Four Borussia players called up for the Nations League finals | OneFootball

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It was the battle cry of the eighties that echoed through SIGNAL IDUNA PARK late on Saturday afternoon. "BVB are back!" chanted the crowd. One of the greatest comebacks in the history of the Bundesliga took Borussia Dortmund to fourth place in the table on the final matchday of the 2024/25 season and into the UEFA Champions League.<\/p>\n","title":"Teaser Text","multiValue":false,"value":"It was the battle cry of the eighties that echoed through SIGNAL IDUNA PARK late on Saturday afternoon. \"BVB are back!\" chanted the crowd. One of the greatest comebacks in the history of the Bundesliga took Borussia Dortmund to fourth place in the table on the final matchday of the 2024/25 season and into the UEFA Champions League.","exportedType":"text/html"},"scheduledPush":{"multiLine":false,"dataType":"boolean","name":"scheduledPush","title":"Scheduled Push Notification?","multiValue":false,"value":false,"exportedType":"boolean"},"disableAdsOnNewsPage":{"multiLine":false,"dataType":"boolean","name":"disableAdsOnNewsPage","title":"Disable Ads on News Page","multiValue":false,"value":false,"exportedType":"boolean"},"text":{"multiLine":true,"dataType":"string","name":"text","html":"

\u201cIf it's not euphoria you're hearing right now, then what is it?\u201d asked managing director Lars Ricken to his interlocutor, Sky reporter Patrick Wasserziehr, who had started his segment with the words: \u201cNow the atmosphere here is slowly but surely starting to feel as if Borussia Dortmund had really won something\u201d. The fans repeatedly belted out the popular chant \u201cEuropapokal - Borussia Dortmund international!\u201d interspersed with shouts of \u201cNiko Kovac.\u201d <\/p>\n

The thanks of the spectators and the management team - from Hans-Joachim Watzke to Ricken and sporting director Sebastian Kehl - went to the man who took charge of Borussia Dortmund at the beginning of February, when the team\u2019s prospects of a tenth Champions League appearance in a row and 20th in total seemed hopeless. In the \u201cKovac table\u201d, starting on Matchday 21, Borussia Dortmund are second with 28 points, just three behind Bayern Munich (31). This upturn in fortunes was enough to see the Black & Yellows jump from 11th to fourth place. The team picked up 22 out of a possible 24 points from the final eight games. Only Bayern Munich (unbeaten on the first 13 matchdays) and Bayer Leverkusen (undefeated from matchdays 2 to 24) managed longer streaks this season.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThe season was one of big ups and downs,\u201d said Niklas Süle. He emphasised \u201chow we've marched on in recent weeks, how we've stood together,\u201d and thanked the fans who have supported the team throughout the season: \u201cIt's a bit of a competitive advantage that we have here at home. And it's all the nicer to celebrate with them here.\u201d Relief, joy, euphoria - Felix Nmecha felt \u201ca bit of everything\u201d. For him, too, the \u201cjoy that we've made it and that we'll be playing in the Champions League next season,\u201d was the prevailing emotion.<\/p>\n

There was an exuberant atmosphere in the stands and on the pitch after a tough first half against Holstein Kiel. The early lead (third minute, Guirassy penalty) and the early numerical advantage (eighth minute, Johansson sent off) initially did not play into Borussia\u2019s hands, \u201cbecause we were overcomplicating things,\u201d said Julian Brandt: \u201cWhen we have a lot of time, we think too much, make the wrong decisions and play ponderously and slowly.\u201d Niklas Süle took a similar view: \u201cI think we would have played better football if it had been 11 versus 11.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It didn't matter in the end. Marcel Sabitzer's long-range strike shortly after the start of the second half unpicked the lock, and after Felix Nmecha's goal to make it 3-0 (73), the game and the outcome of the season were decided. As Frankfurt came from behind in Freiburg, goal difference was no longer important. Either way, the Black & Yellows had reached the finish line.<\/p>\n

Ricken praised Kovac's three-month tenure as \u201cone of the greatest coaching achievements in BVB's history.\u201d Kovac himself was asked about \u201cthe greatest coaching achievement,\u201d this time without the important qualifier \u201cone of\u201d, and was keen to stress the successes of \u201cother great coaches here,\u201d like Jürgen Klopp and Ottmar Hitzfeld.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The latter actually led the Black & Yellows from 13th place after Matchday 24 to fourth place at the end of the 1993/94 season. Incidentally, Lars Ricken was in the squad as a player 31 years ago.
\nBoris Rupert<\/i><\/p>\n","title":"Text","multiValue":false,"value":"

\u201cIf it's not euphoria you're hearing right now, then what is it?\u201d asked managing director Lars Ricken to his interlocutor, Sky reporter Patrick Wasserziehr, who had started his segment with the words: \u201cNow the atmosphere here is slowly but surely starting to feel as if Borussia Dortmund had really won something\u201d. The fans repeatedly belted out the popular chant \u201cEuropapokal - Borussia Dortmund international!\u201d interspersed with shouts of \u201cNiko Kovac.\u201d <\/p>\n

