Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund

Full name	Ballspiel-Verein Borussia 1909 e. V. Dortmund
Nickname(s)	Die Borussen (The Borussians) Die Schwarzgelben (The Black Yellows)
Founded	19 December 1909 (19 December 1909)
Ground	Westfalenstadion
Capacity	80,720
President	Dr Reinhard Rauball
General manager	Hans-Joachim Watzke
Manager	Jürgen Klopp
League	Bundesliga
2011–12	Bundesliga, 1st
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Ballspiel-Verein Borussia 1909 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund [boˈʁusi̯a ˈdoɐ̯tʰmuntʰ], Dortmund, or BVB, is a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund is one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football. They are the current Bundesliga champions.

Borussia Dortmund have won eight German football championships, three German Cups, a record-tying four German Supercups, one UEFA Champions League, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, and one Intercontinental Cup. Their UEFA Cup Winners' Cup win in 1966 made them the first German team to win a European title.

Since 1974, Dortmund have played their home games at Westfalenstadion. The stadium is the biggest stadium in Germany and the sixth biggest in Europe. Dortmund holds a long-standing rivalry with Schalke 04, and matches between the two teams are referred to as the Revierderby. Borussia Dortmund's motto is "Echte Liebe" (English: "True Love").

History

Early years

The club was founded on 19 December 1909 by a group of young men unhappy with church-sponsored Trinity Youth, where they played football under the stern and unsympathetic eye of the local parish priest. Father Dewald was blocked at the door when he tried to break up the organizing meeting being held in a room of the local pub, Zum Wildschütz. The founders were Franz and Paul Braun, Henry Cleve, Hans Debest, Paul Dziendzielle, Julius and Wilhelm Jacobi, Hans Kahn, Gustav Müller, Franz Risse, Fritz Schulte, Hans Siebold, August Tönnesmann, Heinrich and Robert Unger, Fritz Weber and Franz Wendt. The name Borussia is Latin for Prussia but was taken from the Borussia beer from the nearby Borussia brewery in Dortmund. The team began playing in blue and white striped shirts with a red sash, and black shorts. In 1913, they donned the black and yellow stripes so familiar today.

Over the next decades the club enjoyed only modest success playing in local leagues. They had a brush with bankruptcy in 1929 when an attempt to boost the club's fortunes by signing some paid professional footballers failed miserably and left the team deep in debt. They survived only through the generosity of a local supporter who covered the team's shortfall out of his own pocket.

World War II and the postwar

The 1930s saw the rise of the Third Reich which restructured sports and football organizations throughout the nation to suit the regime's goals. Borussia's president was replaced when he refused to join the Nazi Party, and a couple of members who surreptitiously used the club's offices to produce anti-Nazi pamphlets were executed in the last days of the war. The club did have greater success in the newly established Gauliga Westfalen, but would have to wait until after World War II to make a breakthrough. It was during this time that Borussia developed its intense rivalry with Schalke 04, the most successful side of the era (see Revierderby). Like every other organisation in Germany, Borussia was dissolved by the Allied occupation authorities after the war in an attempt to distance the country's institutions from the so-recent Nazi past. There was a short-lived attempt to merge the club with two others – Werksportgemeinschaft Hoesch and Freier Sportverein 98 – as Sportgemeinschaft Borussia von 1898, but it was as Ballspiel-Verein Borussia (BVB) that they made their first appearance in the national league final in 1949 where they lost 2–3 to Mannheim.

First national title

The Oberliga West, a first division league which included Borussia, dominated German football through the late 50s. In 1949 Borussia reached the final in Stuttgart against VfR Mannheim, which they lost 2–3 after extra time. The club claimed its first national title in 1956 with a 4–2 against Karlsruher SC. One year later, Borussia won with exactly the same team their second national title. After this coup the three Alfredos (Alfred Preißler, Alfred Kelbassa and Alfred Niepieklo) were legends in Dortmund. In 1963, Borussia Dortmund won the last final before the Bundesliga started. It was their third national title.

