus consists of the maestros Zinedine Zidane, Alessandro Del Piero and Didier Deschamps. The coach is a tactician, Marcelo Lippi who is already on par with Arrigo Sacci and Fabio Capello. Juventus came to Germany with high self-confidence, and even tended to be arrogant. Lippi at a press conference the day before kick-off said it was far more difficult to become a Scudetto than to win the Champions League. Although it sounds arrogant, there is no denying that the media and ball experts. Even the German’s media and public agree, it is not yet time for the German club to undermine the hegemony of the Italian club.
Borrusia Dortmund, it must be admitted that it cannot be juxtaposed with Juventus, judging by any factor. History, player material, and actual achievements, nobody sided with this yellow-black team. In the 1996-97 season formation there were five Borussia players from the former Juventus lineup: midfielders Paulo Sousa and Andy Moeller, defenders Jurgen Kohler, Julio Cesar, and Stefan Reuter. They played together with other senior players Mattias Sammer and Karl Heinz Rieddle.
Despite competing on German soil, Ottmar Hitzfield’s foster children are underestimated. The most straightforward final match we have ever known. Only a few predicted that Juventus would lose. Most of the fans belong to the minority. The lively finals Juventus appeared in blue, in contrast to Dortmund’s black and yellow. The lead referee was Sandor Puhl of Hungary, UEFA’s best referee who also refereed Italy vs Brazil in 1994.
Dortmund was not dazzled by the big name La Vecchia Signora. Senior players like Sammer and Moeller stressed that in order to win the final match, careful preparation was needed, focusing on details and developing a strong mentality for all players.
Juventus did dominate the game, but in the 29th minute through a Moeller corner, there was chaos in the crowd of players in the Angelo Peruzzi area. The ball met Riedle who controlled the ball before releasing a hard shot that pierced the goal, 1-0. Riedle ran between joy and disbelief, towards the corner flag, before being sunk by the hugs of his team-mates. Instead of the sting that evoked the Bianconeri’s motivation, the goal was a crushing blow. Only five minutes passed, Riedle doubled the lead, also starting from Moeller’s corner. Juventus-Borussia Dortmund 0-2.
In just five minutes the Italian, European and World championship teams were in a very difficult position. Lippi was already nervous about the edge of the field. But, the Bianconeri never gave up. Opportunities approaching the score occurred in the 42nd minute when Zidane’s shot struck goalkeeper Stefan Klos.
In the second half, Alesandro Del Piero who entered the field in the end, on the second half time, managed to score in the 64th minute which made their chances reopened. Il Pinturicchio, nickname Del Piero, made a beautiful goal with a heel that outwitted the Dortmund defender and goalkeeper. Juventus got the best momentum through a difficult time. Every fans were happy to wait for the time available for Deschamps and friends to turn the situation around.
But that night, a few minutes later after Del Piero’s goal, a Dortmund substitute prepared to enter the field. His name is Lars Ricken, a 21-year-old young man. Ricken only needed 16 seconds since he entered the field to make an impact. In fact, creating a lethal goal, from his first touch, made Ricken the fastest player to score in the final of Europe’s highest competition.
Destiny chose Lars Ricken as the destroyer of Juventus’ dream. The goal is very beautiful. Started from a counter attack, Moeller once again unleashed a magical long-range pass from the area of his own field aiming for Ricken who ran unchecked. Without control, Ricken unleashes a lob from 30 meters. The ball flies up into the air and then suddenly falls under the crossbar. Peruzzi was completely shocked, almost stunned, and only raised his head to see the ball nest into the net.
A sensational third goal destroyed the resurrection of Juventus. The match practically ends there. Juventus were like a dead batterythat night, things went bad, undergoing such a disheveled match. The game statistics are meaningless, Juventus have a much higher possession and shoot more into the goal, two of the shots hit the post and the crossbar.
A historic double victory for Dortmund and fans, they silenced Italian giants Juventus and no less important they were European Cup winners at the headquarters of Bayern Munich, rivals and the most successful team in the Bundesliga. They set the Champions League final night in Munich as Dortmund’s Day.
ASL
