Getting to know: Borussia Dortmund

Lauded for their world-famous atmosphere and the unique footballing experience they provide, Dortmund are the favourite of millions of supporters across the globe. A founding member of the Bundesliga – it was BVB’s Timo Konietzka that scored the league’s first ever goal – Borussia’s somewhat barren years and only relegation from the top flight in 1972 have been well compensated for by near constant success since the mid-1990s.

Bundesliga champions in 1995, 1997 and 2002, the club also lifted the UEFA Champions League in 1997 and reached the competition’s final in 2013 under Jürgen Klopp. The affable coach also presided over a league triumph in 2011 as well as the only domestic double in the club’s history a year later, and has left a legacy of exciting, entertaining football that has played a huge part in boosting the club’s image internationally in recent years.

8x German champions (1956, 1957, 1963, 1995, 1996, 2002, 2011, 2012)5x DFB Cup (1965, 1989, 2012, 2017, 2021)5x German Supercup (1989, 1995, 1996, 2013, 2014)1x UEFA Champions League (1997)1x UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup (1966)1x Intercontinental Cup (1997)

Coach

Since Klopp’s seven-year stint ended in 2015, five men – Thomas Tuchel, Peter Bosz, Peter Stöger, Lucien Favre and Edin Terzic – have taken charge of Dortmund and earned two DFB Cups and a Supercup. It’ll be six as of 2021/22 when Marco Rose takes over, having joined from rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach after he guided them into the Champions League knockout stage for the first time. A double winner as a coach in Austria with Red Bull Salzburg, the former Hannover and Mainz defender is the latest person tasked with ending Bayern Munich’s nine-year stranglehold on the Meisterschale.

Dortmund’s greatest asset in their pursuit of Bayern is Erling Haaland. The hottest young striker in world football scores almost a goal a game in Black and Yellow, with 57 from his first 59 appearances in all competitions. The last eight games of 2020/21 where the Norwegian striker featured on the scoresheet in fact saw his name appear twice as he bagged devastating braces. Still only 20 until the end of July 2021, he’s the highest-scoring U21 player in Bundesliga history with 40 goals.

Watch: Haaland’s first full Bundesliga season

After two back-to-back runners-up finishes under Favre, 2020/21 was meant to be about getting even closer to Bayern and potentially dethroning the treble winners. An opening 3-0 win over Gladbach with Gio Reyna and Haaland among the goals boded well, but a 2-0 defeat at Augsburg the following weekend set the tone for an inconsistent campaign. Three straight home defeats against Bayern, Cologne and VfB Stuttgart saw Favre dismissed and replaced by his assistant Terzic until the end of the season.

For long periods, it looked like BVB would miss out on the top four. A second Klassiker defeat to Bayern – despite leading 2-0 inside nine minutes after Haaland’s brace – left them sixth in March, but Terzic still guided them to the quarter-finals of the Champions League and also the DFB Cup final, which Dortmund would win 4-1 against RB Leipzig thanks to braces apiece from Haaland and Jadon Sancho. The cup victory came among a brilliant late-season run that saw Borussia win their last seven league games to reel in Eintracht Frankfurt and ultimately also Wolfsburg to finish third – only a point off Leipzig.

The stadium

One of the wonders of the modern world, BVB’s Signal Iduna Park is a cathedral to football, and a place all football fans should journey to at least once in their life. Packed to its 81,365 capacity every game, it is Germany’s largest stadium and has the largest single terrace for standing supporters in Europe, with 24,454 filling its world-famous Südtribüne (south stand) to create the awe-inspiring ‘Yellow Wall'. Deafeningly loud and utterly awe-inspiring, the stadium is a Mecca for thousands of football fans visiting Germany, and also happens to be affordable. The club’s most expensive Bundesliga season ticket for 2019/20 were priced at just €759 ($865, £680), while the cheapest was just €219 ($249, £196).

Opened for the FIFA World Cup in 1974, the stadium - originally known as the Westfalenstadion - has been Dortmund’s home ever since the club outgrew their previous Rote Erde stadium, which still lies adjacent to the Signal Iduna. The arena hosted the 2001 UEFA Cup final and a further six matches at the 2006 World Cup. The ground is an unmissable landmark of the Dortmund skyline and the distinctive 62-metre-high yellow pylons atop the stadium can be seen for miles around, serving as a beacon for the masses making the pilgrimage to watch BVB.

Watch: Inside the Signal Iduna Park

The largest city in the Ruhr region of North Rhine-Westphalia with a population of more than half a million people, Dortmund has been shaped by its production-centred past, focused primarily on steel, coal and – equally vital – beer. Football is now a firm element of that mix as the coal and steel industries declined. As well as BVB’s Signal Iduna Park and accompanying Borusseum, the city is also home to the German Football Museum, funded by profits from the 2006 FIFA World Cup to present the history of German football.

Largely decimated during World War II, modern Dortmund is an open and green city with spacious parks and numerous waterways crossing the city. You can catch a beautiful view over the city rooftops from St. Reinoldi’s tower, whilst you can also visit the famous Dortmunder U – the former site of the Union brewery and now home to several museums.

Food plays a big role in the culture of the city with Bratwurst (fried sausage) and Currywurst (spicy sausage) both staples of a matchday diet in and around the Signal Iduna Park or at a local beer garden either heading to or from the ground. There are two further delicacies that no visitor to Dortmund should go without: Pfefferpotthast (similar to goulash) and Himmel und Äd (black pudding with stewed apples and mashed potatoes) are both proud symbols of Dortmund cuisine.

Getting there

Dortmund airport is served by low-cost airlines with services to the UK and continental Europe. However, for a greater range of airlines and destinations, Dusseldorf and Cologne-Bonn airport are the two major air hubs in the region with daily flights across Europe and to North America, and are within an hour of Dortmund by regional train, or even less with the high-speed ICE, with Dortmund Hauptbahnhof serving as a major rail hub in the German rail network.

For a greater variety of flights from North America, Frankfurt airport is Germany’s busiest and only two hours away from Dortmund thanks to frequent, direct high-speed train services.

Situated just south of the city centre, the Signal Iduna Park is served by numerous local rail lines. The U42 (Theodor-Fliedner-Heim station), U45 (Stadion) and U46 (Westfallenhallen and Stadion) all travel to the stadium with the Stadion station only open on matchdays. Deutsche Bahn services on mainline tracks also serve the Dortmund Signal-Iduna-Park station with scheduled and special matchday trains serving Dortmund Hauptbahnhof and the greater Ruhr area.

Buying tickets

Dortmund matches are almost always sold out, but tickets can still be bought via the official club website HERE.

Watch on TV

If you can’t make it to the stadium, Bundesliga matches are broadcast around the world. ESPN provides coverage in the United States, while BT Sports are the exclusive broadcaster in the United Kingdom. In Germany, Sky Sports show the majority of matches, with DAZN hosting one match per week.

Buying the kit

You can get your own Dortmund jersey from the official club shop.

Stateside fan clubs

As one of Germany’s best supported clubs it is no surprise that love for BVB has spread across the Atlantic. Official fan clubs can be found from Washington DC on the East Coast all the way to Los Angeles and San Diego on the West via Indianapolis, Kansas City and more. Head here to find your nearest Dortmund fan club.