David Hytner was at Wembley tonight, and his report is in. Here it is. Congratulations to Real Madrid, commiserations to Borussia Dortmund, and thanks to you, dear reader, for sticking with this MBM. Nighty night!
An extremely gracious Edin Terzic speaks to TNT. “It is difficult … it is very tough to find the right words …. performance-wise we showed a great game … but then we also found out why they became champions for the 15th time … they’ve been so effective … it was something we missed … the proud thing is we gave a really good game … we showed everybody we were here to win, not to play a game … we were very close … small things missing … but congratulations to them … to keep this hunger to win again, you see why they are the true champions … this is a proud moment … we brought nearly 100,000 people from Dortmund to London … it was a fantastic journey … to be honest it’s also a bit empty inside as it was a great opportunity and unfortunately we did not make it … now we keep the belief high, the doubt must not take over … everything in life starts with a belief … no room for doubts … I said the same thing to Jude as I said to Erling Haaland, that I was proud to be their manager … I was there when they won their first title in their career when we won the German cup in 2021 … but I was quite sure I wouldn’t be around when they won the Champions League … Erling did it last season, but unfortunately I was here when Jude won it! … it’s a very proud moment for him, so congratulations to him and the whole family.”
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Carlo Ancelotti speaks to TNT. “It seems a dream but it’s not a dream … I’m really happy … it’s a really difficult game as usual … they played better in the first half, we played better in the second half … the final is like this … we were able to win and enjoy a fantastic season … we are really happy to be able to win the cup … the history and tradition of this club … the quality of the players … the club is a family … we have a fantastic environment … we are working together … the atmosphere is really good in the dressing room … I have to say thanks to my club and also the players … there is not a big ego, they are really humble … it was not difficult to manage this squad this season … I do not know what we are going to do, but for sure we are not going to sleep!”
Carlo Ancelotti – who has just been flung into the air several times by his delighted players – has now won the competition a scarcely believable five times. Here’s where he stands on the all-time list …
5: Carlo Ancelotti
3: Bob Paisley, Zinedine Zidane, Pep Guardiola
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Jude Bellingham has become only the fifth British player to win the Champions League with a foreign club. Paul Lambert was the first, with Borussia Dortmund in 1997. Steve McManaman won two titles at Real Madrid, in 2000 and 2002, scoring in the first victory against Valencia. Owen Hargreaves managed it with Bayern Munich in 2001, and then there was Gareth Bale, who picked up his medals for Real Madrid in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022.
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Speaking of records … until tonight, Paco Gento was the only player to have won the European Cup on six occasions, doing so for Real Madrid in 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960 and 1966. He’s now been joined on that mark by fellow Madridistas in Toni Kroos, Dani Carvajal, Nacho and Luka Modric. Kroos is the only one of them to have won one of their titles with another club, having done so with Bayern Munich in 2013.
All this and Kylian Mbappe on the way next year! As if the club aren’t already dominant enough. Here’s how far ahead of the pack they are …
15: Real Madrid
7: Milan
6: Liverpool, Bayern Munich
5: Barcelona
4: Ajax
3: Manchester United, Internazionale
2: Benfica, Nottingham Forest, Juventus, Porto, Chelsea
1: Celtic, Feyenoord, Aston Villa, PSV, Hamburg, Steaua Bucharest, Red Star Belgrade, Marseille, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City
Nacho takes receipt of the European Cup. A punch of the air. He wanders across to his team-mates, gathered on the stage, and raises the trophy into the air. Real Madrid are kings of Europe for the 15th time! Gold and silver ticker tape rains down, fireworks explode, Zadok the Priest blasts out of the speakers. Then a blast of Queen; Real are the champions all right. Did anyone ever seriously doubt them?
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Zinedine Zidane, who won this trophy as a player for Real Madrid in 2002, and as their manager in 2016, 2017 and 2018, arrives with the trophy and pops it on the plinth. Then he gives Carlo Ancelotti the warmest of hugs. Real form a guard of honour and applaud the officials, then their vanquished opponents. What chance would you have given Borussia Dortmund of doing all this when they were drawn in a group with PSG, Milan and Newcastle? Not much of one. But they so nearly won the final. They leave Wembley disappointed, again, but when it all comes down will surely feel huge pride at making the final. Their silver medals well earned, even if a few immediately take them off. An excellent, if ultimately flawed and ill-fated, display from the underdogs.
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Post-match postbag. “I wanted Real Madrid to win for only one reason,” begins Richard Gibbs. “The last time they lost a European final was against a wee Scottish club in 1983, and as an Aberdeen supporter I want to be able to continue to bore all and sundry with that stat.”
