Dark horses Dortmund on right track

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Mario Goetze, Borussia Dortmund’s standout player, could prove a handful for rival defenders.

Borussia Dortmund’s 3-0 thumping of Shakhtar Donetsk at their magnificent Westfalenstadion in Champions League may not have got the same media coverage as Real Madrid’s drama-filled win over Manchester United but the managers and powers that be of any club with the ambition of lifting the coveted trophy at Wembley this year would have surely taken note of the Germans.

For many, Dortmund won’t be spoken about in the same sentence as Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich. The two-time defending Bundesliga champions may not have the aura of some of the European giants but bet against Dortmund at your own risk. Drawn in the ‘Group of Death’ featuring the champions of Spain (Real Madrid), England (Manchester City) and The Netherlands (Ajax), many predicted that the Germans would finish just third, with Madrid and City advancing to the knockouts. But football is not a game of historical numbers — though Dortmund are rich in that.
Die Borussen (The Borussians) — as they are fondly called by the fans — not only made the knockouts as group leaders but also knocked the breath off Real with a 2-1 win and booted City out of Europe with 1-0 victory.
The wind has been blowing Dortmund’s way ever since they appointed the charismatic Jurgen Klopp as their manager. The club who take pride in being the first German side to win a European title (UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup in 1966) had been going through a lean patch since winning the league in 2001-02. But under Klopp, they tasted glory once again by winning the DFB Superb Cup in 2008-09, beating Bayern 2-1 in the final. That was just the start. Klopp’s bunch of young, talented and largely home-grown players like Mario Goetze went on to win the German league in 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons, reducing the giants from Munich to the second best team in the country.
It’s true that in the current season, they are disappearing from Bayern Munich’s rear-view mirror with a 17-point deficit. However, the fact that Uli Hoeness — the president of one the greatest European clubs — has had to remind everyone that Bayern have “restored supremacy in German football” after a 1-0 win over Klopp’s boys speaks volumes about Dortmund. Also, theoritically speaking, being 17 points behind Bayern domestically, can be advantageous in Europe as Klopp could put all his resources and focus solely on the Champions League. Rest assured, when Uefa reveals the quarterfinal draw on March 15, the ‘favourites’ will be hoping to avoid Dortmund.