Deutscher Meister - 2
Even before the match kicked off, Dortmund's home fans were belting out chants without end. Those who couldn't get into the stadium didn't head home—instead, they naturally gathered outside, cheering for Dortmund.
"There were times when things were really bad for us."
Dortmund had weathered the darkest crisis in 2005, teetering on the brink of financial bankruptcy, but the fans never abandoned the team they loved.
"We stared into the abyss and swore we'd fight even harder."
On match days, they always showed up at the stadium, singing at the top of their lungs for Dortmund's revival.
Erwin Müller was no different—a man who'd held season tickets in the same seat for 50 years, cheering Dortmund from the exact same spot every game day.
"Together through the valley of tears, hand in hand."
Erwin, who prided himself on loving Dortmund more than anyone, was now an old man with a creaky body he tried to ignore as he poured his soul into the chant. "At the end of the dark alley shines the Yellow Wall."
As the players appeared on the pitch, the south stand—known as the Südtribüne, a standing section that held over 30,000 fans and earned its nickname of Yellow Wall—unveiled a massive card display: Dede lifting the Meisterschale as he prepared to leave Dortmund at season's end.
"Borussia Dortmund '09! Borussia Dortmund '09!"
"A club with a hundred thousand friends."
"The black-and-yellow people of the Ruhr."
"Will always stand proudly by your side."
Was it thanks to this burning passion from the fans? Right from kickoff, Dortmund overwhelmed Nuremberg in a one-sided onslaught.
In the 27th minute of the first half, a tense clash erupted between Dortmund's starting striker Lucas Barrios and Nuremberg's center-back Timmy Simons.
"Calm down—want me to teach you some lama breathing?"
The ref handed both a yellow card with a warning to play nice. I approached the somewhat fired-up Lucas Barrios to cool him off.
"...Pfft. Haha, I'm good, kid. All chill now."
As Barrios burst out laughing, I turned to the rest of the team.
"I get how you're all feeling! But let's cool it a bit!"
Overall, Dortmund's players were running a little too hot. Who could blame them after witnessing that spectacle before kickoff? The constant roar of chants and cheers still rang in my ears, swelling my chest with emotion.
A player who'd devoted 13 years to the club, and fans bidding farewell to his final game—it was like a fairy tale come to life.
And to complete that fairy tale, there was just one thing left: win this match and lift the Meisterschale.
"Roberto! Press on the left!"
At some point, I started directing the players' positions and issuing calls just like I did with the reserves.
Surprisingly, they followed my instructions without hesitation. Dortmund's already ferocious high press became even more efficient, leading to panicked pass errors from Nuremberg.
I snatched the ball cleanly. Just as Dortmund's counterattack was about to spring...
Ilkay Gündoğan grabbed my jersey from behind and sent me tumbling to the turf. The ref yellow-carded him and called the foul for Nuremberg.
"Aren't you overdoing it?"
"This guy's telling me to calm down? He's the one losing it."
Mario Götze and Lucas Barrios teased me with playful jabs as they helped me up from the ground.
I grabbed their hands, shrugged my shoulders loose, and stepped up to take the free kick.
Hoo...
With a deep breath to clear my head, I pondered how to play it. From the edge of the penalty box, curling it inside seemed smart.
But for some reason, a strong gut feeling told me to bend a shot right into the net.
Am I still too heated?
I closed my eyes slowly, then opened them. My sharpened senses still screamed to shoot.
The ref blew the whistle.
"BVB! BVB! BVB!"
I emptied my mind, letting the fans' chants fill my ears as I slowly moved my foot.
The inside of my foot met the outside of the ball.
What looked destined to sail wide suddenly whipped—piercing the upper corner of the far post.
"Hejaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
As the net rippled, a deafening roar shook Signal Iduna Park to its foundations.
After Son Jinho's free-kick stunner, Dortmund ramped up the pressure, pinning Nuremberg down but failing to add to the score. Robert Lewandowski and Lucas Barrios rattled the net, only for offside calls to disallow them.
Beep!
Halftime ended 1-0. In the second half, Nuremberg, who'd bunkered down earlier, hit back.
Attacking midfielder Ilkay Gündoğan, starting for Nuremberg, shook off his first-half mistake and orchestrated their attacks with renewed aggression.
A Nuremberg forward latched onto a Gündoğan pass and stung the side netting.
Dortmund fans exhaled in relief, thinking it was in. As Son Jinho dropped to shield the backline...
"Jin-ho! Don't drop! Stay aggressive!"
Jurgen Klopp directed him to push forward.
Following the boss's orders, Jinho resumed his attacking role. What followed was a thrilling end-to-end slugfest.
For the corner, Son Jinho signaled the rehearsed pattern and floated it close to the box.
After several waves of end-to-end action, the clock ticked toward full time.
Dortmund made a sub before the corner: Dede replaced the cramping Marcel Schmelzer.
Son Jinho locked eyes with Dede entering the box. The ref whistled, and Jinho whipped in the corner.
Dede leaped into the Dortmund stands right after scoring, hugging tearful fans.
"Together through the valley of tears, hand in hand."
As the final whistle loomed, Dortmund fans broke into song.
"At the end of the dark alley shines the Yellow Wall."
Some elderly fans wept like children.
Stoppage time ticked out.
The ref blew full time. In an instant, the pitch was a sea of black and yellow.