Entry to the Bundesliga

In 1962, the DFB met in Dortmund and voted to finally establish a professional football league in Germany to begin play in August 1963 as the Bundesliga. Borussia earned its place among the first sixteen sides to play in the new league by winning the last pre-Bundesliga championship. Losing club Köln also earned an automatic berth. It was Dortmund's Friedhelm Konietzka who scored the first-ever Bundesliga goal barely a minute into a match which they would eventually lose 2–3 to Werder Bremen.

In 1965, Dortmund captured its first German Cup. Dortmund had a mixed result the next year when they won the European Cup Winners Cup 2–1 against Liverpool, but surrendered a commanding position atop the Bundesliga by losing four of their last five league games and finishing second, three points behind champions 1860 Munich. Ironically, much of 1860's success came on the strength of the play of Konietzka, recently transferred there from Dortmund. The 70s were characterized by financial problems and relegation from the Bundesliga in 1972 and the opening of the Westfalenstadion, named after its home Land, Westphalia in 1974. The club earned its return to Bundesliga in 1976, but continued to suffer from financial problems through the 80s. BVB narrowly avoided being relegated again in 1986 by winning a third decisive play-off-game against Fortuna Köln after finishing the regular season in 16th place.

Dortmund did not enjoy any significant success again until a 4–1 German Cup win in 1989 against Werder Bremen.

Golden age – the 1990s

After a tenth place finish in the Bundesliga in 1991, manager Horst Köppel was let go and manager Ottmar Hitzfeld was hired. In 1992, Hitzfeld led Borussia Dortmund to a second place finish in the Bundesliga and could have won the Bundesliga had VfB Stuttgart not won their last game to win the Bundesliga instead.

Along with a fourth place finish in the Bundesliga, Dortmund in 1993 made it to the UEFA Cup final, which they lost 1–6 on aggregate to Juventus. In spite of this result, Borussia walked away with DM25 million under the prize money pool system in place at the time for German sides participating in the Cup. Cash flush, Dortmund was able to sign players who later brought them numerous honours later in the 1990s.

Dortmund won Bundesliga championships in 1995 and 1996 – with Matthias Sammer from the '96 side being named European Footballer of the Year.

In a memorable 1997 UEFA Champions League Final in Munich, Dortmund faced a Juventus team featuring Zinedine Zidane. Karl-Heinz Riedle put Dortmund ahead shooting under the goalkeeper from a cross by Paul Lambert. Riedle then made it two with a bullet header from a corner kick. In the second half, Alessandro Del Piero pulled one back for Juventus with a back heel. Then 20-year old substitute and local boy Lars Ricken latched on to a through pass by Andreas Möller. Only sixteen seconds after coming on to the pitch, Ricken chipped Angelo Peruzzi in the Juventus goal from over 20 yards with his first touch of the ball. With Zinedine Zidane unable to make an impression for Juventus against the close marking of Lambert, Dortmund lifted the trophy with a 3–1 victory.

Dortmund then went on to beat Brazilian club Cruzeiro 2–0 in the 1997 Intercontinental Cup Final. Borussia Dortmund were the second German club to win the Intercontinental Cup.

21st century and Borussia "goes public"

At the turn of the millennium, Borussia Dortmund became the first—and so far the only—publicly traded club on the German stock market. Two years later they won their third Bundesliga title. The club had a remarkable run at the end of the season to overtake Bayer Leverkusen, securing the title on the final day. In the same season, Borussia lost the final of the 2002 UEFA Cup to Dutch side Feyenoord.

Dortmund's fortunes then steadily declined for a number of years. Poor financial management led to a heavy debt load and the sale of their Westfalenstadion ground. The situation was compounded by failure to advance in the 2003 Champions League when the team was eliminated on penalties in the qualifying rounds by Club Brugge. Borussia was again driven to the brink of bankruptcy in 2005, the original €11 value of its shares having plummeted by over 80% on the Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse (Frankfurt Stock Exchange). The response to the crisis included a 20% pay cut to all players.

