Borussia Dortmund

The club have won eight league championships, five DFB-Pokals, one UEFA Champions League, one Intercontinental Cup, and one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

Team history

Actually, the name "Borussia" is a Latinized "Prussia". When various clubs (including football clubs) were created in Germany in the late XIX-early XX centuries, such names were in vogue. Then there were various "Alemania", "Britain", "Teutonia", "Armenia" and "Borussia". There were a lot of these "Borussians" formed – today there are about sixty of them.

And in the Bundesliga for the entire history of its existence there were four of them: from Dortmund, Monchengladbach, Berlin and Neunkirchen. The first two are the most famous – they are the glory of German football. For two they have 11

championships, five German Cups, Eurotrophies.

Dortmund has the Champions Cup and the Cup Cup, Gladbach has two UEFA Cups. In the "eternal" Bundesliga table (3 points each for a win), the teams are located next to each other - DB in sixth, BM in seventh place. The teams in the Bundesliga are spending their 44th season, but their fate was different

When the glory of the FallenElf (lower Rhine) thundered in Europe in the 70s, Dortmund played in the second Bundesliga. In the 80s they finished the championship "together", and already in the 90s their paths diverged. Dortmund became one of the grandees of the championship, and Gladbach went to the lower league. They returned after a couple of seasons, but since then they have not been able to get to the top ten of the standings. But we actually have a story about Borussia Dortmund…

So, at the end of the XIX century, football came to the southern part of Dortmund (Westphalia). The first club with the name FC 95 was organized by high school students. After a while, they had rivals VfB Dortmund. In 1901, a youth sports society was created in the northern part of the city at the Three-Holy Church for athletics and gymnastics.

. It is worth noting that Poles who came to the Ruhr region to work lived in that area. In the Wiese Wiese clearing (White Meadow), not far from Borsigplatz, young guys were chasing a ball. In 1906, the local chaplain and head of the youth society, Hubert De Wald, decided to organize them - so a football section appeared in the society. The youth wanted freedom, and at the end of December 19, 1909, at a meeting in the Hunter's pub, they decided to create their own football club.

De Wald, who learned about the "riot", came to the meeting and returned twenty people "to the bosom of the family". The remaining 18 refused to return. There was a question about the name, and then the main rebel Franz Jacobi saw the inscription "Borussia-Brauerei" (Borussia brewery). That's it, there is a name! Jacobi also became the treasurer of the new club, Heinrich Unger was elected president. The uniform was invented like this - blue and white T-shirts with a diagonal red stripe and black underpants. The diagonal symbolized the support of the working class.

Five days passed, and the "schismatics" were excommunicated from the church allowance, and BVB-09 (Ballspielverein Borussia) went on a free voyage.

A year later, the team under the leadership of Jacobi joined the West German Gaming Union and began to participate in competitions from the lower league.

And although there were no famous players in the club, the team gradually rose to the top divisions. In 1913, the club merged with the teams "Renania", "Britannia" and "Deutsche Flagge" that failed to register in the union – the number of "club members" reached 80 people. In the same year, the club colors also changed – the T-shirts became lemon yellow with a large letter "B" on the chest, the underpants remained black. Since then, the colors have not changed. With enviable frequency, the club's players tried to be called "canaries", but this nickname did not catch on. The new club colors were approved on February 14, 1914.

In the first post-war years, Borussia almost "died". The thing is that the club did not have a stadium, and the management has almost agreed to merge with Dortmund-08. It's good that that club refused…

By that time, IMI had grown noticeably, and the club already had several children's and youth teams. Finances were not enough, the situation was heating up, and Jacobi ceded the presidential chair to the owner of the brewery Heinz Schwaben. The new head rented Wiesse Wiese from the city authorities.

The construction of a wall around the field required 25,000 marks, and Schwaben took the construction "magnate" Ignaz Peters as co-president. The missing amount was added by club members, fans and friends. Not without voluntary work in construction

There were only four days left before the grand opening of the Borussia-Sportplatz arena, and then a strong hurricane with a downpour hit the city - part of the fence collapsed.

The restoration was carried out around the clock, and on August 14, 1924, the Mayor of Dortmund inaugurated the stadium with stands for 12,000 spectators. When the results were summed up, it became clear that 50,000 marks had been spent on construction…

In 1925, the first Ruhr derby was held.