The thanks of the spectators and the management team - from Hans-Joachim Watzke to Ricken and sporting director Sebastian Kehl - went to the man who took charge of Borussia Dortmund at the beginning of February, when the team\u2019s prospects of a tenth Champions League appearance in a row and 20th in total seemed hopeless. In the \u201cKovac table\u201d, starting on Matchday 21, Borussia Dortmund are second with 28 points, just three behind Bayern Munich (31). This upturn in fortunes was enough to see the Black & Yellows jump from 11th to fourth place. The team picked up 22 out of a possible 24 points from the final eight games. Only Bayern Munich (unbeaten on the first 13 matchdays) and Bayer Leverkusen (undefeated from matchdays 2 to 24) managed longer streaks this season.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThe season was one of big ups and downs,\u201d said Niklas Süle. He emphasised \u201chow we've marched on in recent weeks, how we've stood together,\u201d and thanked the fans who have supported the team throughout the season: \u201cIt's a bit of a competitive advantage that we have here at home. And it's all the nicer to celebrate with them here.\u201d Relief, joy, euphoria - Felix Nmecha felt \u201ca bit of everything\u201d. For him, too, the \u201cjoy that we've made it and that we'll be playing in the Champions League next season,\u201d was the prevailing emotion.<\/p>\n

There was an exuberant atmosphere in the stands and on the pitch after a tough first half against Holstein Kiel. The early lead (third minute, Guirassy penalty) and the early numerical advantage (eighth minute, Johansson sent off) initially did not play into Borussia\u2019s hands, \u201cbecause we were overcomplicating things,\u201d said Julian Brandt: \u201cWhen we have a lot of time, we think too much, make the wrong decisions and play ponderously and slowly.\u201d Niklas Süle took a similar view: \u201cI think we would have played better football if it had been 11 versus 11.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It didn't matter in the end. Marcel Sabitzer's long-range strike shortly after the start of the second half unpicked the lock, and after Felix Nmecha's goal to make it 3-0 (73), the game and the outcome of the season were decided. As Frankfurt came from behind in Freiburg, goal difference was no longer important. Either way, the Black & Yellows had reached the finish line.<\/p>\n

Ricken praised Kovac's three-month tenure as \u201cone of the greatest coaching achievements in BVB's history.\u201d Kovac himself was asked about \u201cthe greatest coaching achievement,\u201d this time without the important qualifier \u201cone of\u201d, and was keen to stress the successes of \u201cother great coaches here,\u201d like Jürgen Klopp and Ottmar Hitzfeld.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The latter actually led the Black & Yellows from 13th place after Matchday 24 to fourth place at the end of the 1993/94 season. Incidentally, Lars Ricken was in the squad as a player 31 years ago.
\nBoris Rupert<\/i><\/p>\n","exportedType":"text/html"},"id":"editable-4313265134","prio":{"multiLine":false,"dataType":"boolean","name":"prio","title":"Prio (Clubplatform)","multiValue":false,"value":true,"exportedType":"boolean"},"headline":{"multiLine":false,"dataType":"string","name":"headline","title":"Headline","multiValue":false,"value":"Niklas Süle describes BVB fans as a \u201ccompetitive advantage\u201d","exportedType":"text/plain"},"matchId":{"multiLine":false,"dataType":"string","name":"matchId","title":"match id","multiValue":false,"exportedType":"text/plain"},"data-layer":"{\"editable-4313265134\":{\"@type\":\"/apps/bvbweb/components/newssliderelements/editable\",\"linkUrl\":\"https://www.bvb.de/de/en/news/news-overview/news.html/2025/5/19/Niklas-Suele-describes-BVB-fans-as-a-competitive-advantage.html\"}}","author":{"multiLine":false,"dataType":"string","name":"author","title":"Author","multiValue":false,"exportedType":"text/plain"},"teaserType":"relatedContent","match":{"multiLine":true,"dataType":"content-fragment","name":"match","title":"Related Match","multiValue":false,"exportedType":"text/plain"},"alt":"25M-Jubel-BVB.jpg","externalId":{"multiLine":false,"dataType":"string","name":"externalId","title":"External ID (Clubplatform)","multiValue":false,"value":"1739382841","exportedType":"text/plain"},"displayOnHome":{"multiLine":false,"dataType":"boolean","name":"displayOnHome","title":"Display in news wall on homepage","multiValue":false,"value":true,"exportedType":"boolean"},"url":{"multiLine":false,"dataType":"string","name":"url","title":"Vanity URL (LEAVE EMPTY FOR AUTOMATIC VANITY URL. DO NOT EDIT EXISTING VALUES!)","multiValue":false,"value":"2025/5/19/Niklas-Suele-describes-BVB-fans-as-a-competitive-advantage","exportedType":"text/plain"},"push":{"multiLine":false,"dataType":"boolean","name":"push","title":"Push (Clubplatform)","multiValue":false,"value":false,"exportedType":"boolean"},"tags":{"multiLine":false,"dataType":"string","name":"tags","title":"Tags","multiValue":true,"exportedType":"text/plain"},"scheduledPushTime":{"multiLine":false,"dataType":"calendar","name":"scheduledPushTime","title":"Scheduled Push Date and Time","multiValue":false,"exportedType":"calendar"},"mainCategory":{"multiLine":false,"dataType":"string","name":"mainCategory","title":"News Type","multiValue":true,"value":["bvbweb:news/category/nachbericht"],"exportedType":"text/plain"},"appExportSuccess":{"multiLine":false,"dataType":"boolean","name":"appExportSuccess","title":"App Export Successful (Clubplatform)","multiValue":false,"value":true,"exportedType":"boolean"},"temporaryAppImage":{"multiLine":false,"dataType":"string","name":"temporaryAppImage","title":"App Image","multiValue":true,"value":["/content/dam/bvbweb/en/news/2025/05/18/bl-nachbericht/25A-Jubel-BVB.jpg"],"exportedType":"text/plain"}}