Borussia Dortmund Football

Dortmund History

Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e.V. Dortmund, popularly known as Borussia Dortmund, is a professional football club based in Dortmund, Germany. They play in the Bundesliga, the top tier league of Germany since 1962. On 19 December 1909, a group of men formed a football club and named it Borussia Dortmund, after the Latin name of Prussia and In 1913, Dortmund donned the black and yellow stripes for the very first time.

Borussia Dortmund made a breakthrough in football at the time of the World War II. They developed a rivalry with Schalke 04 at this time. This rivalry only intensified with time and now these two teams are one of the greatest oppositions of German football.

In 1965 Dortmund won its first DFB-Pokal title and in 1966 they clinched European Cup Winners’ Cup defeating Liverpool 2-1 in extra-time. Dortmund have had their highs as well as lows. They were relegated from the Bundesliga from 1972 to 1976 and Since the return of Dortmund to the top tier in 1976, the club haven’t looked back. 

Dortmund Club Records

Borussia Dortmund have been a major footballing force of Germany as well as the world. Bundesliga’s first goal was scored by Friedhelm Konietzka, a Dortmund player against Werder Bremen.

Nuri Sahin is the youngest player to have both played and scored for Borussia Dortmund. He played his first match for the club when he was 16 years and 335 days old and scored when he was 17 years and 82 days old. Michael Zorc has the most appearances(561) and Alfred Preissler, the most goals for Borussia Dortmund(174).

Dortmund Stadium - Signal Iduna Park

Borussia Dortmund plays its home matches at the “Signal Iduna Park” in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. The stadium is known as Signal Iduna Park for sponsorship reasons. Actually the stadium is named as Westfalenstadion after the province it lies in. With a total capacity of 81,365 spectators, this stadium is the largest in Germany and the 7th largest in Europe.

Dortmund Manager

Lucien Favre

Borussia Dortmund is currently managed by Swiss football coach Lucien Favre. Favre succeeded Peter Stöger, who was the interim manager of the club from December 2017 to June 2018. The most popular coach of modern times who has managed Dortmund is Jurgen Klopp. Klopp held the position for 7 years in which the club reached the pinnacle of its dominance in German as well as European football.

BVB Logo

The Dortmund crest have nearly been the same since the first crest was released back in 1945. The crest has always had two colours, black and yellow. These colours have always represented the club. The letters BVB and the numbers 09 are at the centre of a yellow circular crest. “09” represents 1909, the year Borussia Dortmund was formed.

Der Klassiker

Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich

The football matches between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich are referred to as “Der Klassiker” (The Classic). These matches are also known as the “German Classico”. The two clubs have won 21 of the past 24 Bundesliga titles making them the biggest German clubs of all time. Back in 2013, these two teams clashed at Wembley for the Champions League title in the final. Bayern Munich won the title courtesy a dramatic 89th minute winner by Arjen Robben. 

Dortmund Fans

Borussia Dortmund is popular for its fans across the globe. Dortmund have the highest average attendance of fans in games all over the world. A certain section of fans who sit in the south stand behind the goal-post are known far and wide as “The Yellow Wall”. These fans are a spell-bounding sight for the neutral spectators and send chills down the opposition, whoever it may be.

BVB Meaning

The term “BVB” comes from the club’s official name Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e.V. Dortmund and is pronounced as ‘bay-fow-bay’. ‘BV’ comes from Ballspielverein which means ball game club. The final ‘B’ stands for Borussia and is derived from the Latin name for the former German region of Prussia.

Dortmund Owner

The organisation Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co. KGaA runs Borussia Dortmund football club. The organisation also owns the Signal Iduna Park, Sports & Bytes GmbH, BVB Merchandising GmbH and other such club related subsidiaries. Also, it is the first and so far the only publicly traded sports club on the German stock market.

Borussia Dortmund Nickname

Borussia Dortmund have several nicknames. There is no official nickname but they are commonly known as Die Shwarzgelben, which translates to, “The Black and the Yellows”. This name originates from their home colours, black and yellow. Dortmund is also known as Die Borussen as well as Der BVB in Germany. The letters BVB even feature on their crest.

Dortmund Trophies

Borussia Dortmund have been one of Germany’s greatest football clubs of all times. They have been Bundesliga winners 8 times with back to back wins in 2011 and 2012. They have also won the Champions League once in 1996-97. Dortmund have also bagged the German Super Cup Title 5 times.

Dortmund Bundesliga Titles (8)

Dortmund DFB-Pokal Titles (4)

Dortmund Top Scorer

Alfred Preissler

Alfred Preissler, the German forward, is Borussia Dortmund’s all time top goal-scorer. The West Germany striker was an integral part of the Dortmund team that won back to back Bundesliga titles in 1956 and 1957. Preissler found the back of the net a remarkable 174 times for Borussia Dortmund, a record that stands strong even after around 6 decades

Borussia Dortmund Legends

Michael Zorc

Dortmund have been home to several legends of football over the years. Michael Zorc, popularly known as “Susi” spent his entire career, spanning 17 seasons and 561 games, playing for Borussia Dortmund.

Alfred Preissler is another such player who has been the all time top goal scorer for the club.

Roman Weidenfeller

Roman Weidenfeller, the German goalkeeper has an incredible 453 appearances for the club in his career spanning 16 years.