In the framework of the district league, Borussia hosted Schalke from Gelsenkirchen and lost 2:4. By the way, then it was an absolutely ordinary match, the teams turned into irreconcilable rivals much later. Gelsenkirchen often outplayed Dortmund, but with other teams of the district league, the "black and yellow" played with varying success.

To "raise the team in class", President Schwaben attracted players from other clubs to the team. Financial interest played an important role here. Schwaben spent 12,000 marks from the club's cash register on "transfers".

However, then it was issued as an insurance policy, because direct payments were prohibited. Football in the country was amateur! Nevertheless, the president violated something, the debts of the club grew, and he had to pay these 12,000 out of his own pocket

And resign as president. The most annoying thing is that the "legionnaires" did not help the team - Dortmund lost the decisive match and went to the lower league for a long ten years.

Yes, in 1928, August Busse replaced Schwaben. He was a locksmith by profession, worked for the club for a long time, played for it for many years, was responsible for the first team. In 1933 , he lost the post to Egon Pentrop for a year

But, since he refused to join the NSDAP, he returned to his place.

In the 30s, BVB did not shine, the glory of Schalke thundered throughout Germany…

Interestingly, there was no... coach in the team! In fact, Busse was the mentor. And the first full - fledged mentor appeared in the team in July 1936

It was Fritz Thelen, a relative of the famous Gelsenkirchen Ernst Kuzorra. Immediately, Tellen could not get to work, and Kuzorra "helped out" – for more than two months he personally worked with the team. Is it worth mentioning that a lot of people gathered for training

The work of a great football player also brought sporting success – Dortmund won the district championship and returned to the main league of Westphalia. Now it was called Gauliga. In 1937, the stadium was taken away from the team. The fact is that the Hash company switched to military production and it needed additional space. The club did not receive compensation, and the team, along with other city clubs, had to play at the main stadium "Rote Erde" (Red Earth)

During the Nazi era, BVB was not noticed in sympathy with Hitler and others like him. President Busse joined the NDSAP in 1941. And while the president was reporting for "raising the German spirit," his deputy Heinrich Herkus was stamping anti-fascist proclamations and leaflets on a multiplying club machine. In 1945, he was arrested and, together with members of the city underground, executed. Among them was another "Borussian" – Franz Hippler.

After the war, the city ended up in the British occupation zone. The new government dissolved all organizations and societies, but it was here that football clubs began to revive first in the country. It is clear that the British patronized their national sport!

In 1948, Borussia won the debut Oberliga West, and a year earlier beat Schalke - a triumph 21 years later. This should not be surprising, no one supported the Gelsenkirchens anymore (the regime collapsed), and the Dortmund people were gaining strength. By the way, that year the team almost flew out of the Oberliga – in May, the players of the team that was confidently leading in the championship went on vacation, and at that time the German Football Union decided to postpone the next game with St. Pauli from May 9th to May 8th

In Dortmund, this became known only on the 5th, and the club physically did not have time to gather its players by the deadline… At the initiative of the Football Union of North Rhine-Westphalia, Borussia was almost excluded from the tournament for indiscipline… And this club is one of the inspirers and organizers of the championship! Fortunately, the Northerners were not supported, and in fact the first German championship was won by Dortmund

For three years in a row, the "black and yellow" won the Oberliga West, and in 1949 they reached the final of the German championship for the first time. The team owes much of its success to Heinz Dolla.

He gathered players from everywhere, fed them, nurtured and nurtured them. Enraged fans of other teams, whose selectors took the players away from under their noses, eventually cut his tires, but the job was already done! For the players, Dolle found work both at the club and at the enterprises of the team's fans. So there were no problems with training and trips to the games.

Yes, in 1949, in the final, the team lost to the Fsfr "Mannerheim". But after the match, the players were greeted like heroes – it was the first "second" place in history!

In July 1955, former Bayern and Waldhof player Helmut Schneider was appointed coach. By the way, he was one of the first to graduate from the Cologne coaching school. Heinz Dolle called him to the club. Helmut worked at the club for two years, but it was a championship two years!

In 1957, the team played "on two fronts" – in the league and the Champions Cup. But I could not pass the MU in the European tournament. And in March, Schneider decided to return to his former club Pirmasens. Despite this, BVB won the Oberliga. For the sixth and last time. In the city, the team was honored not only on the Town Hall square, but also in the Westfalenhall - Borussia became the hallmark of Dortmund.

