Borussia Dortmund became the first finalist of this Champions League after defeating Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 away. The last time they reached the decisive match was in 2013, an edition in which they left greats like Real Madrid in the way and in which they had a Brazilian among their heroes.
Like what is happening this year, the German team’s campaign in the 2012-2013 season of the continental tournament was a great feat. The draw placed them in the Group of Death along with Real Madrid, Manchester City and Ajax, which did not prevent them from coming out first and reaching the round of 16.
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After eliminating Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine in that instance, Málaga came to the quarterfinals. That year the Spanish team had a great team, with Isco, Júlio Baptista, Jérémy Toulalan, Joaquín and Javier Saviola, among other big names.
The first leg in Andalusia ended without goals, so everything was decided in Dortmund. Until eight minutes before the end, it was the Spanish team that advanced to the round with a 2-1 victory, but in the first minute of stoppage time Marco Reus appeared to declare the tie, and when the game was dying, it was the Brazilian Felipe Santana the one who captured a lost ball and finished on the goal line.
The goal was not without controversy, since it was a clear unpaid forward position, in times still very distant from the implementation of the VAR. In this way, the team led by Jürgen Klopp, and with Robert Lewandowski as scorer, reached the semi-finals in agonizing fashion.
In that key they later eliminated Real Madrid with a 4-3 aggregate score and then lost the final 2-1 against Bayern Munich. Destiny meant that the same duel could be repeated in this edition and on the same stage, the legendary Wembley stadium in London.
Remembering Zagallo
Sambafoot Series launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo‘ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays — as a player and as a coach.
Binge the first four episodes available on Sambafoot’s Youtube channel. Stay tuned for upcoming releases as we keep telling this legend’s life story.