Westfalenstadion

The team still plays at Westfalenstadion, named after its home region of Westphalia. To reduce debts, the stadium was renamed "Signal Iduna Park", after a local insurance company, in 2006 under a sponsorship agreement that runs until 2016. The stadium is currently the largest football stadium in Germany with a capacity of 80,720 spectators, and hosted several matches in the 2006 World Cup, including a semi-final. Borussia Dortmund enjoys the highest average attendance of any football club in Europe, at 80,478 per match (2010–11).

Fans at the famous Südtribüne in Westfalenstadion)

Dortmund suffered a miserable start to the 2005–06 season, but rallied to finish seventh. The club failed to gain a place in the UEFA Cup via the Fair Play draw. The club's management recently indicated that the club again showed a profit, however, this was largely related to the sale of David Odonkor to Real Betis and Tomáš Rosický to Arsenal.

In the 2006–07 season, Dortmund unexpectedly faced serious relegation trouble for the first time in years. Dortmund went through three coaches and appointed Thomas Doll on 13 March 2007 after dropping to just one point above the relegation zone. Christoph Metzelder also left Borussia Dortmund on a free transfer.

In the 2007–08 season, Dortmund lost to many of the smaller clubs in the Bundesliga. That season was one of the worst in 20 years. Nevertheless, Dortmund reached the German Cup Final against Bayern Munich where they lost 2–1 in extra time. The final appearance qualified Dortmund for the UEFA Cup because Bayern Munich already qualified for the Champions League. Thomas Doll resigned on 19 May 2008 and was replaced by Jürgen Klopp.

Return to prominence

Borussia Dortmund players celebrate winning the Bundesliga in 2011

In the 2009–10 season, Dortmund qualified for the UEFA Europa League and finished fifth in the Bundesliga. The team missed an opportunity to qualify for the Champions League by failing to beat eighth placed VfL Wolfsburg and 14th placed SC Freiburg in the final two matches of the campaign. Nonetheless, they demonstrated a renewed charisma and passion under the direction of coach Jürgen Klopp.

Entering the 2010–11 season, Dortmund fielded a young and vibrant roster which looked better. On 4 December 2010, Borussia became Herbstmeister (Autumn Champion), an unofficial accolade going to the league leader at the winter break. They did this three matches before the break, sharing the record for having achieved this earliest with Eintracht Frankfurt (1993–94) and 1. FC Kaiserslautern (1997–98). On 30 April 2011, the club beat 1. FC Nuremberg 2–0 at home, while second-placed Bayer Leverkusen lost, leaving Dortmund eight points clear with two games to play. This championship equaled the seven national titles held by rivals Schalke 04, and guaranteed a spot in the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League group stages.

One year later, Dortmund made a successful defense of its Bundesliga title with a win over Borussia Mönchengladbach, again on the 32nd matchday. By the 34th and final matchday, Dortmund set a new record with the most points (81) ever gained by a club in one Bundesliga season. The club's eighth championship places it third in total national titles and players will now wear two stars over their uniform crest in recognition of the team's five Bundesliga titles. Notable names from the winning roster include Lucas Barrios, Mario Götze, Neven Subotić, Mats Hummels, Robert Lewandowski, Shinji Kagawa, Łukasz Piszczek, Jakub Błaszczykowski, Kevin Großkreutz, Ivan Perišić, and İlkay Gündoğan. The club capped its successful 2011-12 season by winning the double for the first time by beating Bayern Munich 5-2 in the final of the DFB-Pokal.

Stadium

Signal Iduna Park is the biggest stadium in Germany

Borussia Dortmund's stadium is Signal Iduna Park. The stadium is the biggest stadium in Germany and the sixth biggest in Europe. Signal Iduna Park replaced the Stadion Rote Erde, which is located next to Signal Iduna Park.