Krishna Moorthy adds: “Time we started calling them unReal.”
… but if you play for Real Madrid, you can never be totally content, and Bellingham adds: “We missed out on the Copa del Rey … there’s always many more years to try and get that one!” Watch out, world, he’s not going to stop. Next up, Euro 2024.
A very emotional Jude Bellingham speaks to TNT. “I’ve always dreamed of playing in these games … you go through life and so many people say you can’t do things … it gets hard at times … nights like tonight make you realise … I was alright until I saw my mum and dad’s face … there were nights when they could have been at home by seven o’clock but they’re doing trips at 11 or 12 to take me to football … and my little brother who I’m trying to be a role model for … I can’t put it into words, it’s the best night of my life!”
Yes, this story has been told before all right. Borussia Dortmund were the better team in the first half, but didn’t take their chances. Real Madrid held firm, and slowly cranked up the pressure. Dani Carvajal arrived with the inevitable, Vinícius Júnior iced the cake after Ian Maastsen’s mistake, and Real Madrid will soon be taking possession of the European Cup for the 15th time in their gilded history. This club are an amazing force of nature. Borussia Dortmund – to a man drained, as their opponents cavort – will wonder how they didn’t convert their chances and let a huge opportunity of glory slip through their fingers. The answer is obvious, though: Real Madrid happened. Real Madrid happened. It’s just what they do!
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FULL TIME: Borussia Dortmund 0-2 Real Madrid
Carlo Ancelotti embraces his opposite number Edin Terzic, then the whistle goes, and Jude Bellingham crumbles into the happiest of tears. Come in, number 15!
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90 min +5: A free kick for Dortmund out on the right. Reus swings it in. Éder Militão heads behind for a corner, which Courtois punches clear. That’s it, surely.
90 min +4: Lucas Vázquez comes on for the goalscoring hero Vinícius Júnior. Not a bad evening’s work for someone with heavy flu!
90 min +3: Vinicius Junior barrels down the left and wedges a cute ball towards Modric in the middle. Modric prepares to bring it down but Ryerson intercepts and clears. Three would be cruel on Dortmund.
90 min +1: The first of five additional minutes passes by.
90 min: All that’s left is admin. Éder Militão replaces Rodrygo.
88 min: Jamie Bynoe-Gittens comes on for Jadon Sancho.
87 min: … Malen crosses from the left. Fullkrug powers a header into the left-hand side of the net, Courtois with no chance of saving. But the flag goes up immediately for offside, and it’s the correct decision. More heartbreak for Dortmund!
86 min: Kroos continues to celebrate on the bench. He knows this is over … unless Dortmund can do to Real what Real did to Bayern. And …
85 min: Luka Modrić and Joselu come on for Jude Bellingham and Toni Kroos, the latter saluting the Real Madrid fans as he takes his leave of club football. What a way to sign off!
GOAL! Borussia Dortmund 0-2 Real Madrid (Vinicius Junior 83)
Maatsen plays an awful blind pass across the face of his own box from the Dortmund left. Bellingham intercepts and rolls the ball into the path of Vinicius Junior, who takes a touch down the inside-left channel before bundling the ball past Kobel and in. Number 15 so close now!
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82 min: … Nacho sends a powerful header goalwards, only to be denied by Kobel’s sensational fingertip save. But it’s all in vain, because …
81 min: Another big save by Kobel, and this one is a stunner, tipping over Camavinga’s forensic heatseeker, bound for the top left. And from the resulting corner …
80 min: Kroos curls the free kick towards the top left. Kobel is behind it all the way. Then a roll of the dice by Dortmund, who send on Sébastien Haller and Donyell Malen for Julian Brandt and Emre Can.
79 min: Nothing comes of the resulting corner, but Real scent blood now. Camavinga works his way down the middle and is upended by Hummels, who goes into the book. A free kick just to the left of centre, just outside the D, and one for Kroos. A fairytale ending coming up?
77 min: The last four finals have ended 1-0. Just saying. Though as I type that, Camavinga cuts the ball back from the byline on the left. Bellingham looks to slot from 12 yards, and shapes to aim for the bottom right … only for Schlotterbeck to arrive and slide-tackle the ball wide right of the post! What an intervention! He’s kept Dortmund in it.
76 min: Dortmund had been warned about that, Carvajal flashing a header over from the same spot just after the break. And now the smash and grab is on!
