Wembley was advertising for BVB and the new Champions League

Our match of the week was, of course, the Champions League final on June 1, 2024, with BVB against Real Madrid (0:2) in Wembley – it became a "Never forget match". Where did you watch? Did you perhaps book a football trip to the Champions League final? It will be worth it again in 2024/2025. 

He received consolation from someone who was booed by the entire Wembley Stadium at the beginning of the game: José Mourinho, Champions League-winning coach in 2004 and 2010 (with FC Porto and Inter Milan), hugged the dejected Edin Terzic and gave him a few words of encouragement. 

"I will never forget this moment"

What "The Special One" specifically said to him, he did not want to reveal at the subsequent press conference. "I will never forget this moment," said Terzic, "it shows what a great coach and person he is."

This was revealed by Mourinho himself: "I told him that time would not help him process this pain. But he should be proud of what he and his team have achieved."

"A great coach and person" – I can only confirm that. I encountered the eccentric Portuguese in June 2013 at the farewell of "Capitano" Michael Ballack in Leipzig in the player tunnel. The small talk with him was also unforgettable for me.

But back to BVB and Edin Terzic. He also showed generosity in the moment of a bitter defeat. The defeated coach of Borussia Dortmund said after the 0:2 (0:0) against Real Madrid: "We brought 100,000 people to London and showed the whole world from the first second that we believe in it. That we are not here to play a final but that we are here to win a game."

Yes. Borussia Dortmund advertised themselves, once again managing to emotionally engage all of German football in a European Cup game after a long time. The last to do so were the Frankfurt team with their wild ride to the Europa League victory in 2022. 

BVB: Almost the greatest underdog story since 2004

The Dortmund team was close in Wembley to completing the greatest underdog story in this competition since Mourinho and Porto. Why it wasn't enough – let's spare ourselves the deeper analysis! 

Just this much: Real Madrid – and I had to experience this myself in 2003 during the 1:1 in Dortmund – can always turn a game or somehow come back thanks to their individual class. See the recent semi-final against FC Bayern (2:1), when the Munich team already seemed on their way to Wembley…

0:2 against Real, the international media sympathized with the Black and Yellows. "Borussia Dortmund was the better team for three-quarters of the game, but the legend overcame them in the end," wrote the Spanish newspaper AS about the somewhat fortunate success of the "Blancos". 

"In the end, Real Madrid always wins" 

"It is the competition that Real likes to think they own and the reasons were shown in Wembley," commented the British Guardian not without sarcasm. "And in the end, Real Madrid always wins," the French newspaper Le Parisien cleverly altered Gary Lineker's famous quote ("Football is a simple game, 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win"). 

In the end, Real Madrid always wins. The third final in the European Cup or Champions League since 1960 against a German team also went to the Madrilenians, who defeated Eintracht Frankfurt (7:3) and Bayer Leverkusen (2:1) in Glasgow in 2002. 

"This team has incredible potential," said BVB defender Nico Schlotterbeck in BILD (Monday edition), "we will win a title for the fans someday."

And that is not an empty promise. I wouldn't even think that it will take another 11 years for BVB to reach the Champions League final again.

Borussia Dortmund can continue to compete for titles. This team has matured, shown great international games, including in the quarter-final second leg against Atlético Madrid (4:2), in the semi-finals against PSG, and in the group stage against AC Milan (3:1). The fact remains: European Cup nights at the Westfalenstadion, BVB football trips should be experienced by any football fan.

There will no longer be a group stage in the 2024/2025 Champions League – the 1:1 against Paris with the "art of the tackle" (Kicker-Special The knockout round, February 2024) by Niklas Süle against Kylian Mbappé was the crowning conclusion from Dortmund's perspective.

How will the new Champions League work?

From the summer of 2024, 36 teams instead of the previous 32 will compete for the "Henkelpott" – and BVB is back in thanks to this reform as the fifth in the table, while Eintracht Frankfurt, which would have moved up as the sixth if Dortmund succeeded, remains in their favorite competition, the Europa League. 

Groups are a thing of the past, now there is a league where teams compete against 8 different opponents – without a second leg. 

Also, the "consolation prize" of continuing to work in the Europa League as the third in the group – which BVB did in 2017/2018 with just 2 points – has been abolished. 

Before the round of 16, for which the top eight teams qualify directly, there are knockout round playoffs – with the teams that finish 9th to 24th. Teams from 25th place are out. 

For me, one of the best parts: After the regular season, the tournament continues with a fixed bracket. This finally eliminates the contrived draws in Nyon with tight-lipped interviews with the final ambassadors and the equally exaggerated headlines like "Hammer draws for Bayern and BVB", you know it… 

There will also no longer be duels between two teams from the same country. In these matches, Dortmund experienced both jubilation and heartbreak – in 1998 they beat FC Bayern in the quarter-finals (1:0 after extra time) and in 2013 they lost to Munich in the final at Wembley (1:2).