In the same year, they began to determine the best team of the year in all sports. She became... "Borussia". On the coaching bridge, Schneider was replaced by Hans Tauchert. He worked for only a year and died of a heart attack. With him in the Champions Cup, the "black and yellow" reached the quarterfinals, where they lost to Milan. They finished fifth in the Oberliga.

Then Max Merkel became a mentor. The team finished the season in fifth place again. Since the veterans were gradually ending their careers, Merkel, in fact, created a new Borussia, which in the 1960/1961 season again reached the final of the national championship.

But I lost to Nuremberg 0:3, and the goalkeeper of the Borussians was named the best player of the match. For Merkel, this was a blatant slap in the face, and he, tempted by the financial offer of Munich-1860, left the team.

Herman Eppenhoff became the coach, but he could not bring anything, and BVB finished in eighth place with him. There was a split in the club leadership – the opposition was headed by Dolle. The "underhand war" went on with varying success, in March 1962, the oppositionists were defeated at a general meeting, and President Werner Wilms consolidated his power.

In September of the same year, Wolfgang Peters, a veteran of the team, was arrested on suspicion of shoplifting in the city of Kassel. Of course, he was immediately excluded from the team.

The second season of the Eppenhoff was the last season before the creation of the Bundesliga, the creation of which was solemnly announced in July 1962 in the Westfalenhall. From the Oberliga, Cologne, Schalke and Borussia got there right away.

Timo Konetzka scored the first goal of the new tournament in the Werder -Borussia match. There is no photo or filming of the goal, because the ball was scored in the first minute, and the correspondents have not yet had time to go to their "workplaces". The first season in the Bundesliga, the "black and yellow" finished fourth, In the same year Dortmund played in the European Champions Cup, where they lost to Inter 2:4 in the semifinals on the sum of two matches.

On the fourth of May, after the return match with the Milan team, Eppenhof was dismissed for "disparaging statements and unfounded accusations against the club at the post-match press conference," and Kvyatkovsky was appointed acting. The ex-coach, in turn, invited the board to resign.

The motive is mistakes when changing the charter. Since the mentor was loved in the city, after a week of proceedings in the local justice authorities, he returned to work. Three weeks later, a new board was elected at the general meeting, and then, the initiator of Eppenhoff's resignation, left the club.

The following season, the team finished third and won the first ever German Cup. However, the mentor, who did not forget the offense, left for the "Maydericher" SHF (now MSF Duisburg). Villa "Fishke" Multhaup became the next coach of Dortmund

He got his nickname while playing in Essen (where his parents had a fish shop). BVB management lured him with a lucrative contract. He was a smart coach, but with his "flies" - always fashionably dressed, with a monocle in his eye and extremely distanced from the players

At the same time, he was an excellent psychologist and an excellent motivator. Under him, the "black and yellow" were the first European clubs to win the European Cup.

In the 1965/1966 season, Borussia suffered their first defeat only in the round of 32, while Schalke won 7-0 (the largest score in the Ruhr derby). In the Cup Winners' Cup, Dortmund's rivals were Liverpool

For some reason, the club unsuccessfully tried to challenge the venue of the match… It was raining on the day of the final match, and stadium workers spent two hours scraping red paint off the goal posts. Although only 2,000 fans came from Germany, Celtic fans supported the German team – since then, both clubs and their fans have been friends.

The whole game was dominated by the British, Dortmund managed to snatch victory only in the second extra half – 1:2. The players received a bonus of 2,000 marks each. The long celebration cost BVB the championship title – they finished the season second, ahead of Bayern, who caught up with them in points, only by the difference between scored and missed…

1966 - the year of team glory - the club was recognized in Europe, its players played at the World Cup. At the same time, for the first time, the players starred in advertising. These were the "Borussians" Held and Emmerich, as well as the Bavarian Beckenbauer. It seemed that the future was the brightest, but ... In June 1966, the "Chip" was lured to Cologne, and the BVB management, after a week of reflection, could not outbid the amount offered by the "goats".

Heinz Murach, who previously worked in the Lower Rhine Football Union, became the new coach. He had no experience as a coach... Paradoxically, although there are newcomers in the team - none of the strong youth team!

A new drawing of the COC had to start in Glasgow

And immediately finish - "Rangers" failed to pass. We finished the season in third place, but the worst was yet to come. In the following season, Borussia began to fall after the 10th round and finished the season in 14th position.