GOAL! Borussia Dortmund 0-1 Real Madrid (Carvajal 74)
Kroos whips the corner from the left to Carvajal, who rises on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box and flicks a power header across Kobel and into the top right! Unstoppable, and Real Madrid, on the back foot for so long, are on course to doing what they do in finals yet again!
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73 min: Vinicius Junior zips past Ryerson on the left and prepares to skitter along the byline, only for Hummels to arrive late and poke behind for a corner. The set piece is worked out to Valverde, who shoots from distance. Maatsen shanks a clearance out for another corner on the left. And from that …
72 min: The first change of the evening is made by Edin Terzic, who replaces Karim Adeyemi with Marco Reus, 35 yesterday and making his final appearance for BVB tonight. Meanwhile here’s Kári Tulinius on the good-guy debate: “Let’s not forget that back in the day Real Madrid associated with the sorts of people, that if Real Madrid was your grandfather, there would be a tacit agreement not to bring it up at family gatherings.”
70 min: In fact, replays show Kobel took a slight touch, which might even have saved the ball sailing into the net, so it should have been a corner. But Dortmund get away with one, big time!
69 min: Vinicius Junior crosses from the left. A looping inswinger towards the top-right corner. Kobel goes up with Bellingham. Both miss the ball, which flies inches wide of the post. So close!
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68 min: The Yellow Wall is making one hell of a noise. They draw breath momentarily, though, when Bellingham turns up for the first time this evening, sashaying down the inside-right and entering the box before being crowded out by Sabitzer.
67 min: Real are applying a little bit of pressure for the first time this evening, and Rodrygo wins a corner on the right. Kroos sends it in. Hummels heads it back to him. Kroos tries again, and Vinicius Junior flashes over. On the touchline, Carlo Ancelotti chews gum with the ferocity of Peter Reid on amphetamine.
65 min: Another corner for Real, another break upfield from one by Dortmund. Brandt has the opportunity to release Adeyemi down the left but clanks the pass out of play. Careless.
63 min: Adeyemi crosses from a deep position on the left. Fullkrug comes flying in from the other flank and sends a Keith Houchenesque diving header towards the bottom right. It’s a piledriver, and parried sensationally by Courtois. What a goal that would have been!
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62 min: Real still look shaky. Nacho’s poor pass out from the back is intercepted by Adeyemi, who looks to have been bowled to the ground by Carvajal, just outside the box. It’s a free kick all day long, but the referee isn’t interested in awarding one.
60 min: Ryerson drives down the right flank with purpose. Real just about close him out, but the Dortmund full-back has looked impressive every time he steps forward.
58 min: Carvajal gets back up and on with it, and latches onto a cross whipped in from the left flank. He attempts a first-time steer of the dropping ball into the bottom right. Kobel fumbles then claims. Real have improved in attack since the restart.
57 min: Adeyemi cynically blocks Carvajal and gets away with it. When he offers his opponent a hand up, it’s slapped away. A little bit of frustration betraying the Real man there.
56 min: Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo take turns to probe down the left and right flanks respectively. There’s nobody to find in the middle, though.
54 min: Dortmund continue to dominate possession and look the more comfortable. Real quiet. Perhaps too quiet. “Good news, Paul Griffin!” exclaims Matt Dony of our 47-min pal. “Dortmund have just signed a sponsorship deal with Rheinmetall, the arms manufacturers. Madrid are officially the Good Guys.”
52 min: Dortmund come again, and Ryerson earns a corner down the right. Hummels flicks a header, and Schlotterbeck tries to keep it alive at the far stick, but falls on his backside as he attempts a spectacular overhead kick. Goal kick. “Which arch is taller, the Wembley one or Carlo Ancelotti’s eyebrow?” Peter Oh, ladies and gentlemen. He’s here all week. Try the complimentary Wembley finger buffet.
51 min: Maatsen has a dig from distance. It’s not the greatest shot, but the ball takes a deflection and it’s a chance for Brandt to curl in a corner from the left. Camavinga heads clear. Both teams have come out looking to attack.
49 min: Kroos whips towards the top-left corner. Kobel is forced to claw it out and around the post. The set piece is then eyebrowed over the bar by Carvajal, six yards out at the near post. As close as Real have come.
48 min: Vinicius Junior then shows up the other end, drawing a clumsy foul from Hummels, just outside the box by the left-hand corner. Kroos to take.
47 min: Dortmund are on the front foot again quickly. Adeyemi drives down the left, then switches play to Sancho on the other flank. Ryderson arrives in support and wins a corner. Vinicius Junior clears. “I can’t really take an interest in this empty contest, as neither side appears to be funded by sleazy oligarchs, unscrupulous despots, or other nefarious agents, hellbent on using the game’s gaudy glitter to mask something horrific,” sighs Paul Griffin. “What’s happened to the sport’s noble traditions? The game’s gone, Scott, the game’s gone.”
