Match of the decade overshadowed? No way!

Tomorrow is the big night. The match we have all been longing for. It’s semifinal time in the Champions League and believe it or not Borussia is still in the competition. Only four years ago Borussia Dortmund hired Real Madrid for a test match as a “birthday present” for the club. The star ensemble wiped Borussia away with a 5:0. This year we did not only beat them at home in the group stage but we were just a minute away from winning at Santiago Bernabeu as well. So undoubtedly Borussia has come a long way in recent years. Meeting Real again in the semis should be the matches of the decade for the club and the fans should be sleepless with anticipation. Still that is not the case. Something completely different gave the BVB supporters insomnia last night.

Round midnight the German yellow press announced that our golden boy Mario Götze was tempted by the master of tici-taca Pep Guardiola to join FC Bayern next season. Since Götze had a buyout clause and the fat cats from Bavaria were willing to spend the asking price of roundabout €37m to make their new coach happy, there was nothing Borussia could do against this transfer. In their best manners the FCB officials did not even find it necessary to contact Borussia Dortmund at all. They let their money do the talking for them. As Jürgen Klopp put it “I heard about that transfer one day after the Malaga match, so my joy over the last minute victory only lasted 24h.”

But it was not only the prospect to work under the most successful coach of the decade that lured Götze to cross the Weisswurst equator. It was also the chance to triple his annual earnings way beyond the €10m border. As sad as it is to see him go, I am really happy that my club is not offering wages in such a dimension. Players come and go - Borussia remains! Usually that’s all I have to say when some professional footballer decides to part with my beloved club. Sahin to Real, yep I can see his reasons. Kagawa to United, okay a childhood dream come true. But Götze being brought up in Dortmund and Borussian since 2001 joining the club we have successfully challenged in the past two seasons? That’s hard to swallow, even for a fan that has seen many players come and go over the last 30 years.

But I am getting carried away! This article should be all about the important match against Real. But that is the point! The fact cannot be ignored that the Götze move was made public in the semifinal week, just a couple of days after FCB president Uli Hoeness had to admit he evaded millions of € tax, that his house was searched and he was arrested by police and had to bail himself out for €5m. And that it was the Munich branch of the notorious Bildzeitung that had the story first makes it even more obvious: To launch the story now is a big diversion maneuver by our Bavarian rivals.

They were known to play the game the dirty way for a long time whenever they are attacked. But to sacrifice their newest purchase like this must give Götze a first scent of the snake pit he will step into next summer. They did not care about the reaction of the disappointed BVB supporters, who will make Götze feel the betrayal in the last matches of the season. They did not care about the pressure they put onto the still only 20 year young talent. All they cared about was to take Uli Hoeness out of the line of fire. An attempt that did not even work out, because the stories about the crimes of Uli H. just keep on coming.

But it worked out to draw the attention around BVB away from the all-important match against Real. It worked out to spoil the anticipation for many BVB supporters. And it probably will work out to take one of our most important midfielders out of the game. To let Götze start would be a great risk for Jürgen Klopp. Will he shake off the pressure and perform as good as he did in recent weeks? How will the fans react towards him? But on the other hand it will be a wager as well to leave Götze out. Despite his decision to move in summer he performed well and he undoubtedly has qualities unmatched by any other BVB player. A tough call for our coach, but he surely will come up with the best solution.

I won’t let my anticipation be spoiled! This is the match we have been waiting for! Tomorrow will be one night to remember. Our dream is still alive and no moneybag can steal that away from us. It is not for sale! Or as Jürgen Klopp said it: “If someone is unable to overcome his disappointment until tomorrow I advise him to sell his ticket to somebody who can. I appeal to the people who can overcome their disappointment to show that Borussia stands above everything else.”

Let’s show what Dortmund supporters are made of tomorrow night. Let’s show Götze and all the other prime targets for other clubs in our team what they will be missing if they leave the greatest club in the world. Let the Westfalenstadion roar be heard, let’s roar so loud that they hear it in Munich and then we’ll get even louder so they can hear it in Madrid as well. Let’s push our boys in black’n’yellow to their limits and even beyond so they can show once more what a real team is capable of against an assembly of superstars. Let’s be Borussia with all our hearts and souls! Let’s make history together!

Web, 23.03+1.2013

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