Flying under the radar, Dortmund stun Europe with final spot

BERLIN: Borussia Dortmund were not on anyone’s Champions League radar when the season started but the club’s sensational run to the final with a 2-0 aggregate win over Paris St Germain on Tuesday proved their plan was right all along, said coach Edin Terzic.

Dortmund came into the season on the back of a bitter Bundesliga title loss on the final matchday of the previous campaign. And while their league results quickly confirmed Terzic’s team did not have the consistency to be a serious title contender this season, it was a different story in Europe.

Dortmund, who won the tournament in 1997 and were runners-up to Bayern Munich in 2013, cruised through their group with only one loss in six matches against PSG, AC Milan and Newcastle United.

“There is always a team that no one has on their radar that reaches the quarter-finals or the semi-finals. We wanted to be the team that will not necessarily on anyone’s radar,” Terzic said. “That road has been unbelievable.” They did not play the kind of spectacular football that instantly attracts attention but scored key wins at Newcastle and Milan.

After losing on the first matchday Dortmund went five group games without defeat to top the section. “After the second matchday (following a loss at PSG and a home draw against Milan) almost no one believed in us any more,” said captain Emre Can.

“We only had one point after two matches but we kept believing in us and that was the most important thing. Keeping two clean sheets in two matches against PSG is no mean feat.” Prior to their two 1-0 wins over PSG in the last four, Dortmund had dispatched PSV Eindhoven in the round of 16 and Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals.

Dortmund, fifth in the Bundesliga with two games left, will now face either Bayern or Real Madrid, who meet in Spain later on Wednesday after last week’s 2-2 first leg draw in Munich. “We will come up against a very tough opponent, no matter who it is,” said Dortmund’s Mats Hummels, who scored the winning goal on Tuesday.

“Since that second matchday we have kept believing we can hold our own in the Champions League. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever not to believe that we can also win the final.”