Dortmund returned to London this time with two important tasks to do at Wembley: driving the darkness in 2013 and winning the Champions League for the second time in history.
"Everyone remembers the 2013 final at Wembley. Now, everyone is more ambitious and trying to achieve success.
My mind still has the memory of the final match that year. A giant picture ahead is created by two colors of yellow and black in London. That year, reaching the final match was a very impressive achievement but in the end, we came home with a defeat. Once again, the whole team reached the final, but the match 13 years ago was still like a recent one.
We hope this will be an opportunity to correct the mistakes of 2013. Real Madrid is a very strong but also the most attractive opponent for all teams in the world. I'm sure Dortmund will be a big challenge for them," CEO Carsten Cramer told The Athletic.
As Cramer described, Real Madrid are too strong. Los Blancos have won this tournament 14 times and have only won the title in 2022. The Spanish representative's squad is worth nearly 400 million Euros, while Dortmund's is less than 1/3, reaching about 125 million Euros. BVB is not a small team in Europe, but when placed next to Real Madrid, they are many times smaller in all aspects.
"We never complain about the opponent spending more money so we had a better performance, that's for sure. On the contrary, fans are very proud of the players for holding hands to reach the final. Dortmund will have their own way of competing.
We are not part of any powerful corporation, nor do we come from a world-famous city. In recent years, everything the team has achieved is the result of the labor of all. Although they have only finished 5th in the Bundesliga this season, the whole team is still proud to have reached the UEFA Champions League final" - Cramer shared.
As for Jude Bellingham, for those currently under Dortmund, especially the leadership, they do not have any negative thoughts about the English star. In the German national team, Bellingham is excellent (24 goals, 25 assists after 132 matches) but what this midfielder did when he moved to Real was even better (23 goals, 12 assists after 41 matches). Witnessing "Bac Be" shining brightly and having the opportunity to win the Golden Ball, Cramer was very proud.
"He's been great and we're happy to be a bridge for Bellingham to Real Madrid. Football is always that interesting because now, Bellingham will wear a new shirt to face Dortmund in the Champions League final. We feel proud of what he is doing."
If Bellingham is Real Madrid's brightest star before the final, Jadon Sancho will be Dortmund's hope. Since returning to Signal Iduna Park, Sancho has had a performance that is completely different from what he showed for Man United.
The moment Sancho shined against PSG, contributing to bringing Dortmund to the final, made Cramer and the leadership of the team in the Rurh region feel very satisfied.
"It's good to see Sancho enjoying the atmosphere like at home. I am happy that he is currently wearing the BVB shirt. Sancho not only plays very actively, he is also a good person, helping the whole team improve".
The heat of the final match in the early morning of Sunday was clearly felt by Dortmund fans. Through the club's official channel, Dortmund has received up to 400,000 requests to buy tickets, while they only have 25,000 to distribute.
"We will arrange a meeting to welcome all Dortmund fans to London this weekend. Hopefully, after the final match, the party will be even more exciting. I'm seeing the excitement in their eyes," Cramer said.
