Can Borussia Dortmund lift the UCL crown at Wembley?

Despite showing signs of naivety, Jurgen Klopp would be more than happy to take back two away goals to Westfalenstadion after a comeback 2-2 draw against Shakhtar Donetsk in southern Ukraine. This certainly guarantees one foot in the quarter finals lest anything out of the world happens for Borussia Dortmund at their home ground. The back to back champions in the Bundesliga over the last two seasons, they would surely want to repeat their club’s heroics on the European stage like in the summer of 1997. With an astute manager at the helm and a team which boasts with an average age of twenty-four, some might brand The Die Borrusens with an overachievers tag, but those who follow Dortmund would beg to differ.

They say “success is not earned overnight” but the beautiful game can easily make the notion laughable. Signs of superiority coupled with the flair, attitude and determination have been the recipe of glories in the past and it’s no surprise Jurgen Klopp’s men are steadily moving on the preferred road to pinnacles of success.

Critics have always opined that domestic title winning credentials counts for little in the quest for European glory, take Manchester City as the perfect epitome. Despite being one of the premier teams of Europe, they had a reality check as they were shown the knockout door in the group stages itself where they finished last. Dortmund however finished group toppers, beating seasoned campaigners Real Madrid, Ajax and the blues of Manchester and certainly look like they have the ammunition to go all the way to Wembley. The major stumbling block though would be their inexperience of lifting major honours in Europe.

With the likes of Marco Reus, Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski in their ranks, Dortmund surely have blistering talent but do they have the experience? Let’s take for example their Brazilian defender Felipe Santana, who made it to the starting eleven albeit Neven Subotic’s niggling injury. He came up with the cardinal sin of conceding a free kick on the edge of the penalty area and the result? Shakhtar’s Darijo Srna curled a wonderful set-piece to the back of the net. While Subotic and Hummels have formed an impenetrable partnership at the heart of the defence, the latter was the offender leading to Shakhtar’s second goal as he horribly misjudged a floating ball on the penalty box.

While Klopp’s philosophy is to press the opposition high up the pitch, it might also lead to their major downfall when facing counter attacks. With Lewandowski, Reus, Gotze and Blaszczykowski forming a dangerous attack for any opposition to face, things might not work if they don’t hit the back of the net on an off day. Their midfield will be left chasing shadows and the defence will eventually wilt under pressure and look helpless as they will concede from deadly counter attacking teams.

Well, it might be perfectly sane to predict Borussia Dortmund to progress to the quarter finals in two weeks’ time, but it remains to be seen whether they might be lucky and be handed a comparatively easy draw. Former Bayern Munich and Dortmund Champions League winning manager Ottmar Hitzfeld had earlier tipped the Die Borrusens to mount a serious challenge in Europe but he would be more than surprised as Klopp’s men have perhaps surprised themselves this campaign. They trail Bundesliga leader Bayern by a hefty fifteen points and perhaps with Europe guaranteed, they can concentrate on the European trophy come May in the glittering stands of Wembley.

With time and age on their side, fans might feel Dortmund are overachievers already but they surely might be tight lipped in predicting their European trophy lifting credentials. Come May, the azure skies of Wembley may herald a new era in Champions League footballing history.