Westfalenstadion 2
My final visit to the Westfalenstadion to see BVB in a very traditional match up vs Eintracht Frankfurt. This was football in its traditional timeslot: a 3.30pm kick-off on a Saturday afternoon. I accompanied Rolf on the bus and then we met up with his friends Bernd, Alex, Julian and Alex’s parents (from Frankfurt) at their usual bratwurst and drink stands in Strobelallee near the NW corner of the stadium.
The Jägermesiter Crew - ready for the game.
Alex came well-prepared: arriving with a tiny bottle of Jägermeister for each of us. (a Saxon herbal liqueur which warms from within). Having downed our shots we ordered some drinks and I was introduced to the concept of cola beer: the local Brinkhoff’s lager with a shot of coca-cola in it. Let me just say that I will just be bringing the Jägermeister idea back to Sydney!
We then parted and I joined Jörg, his daughter Alina and Ida (Elke’s mum) in their normal season ticket spots high up in Block 39 at the south end to watch the match. Jörg pointed out the Thüler Borussen 09 flag being waved at the south end of the pitch. This stadium is so big that it was only later that I learned that today’s flag swinger was Tim, with whom I had spent the previous Saturday afternoon in Munich.
The big news of the day (and joy for me) was the return of Marco Reus from (another) injury stint to play in his customary position on the left wing. Marco is a Dortmund boy and the hometown hero took only 2 minutes to provide the opening goal of the afternoon with a neat little flick from a Pulisic cross to the near post. 1-0 Dortmund and we were away!
Reus really adds a dimension to the Dortmund attacks with his intelligent runs and his great combination with Jurgen Schmelzer and the Frankfurt defence were having some difficulty containing them. But this team under Thomas Tuchel, with its emphasis on attack is prone to leaving gaps at the back, and Frankfurt had one or two scoring chances too. In the end their goal was a spectacular strike from Marco Fabian, who was in acres of space in left midfield and let rip a flyer into the top RH corner of the net. 1-1.
Dortmund’s response was swift and came from the unlikely source of Sokratis. Receiving the ball at the base of the midfield he drove forward, could not quite find the right pass, so instead jinked inside to reach the edge of the box. No-one was really closing him down so he ripped a beautiful shot into the top LH corner. This was a rare sight: Thomas Tuchel later quipped that when central defender, Sokratis hit the ball he did know whether to expect a throw-in for the other team or a goal!
Jórg with his daughter, Alina
With an eye on the midweek game in Monaco, Reus and Bender were substituted at half time. There followed a rather untidy second half. Dortmund were generally dominant but less aggressive in attack, and there was always the chance that Frankfurt would snag an equaliser. In the end the coup de grace was provided by Aubameyang who absolutely sprinted the length of the field to get on the end of a neat through ball from Dembélé following a genius pass from Sahin.
Block 39 - BVB brothers!
Overall, a rather run-of-the-mill home win embellished by four outstanding goals.
At the end of the match there was a fine and emotional tribute to Marc Bartra, who had been injured in the mid-week bombing of the team bus, when the Dortmund players went before the Südtribüne and ceremonially laid his jersey on the ground in front of them.
So for me it is a fond farewell to Signal Iduna Park. I had 3 wonderful, unforgettable experiences there. Thanks go out again to Jörg and the members of Thüler Borussen 09 who I got to know - you really showed me what being a fan club is all about. Hopefully we can emulate that in Sydney one day!