In January 1968, Murakh announced his retirement from the team at the end of the season. He was succeeded by Oswald Pfau, who actually started working in April. Disgruntled fans, with the support of the club opposition in the person of Helmut Bracht and ex-vice President Heinz Storke, demanded the resignation of President Wili Steegman. And this is with a record profit at the end of last season

It all started with the fact that the president took away the passes to the honorary box from two oppositionists. And on October 28, 1968, the entire top was replaced at the annual meeting! The reason is the team's failures and incomprehensible transfers. Walter Klimt became President. My brother became a sports director.

At first, the situation improved a little – in the fall the team was in 11th place, but already on December 15 Pfau was hospitalized with a heart attack (he died on January 3, 1969). Helmut Schneider was invited to take his place, who lasted only eight matches, and was replaced by Herman Lindemann from Mannheim Waldhof

He also left the team after defeating then-rival Kickers. The following season BVB finished fifth, at the same time there was the biggest defeat in the Bundesliga - 1:9 from Hertha. After the home match against Schalke, there is a wonderful phrase in the report:

The dog clung to the soft spot of the Gelsenkirchen player Rausch. The football player got off with a torn wound, the dog was not injured." The fact is that police officers with dogs were sent to the game for protection, who... forgot to put muzzles on them!

In the 1970/1971 season, the team already had a new coach. He became - yes, I'm tired of writing about the leapfrog of mentors! The 1972 season for Borussia ended with relegation to the regional league – the team took 17th place! One of the reasons the management called the fact that the stadium "Rote Erde" is outdated - there are few places!

They also complained about the decline of industry in the region… It was not possible to return to the Bundesliga immediately. In 1974, the entire club management changed again. Heinz Gunther became the president, who promised decent bonuses for returning to the elite.

At the same time, it became known that the club's debt was 1.3 million marks. Gunther appealed to the city authorities and to the fans. The city paid the club 800 thousand for the placement of street advertising, and also gave a loan for 300 thousand. The Hash company also provided a medical center.

In total, we scored one million. Three activist fans Neusten, Erdmann and Schipper mobilized the fans. They organized fan outings at the match, created a "fan order" service, published a club newspaper, and opened a kindergarten at the new Vestafalenstadion in April! But the team was in the regional league for two more years, and only in the spring of 1976, having taken second place in its subgroup, it played play-off matches with Nuremberg for the third ticket to the elite

And then it became known that Gunther had signed a contract with... Nuremberg. He was fired and Otto Rehagel was invited - with the condition of signing a full-fledged contract if the team enters the Bundesliga. And after four long years BVB returned to the top division.

On August 23, 1976, the fans who filled the stands of the Westfallenstadion chanted: "Otto, send to...!". The reason is simple - the Dutch tobacco company Samson became the first sponsor of Borussia. Its emblem - the lion's head - decorated the T-shirts of the Borussian players

Moreover, homegrown designers even managed to hide the emblem of the German Football Union in this head! But half a million marks - they are half a million in the lion's den

A scandal on a similar occasion unfolded a year ago, when the management of Borussia decided to add the coat of arms of the city to the usual club emblem adopted back in 1919 (letters BVB in a circle), in gratitude for the stadium.

Then the NSF spoke very sharply "against the commercialization of football". The first season of Rehagel ended with the eighth place, and the president gave the command to strengthen the team with famous players. But the "stars" were in no hurry to go to Borussia.

A year later, a scandal followed – on April 29, 1978, the team lost to Borussia Monchengladbach 0:12. And the fans renamed the team BVB-12 ... It hit the reputation of Rehagel, he was called Golhagel (Torhagel).

Three days later, a letter came from the DFB - the chairman of the control commission, Hans Kindermann, demanded written explanations from each player. The team was headed by the ex-coach of Duisburg Karl-Heinz Ruhl (soon he was replaced by Uli Maslo). Reinhard Rauball became President

The new head created a council of veterans of the 60s, "cleared up the rubble", carried out debt restructuring. And soon Udo Lattek became the coach of the team. With him, Borussia finished sixth – for that team it was the ceiling! In May 1981, Lattek's son tragically died and he left Dortmund (two months later, Udo headed Barcelona).

Lattek's successor was Branko Zebets, with him the average age of the team is 24.7 years. The updated Borussia finished sixth again and returned to Europe. However, the failures did not leave the "black and yellow" – on October 13, Branko had an accident, and in the summer of 1982 he resigned.

