Real Madrid is unassailable in the UEFA Champions League Finals and this Saturday against Borussia Dortmund it is apparently facing the most uneven in recent decades.
Many of the fans who go to Wembley this Saturday will have never seen Real Madrid lose a European Cup Final. Many of those watching the game on television would not have been born when Alan Kennedywith the Liverpooltook advantage of a defensive failure to avoid what would have been Real Madrid’s ‘Seventh’ in 1981.
Many do not know what it is like for Real Madrid to lose a ‘Champions’ final, because they have become accustomed to a hegemony that transcends any obstacle: the favoritism of the Juventus Turin of Zidane, the best Valencia of history, the ‘Neverkusen’ in 2002, the 93rd minute in Lisbon, the penalties in Milan and the 24 shots by Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool in 2022.
Never have the ‘Whites’ been such favorites in a match for the ‘Orejona’. Borussia Dortmund is the team for which no one would have given a euro at the beginning of the season, but after overcoming a group of death with Paris Saint Germain, Newcastle United and Milanand eliminate PSV, Atlético de Madrid and again the Parisians, they are in the third European final in their history.
Examples for tremble
All the wind is in favor of Carlo Ancelotti’s team, which has arrived with the entire group and available, with the exception of Andriy Lunin, with flu, and Aurelien Tchouameni, injured for weeks.
The Italian coach will be able to field a practically gala eleven, commanded from the goal with the hero of the final in Paris two years ago, Thibaut Courtois, who has recovered from two serious injuries this season to arrive in shape for the key event at Wembley . The Belgian has played four games in the League, in preparation, and has proven to continue to be the safest goalkeeper in the world.
Dani Carvajal, from the right side, leads a group of footballers who can add their sixth ‘Champions’ this Saturday, equaling the legendary Paco Gento, along with Nacho Fernández, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, who won his first with Bayern Munich and he will say goodbye to football perhaps with one last ‘Orejona’ under his arm.
Kross or Reus?
Kroos’ farewell, in one of the best moments of his career, overshadows that of Marco Reus at Dortmund, a hero of the Germans since his arrival in 2013, despite his bad fortune – he missed the 2014 World Cup due to injury – and his curse with titles.
Kroos will be accompanied in the middle by Camavinga, Fede Valverde and Jude Bellinghamthe latter being under a magnifying glass, because of the stage, the rival and the opportunity to crown his first year at Real Madrid with the most precious trophy of all.
The English midfielder, who has burst through the front door in Chamartín, made the leap to the elite with three seasons at Dortmund that cemented his status as a European promise. At Madrid he has only continued to confirm his progression and show an atypical character and personality for a 20-year-old boy.
After a poor semi-final against Bayern Munich, weighed down by physical problems and fatigue, Bellingham has had three weeks to recover and be ready. At Wembley, where he has already shone with the English team, many eyes will be on him.
With Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo Goes Above, Real Madrid ensures they have one of the best in the world, if not the best, and who already knows what it is to score in a final, and a Rodrygo who is a specialist in this competition.
Unexpected, but not new
For Dortmund this is an unexpected final, but not an atypical situation. In 1997, when they won their first European Cup, they did so against a glorious Juventus, which would play three finals in a row, with players like Zidane, Deschamps, Del Piero and Vieri. Nobody expected their victory, but in a dramatic match for the Italians, who had a dubious goal disallowed and twice hit the woodwork, the goals from Riedle and Ricken helped the Germans have a title in their showcases.
The surprise was not repeated 16 years later, at Wembley, when after defeating Real Madrid in the semi-finals, Arjen Robben’s Bayern, with a goal at the end of the match, decided the German final.
This Dortmund, without the great stars of that era, such as Robert Lewandowski, Mario Götze and Ilkay Gündogan, is a team dedicated to the group and that surpassed the group stage thanks to being the second team with the fewest goals scored in it. From there, their defensive reliability went to waste and the six goals that PSG scored in the semifinals, in addition to the four goals that Atlético de Madrid scored, confirm that they are a team that has covered up the deficiencies at the back with goals. above.
The Germans have found a vein at the height of Füllkruga striker from another time, who has been well surrounded by fast and intelligent players like Adeyemi, Maatsen and Sancho. The speed on the wing, the centers and the overflow of these players is the main danger of a team that Terzic has turned into a better fighter in eliminations than in consistency. In the Bundesliga, Dortmund finished fifth behind Leverkusen, Bayern, Stuttgart and RB Leipzig.
Borussia Dortmund: Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen; Sabitzer, Can; Sancho, Brandt, Adeyemi; Füllkrug.
Real Madrid: Courtois Carvajal, Rüdiger, Nacho, Mendy; Valverde, Camavinga, Kroos; Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinícius.
Referee: Slavko Vinčić (Slovenia).
Stadium: Wembley (London).