After the increasing popularity of Borussia Dortmund in 1965, the club planned to make a new stadium replacing the Stadion Rote Erde. The city of Dortmund was then picked as a host city for the 1974 FIFA World Cup, giving Borussia Dortmund money to build a new stadium. Signal Iduna Park has undergone several renovations throughout the years to increase the size of the stadium, including an expansion of the stadium for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In 2011, Borussia Dortmund installed a black solar system on the roof of Signal Iduna Park from Q-Cells. Before the new season five new video walls were installed, one on the outside of the Nordtribüne and four in the stadium.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Kit manufacturers

• 1963–1964: Umbro
• 1974–1990: Adidas
• 1990–2000: Nike
• 2000–2004: Goool.de
• 2004–2009: Nike
• 2009–2012: Kappa
• starting 2012: Puma

Shirt sponsors

• 1974–1976: City of Dortmund
• 1976–1978: Samson (tobacco)
• 1978–1980: Prestolith (paint and varnish)
• 1980–1983: UHU (glue)
• 1983–1986: Artic (ice cream)
• 1986–1997: Die Continentale (health insurance)
• 1997–1999: s.Oliver (fashion)
• 1999–2005: E.ON (energy)
• 2006–present: Evonik (chemicals, energy and real estate)

Players

First-team squad

As of 30 June 2012.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	GER	Roman Weidenfeller (vice-captain)
3	DF	GER	Marc Hornschuh
4	DF	SRB	Neven Subotić
5	MF	GER	Sebastian Kehl (captain)
6	MF	GER	Sven Bender
7	MF	GER	Moritz Leitner
8	MF	GER	İlkay Gündoğan
9	FW	POL	Robert Lewandowski
10	MF	GER	Mario Götze
11	FW	GER	Marco Reus
14	MF	CRO	Ivan Perišić
15	DF	GER	Mats Hummels
16	MF	POL	Jakub Błaszczykowski
19	MF	GER	Kevin Großkreutz

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
20	GK	AUS	Mitchell Langerak
21	MF	GER	Oliver Kirch
22	DF	GER	Patrick Owomoyela
23	FW	GER	Julian Schieber
24	DF	GER	Chris Löwe
26	DF	POL	Łukasz Piszczek
27	DF	BRA	Felipe Santana
28	MF	AUS	Mustafa Amini
29	DF	GER	Marcel Schmelzer
30	DF	GER	Koray Günter
31	MF	GER	Marvin Bakalorz
32	MF	GER	Leonardo Bittencourt
33	GK	GER	Zlatan Alomerović
34	FW	GER	Marvin Ducksch

On loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	DF	GER	Julian Koch (at MSV Duisburg until 30 June 2013)
—	DF	GER	Lasse Sobiech (at Greuther Fürth until 30 June 2013)
—	FW	GER	Daniel Ginczek (at FC St. Pauli until 30 June 2013)

For recent transfers, see List of German football transfers summer 2012 and List of German football transfers winter 2011–12.

Reserve team

Main article: Borussia Dortmund II

Youth team

Main article: Borussia Dortmund Youth Academy

Current technical staff

Manager Jürgen Klopp

Position	Name
Head coach	Jürgen Klopp
Assistant coach	Zeljko Buvač
Assistant coach	Peter Krawietz
Goalkeeping coach	Wolfgang de Beer
Fitness coach	Oliver Bartlett
Fitness coach	Florian Wangler
Physiotherapist	Peter Kuhnt
Physiotherapist	Thorben Voeste
Physiotherapist	Michael Wenzel
Physiotherapist	Thomas Zetzmann
Club doctor	Dr Markus Braun
Chief scout	Sven Mislintat
Athletic supervisor	Michael Zorc
Head of youth development	Lars Ricken
Fan attendant	Sigfried Held

Managers

Manager Ottmar Hitzfeld led Borussia Dortmund to their only UEFA Champions League title in 1997