BVB was headed by Karl-Heinz Feldkamp, and the club signed former Romanian national team player Marcel Raducanu, who escaped from Steaua during the Romanian club's overseas voyage. It was already the fourth fugitive - after GDR goalkeeper Gunther, Hungarian Zoltan Varga and Czech Mirko Vltava

After leaving the post of president of Raubal in September, the club began to collapse again, and in 1984 he returned. After the audit, the president, along with Vice President Gerd Nibaum, almost turned gray – club debt ... 8.3 million marks! Fussbalbund warned the Borussians that, in case of non-payment, the club will be declared bankrupt, and the license will be revoked – a direct road to amateur football

It was necessary to save the situation urgently. Players refused bonuses - saving one million. The city exempted THEM from the stadium rental fee and left the club with all proceeds from outdoor advertising. And then who thought about strengthening?

In the 1985/1986 season, taking 16th place, Dortmund played transitional matches with Cologne Fortuna. If the team had then been relegated to the second Bundesliga– there would have been no take-off of the 90s. In 1986, Nibaum became president. He attracted a new title sponsor – the inscription Continental (a large insurance company) appeared on the T-shirts.

Ten years later, Dortmund, along with Bayern, were already part of Group G-14 (the most financially and sports successful clubs in Europe). In the 1986/1987 season, the team was fourth and qualified for UEFA.

In addition to a close-knit team, the "Borussians" were distinguished by strengthening the game in the second half and fighting until the last second of the game - especially in home matches. In 1989 , the team won the German Cup – 24 years have passed since the last triumph…

At the end of the 1990/1991 season, Otto Rehagel was supposed to become the coach, but at the last moment he changed his mind and manager Michael Mayer invited Ottmar Hitzfeld, who worked in Zurich.

The "Hitzfeld era" has arrived. Herr Ottmar has worked at Borussia for six years – a record for the "black and yellow"! Under the guidance of the mathematician, the team became the champion twice, the first of the German clubs to win the Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup created in the early 90s.

The Swiss specialist attracted young people, was calm and did not divide the players into favorites and others. "Those who are better prepared will play." Bayern were dissatisfied with the victory of Dortmund - the final league match was held in Munich!

And the Bavarians immediately wrote them down as principled rivals. Then there was the departure of Hitzfeld, the departure of Nibaum, the coaching leadership of the Measurement (the sixth championship), again the arrival of Rauball.

Looking at the statistics, a pattern is visible – the championship twice in a row, then a break for six years. First series: 1956, 1957 – 1963, second: 1995,1996 - 2002

Will the fans of the "black and yellow" wait for the third? The current "Borussia" is far from the triumphs that it achieved in its best years, and even getting into the UEFA Cup zone, not to mention the championship, will be considered a success for loyal fans... But we believe that in the near future the "black and yellow" will once again make them talk about themselves as one of the strongest clubs not only in Germany, but also in the whole world...

Stadium

Signal Iduna Park is one of the largest and most comfortable arenas in Europe, according to the FIFA classification - five stars. It was built in 1971- 1974 for the World Cup and held 54 thousand spectators. Opened with a friendly match "Borussia" - "Schalke 04". Since December 1, 2005 - the home arena of the "black and yellow""Westfalenstadion" by agreement between the club management and the group of insurance companies "Signal-Iduna" was renamed "Signal-Iduna-Park". The long process of construction and reconstruction reached its climax with the latest measures to rebuild the stadium for the 2006 World Cup. An electronic access system was installed at the stadium, the number of seats for the disabled was increased, the VIP section, command cabins and sanitary equipment were upgraded. The final capacity is 81,264 seats. The South Stand remains the largest standing grandstand in Europe. In 2005, the street near the stadium was named Am Westfalenstadion.

Main achievements

German Champion (8): 1956, 1957, 1963, 1995, 1996, 2002, 2011, 2012

Silver medalist of the German Championship (6): 1949, 1961, 1966, 1992, 2013, 2014

Bronze medalist of the German Championship (5): 1965, 1967, 1997, 2001, 2003

German Cup Winner (3): 1965, 1989, 2012

Winner of the German Super Cup (6: 1989, 1995, 1996, 2008, 2013, 2014

Champions League Winner (1): 1997

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Winner (1): 1966

Intercontinental Cup Winner (1): 1997

Champion of Westphalia (1): 1947