Start	End	Manager
1 July 1935	July 1935	Ernst Kuzorra (later Schalke legend)
1935	30 June 1936	Fritz Thelen (first full time manager)
1 July 1936	1938	Ferdl Swatosch
1 July 1963	30 June 1965	Hermann Eppenhoff
1 July 1965	30 June 1966	Willi Multhaup
1 July 1966	10 April 1968	Heinz Murach
18 April 1968	16 December 1968	Oßwald Pfau
7 December 1968	17 March 1969	Helmut Schneider
21 March 1969	30 June 1970	Hermann Lindemann
1 July 1970	21 December 1971	Horst Witzler
3 January 1972	30 June 1972	Herbert Burdenski
1 July 1972	30 October 1972	Detlev Brüggemann
1 November 1972	1 March 1973	Max Michallek
2 March 1973	30 June 1973	Dieter Kurrat
1 July 1973	30 June 1974	Janos Bedl
1 July 1974	1 February 1976	Otto Knefler
1 February 1976	18 June 1976	Horst Buhtz
18 June 1976	30 April 1978	Otto Rehhagel
21 May 1978	29 April 1979	Carl-Heinz Rühl
30 April 1979	30 June 1979	Uli Maslo
1 July 1979	10 May 1981	Udo Lattek
11 May 1981	30 June 1981	Rolf Bock
1 July 1981	30 June 1982	Branko Zebec
1 July 1982	5 April 1983	Karl-Heinz Feldkamp
6 April 1983	30 June 1983	Helmut Witte
1 July 1983	23 October 1983	Uli Maslo
31 October	15 November 1983	Heinz-Dieter Tippenhauer
16 November 1983	30 June 1984	Horst Franz
1 July 1984	24 October 1984	Friedhelm Konietzka
28 October 1984	30 June 1985	Erich Ribbeck
1 July 1985	20 April 1986	Pál Csernai
20 April 1986	26 June 1988	Reinhard Saftig
27 June 1988	30 June 1991	Horst Köppel
1 July 1991	30 June 1997	Ottmar Hitzfeld
1 July 1997	30 June 1998	Nevio Scala
1 July 1998	4 February 2000	Michael Skibbe
5 February 2000	12 April 2000	Bernd Krauss
16 April 2000	30 June 2000	Udo Lattek
1 July 2000	30 June 2004	Matthias Sammer
1 July 2004	18 December 2006	Bert van Marwijk
19 December 2006	12 March 2007	Jürgen Röber
12 March 2007	19 May 2008	Thomas Doll
1 July 2008		Jürgen Klopp

Records

Borussia Dortmund's name is attached to a number of Bundesliga records:

• Borussia Dortmund finished the 2011–12 campaign with an all-time Bundesliga record of 81 points.
• The youngest player to play was Nuri Şahin of Borussia Dortmund (16 years and 335 days).
• The youngest player to score was Nuri Şahin of Borussia Dortmund (17 years and 82 days).
• Dortmund was on the receiving end of the worst loss ever in a Bundesliga match when they lost 12–0 away to Borussia Mönchengladbach on 29 April 1978.
• The club was involved in four of the five Bundesliga matches in which a record twelve goals were scored. They earned an even split at two wins and two losses in those matches.
• On 1 September 1993, BVB and Dynamo Dresden earned a total of five red cards between them. BVB and Bayern Munich were carded a record of 15 times in a match played on 7 April 2001.
• The most penalties in a match is five in a game played between Borussia Mönchengladbach and Dortmund on 9 November 1965.
• The first goal ever scored in Bundesliga play was by Dortmund's Friedhelm Konietzka against Werder Bremen. Werder Bremen won 3–2.

Honours

Domestic

• German Championship

Winners (8): 1955–56, 1956–57, 1962–63, 1994–95, 1995–96, 2001–02, 2010–11, 2011–12

Runners-up (4): 1948–49, 1960–61, 1965–66, 1991–92

• DFB-Pokal

Winners (3): 1964–65, 1988–89, 2011–12

Runners-up (2): 1962–63, 2007–08

• DFB-Supercup/DFL-Supercup

Winners (3): 1989, 1995, 1996

Runners-up (1): 2011

• DFB-Ligapokal

Runners-up (1): 2003

European

• UEFA Champions League

Winners (1): 1996–97

• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup

Winners (1): 1965–66

• UEFA Cup

Runners-up (2): 1992–93, 2001–02

• UEFA Super Cup

Runners-up (1): 1997

Worldwide

• Intercontinental Cup

Winners (1): 1997

See also

• List of Borussia Dortmund seasons

External links

• Official website Template:En icon Template:De icon
• Borussia Dortmund at UEFA