Real Madrid get the second half underway. No changes. “I’m a Spurs fan, so I’m always good for some snark on the MBM,” begins Ron Stack. “But this is such a classy game, a pleasure to watch especially as a neutral. It’s as if they’re playing a different sport from what Spurs play. There, I feel better now.”
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Half-time postbag. “It’s been interesting to compare the two managers’ demeanours. Terzić has the nervous energy of a chartered accountant who’s unexpectedly gotten a job interview as the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Ancelotti, on the other hand, has the air of an emperor whose nickname is already The Great” – Kári Tulinius
“Dortmund might have had the better chances, but I’m still half expecting Gareth Bale to pop up with a cup-final goal” – Matt Dony
“Just thinking about Jadon Sancho here ... what’s better, a Champions League final win or lose, or a FA Cup win?” – Aaron von Fintel
“Flicking through my Panini Topps Euro 24 sticker album pre-match, I notice the Dortmund players Schlotterbeck, Füllkrug, Adeyemi and Sule are all part of the Germany squad. All potential Champions League winners too. And that’s before we get to the players from Munich, Leipzig etc. Mind you, Scotland have FA Cup winner Scott McTominay and Premiership play off winner Che Adams, among others. So, you know, bring it on!” – Simon McMahon
“I hope someone has a tough word with the ref at half time” – Lisa Betker
“Nice of Carlo to think of England and not have Bellingham involved in the first half” – Ben Torpy
Half-time reading. It’s the end of an era tonight, so here’s what you need to know about next season’s new-look competition. Uefa haven’t worked it all out yet, you’ll be unsurprised to hear.
HALF TIME: Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Real Madrid
Real clear their lines, and the whistle goes for half time. Dortmund have been much the better side, just lacking that clinical flourish and little bit of luck in the final third. Real are fortunate their opponents haven’t taken their chances, because they’ve not really turned up yet. But this is Real Madrid. Fans of Atletico, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Manchester City may point out that this film has been shown once or twice before.
45 min +3: Well, scrub that. Adeyemi makes his way down the left and crosses to nobody in particular. But with Fullkrug and Ryerson nearby, Mendy clumsily bundles the ball out for a corner. It’s sent in from the right, and Maatsen wins another corner out on the left. One last chance.
45 min +2: Real knock it around to little effect. A sudden sense that, if both teams could walk in for half-time right now, they would.
45 min: There will be four additional minutes. Will one of these teams end up cursing those damn pitch invaders?
44 min: Sancho skins Kroos down the right but can’t find anyone with his cutback. Then Sabitzer questions the award of a foul, and he’s the latest to go into the book. The referee probably sees himself as a no-nonsense gunslinger; another interpretation would be overly fussy pedantic bore.
42 min: The corner’s not great. Real aren’t quite in Need To Hear The Whistle mode, but Carlo Ancelotti probably wants a word.
41 min: Sabitzer has a crack from 25 yards. It’s heading towards the bottom left. Courtois tips the ball around the post for another Dortmund corner.
40 min: Vinícius Júnior falls over as he scampers down the left. A dive? He’s already been booked, remember. But though the linesman signals nothing, the referee awards a foul in his favour. Schlotterbeck is incensed, and talks himself into the book. It’s not been a banner evening for referee Slavko Vinčić so far.
39 min: Carvajal and Valverde attempt to regain their earlier rhythm down the right, but only manage to run the ball out for a goal kick. Real have been strangely impotent up front so far. Kobel has had nothing to do. So far, yet, etc.
37 min: Kobel probably ensured Vinicius Junior went into the book with some world-class rolling around. For a split second, things threatened to kick off, but everyone calmed down again soon enough.
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35 min: Kobel lets Schlotterbeck’s pass run through the six-yard box. Vinicius Junior slides in, hoping to block and send a rebound into the net, Benzema-Karius style. He catches his man as the keeper clears, and goes into the book as a result. It was a foul, but a yellow card seems harsh: Vinicius was entitled to go for the ball, and there wasn’t too much contact.
33 min: Sancho and Ryerson combine to get the better of Mendy down the right. The latter makes off towards the box, only for the whistle to sympathetically blast in Mendy’s favour. Dortmund look more likely to open the scoring, by some distance as well.
32 min: Dortmund stroke it around in the middle of the park. They must be wondering how they’re not leading. “This is like 2022 all over again,” writes Tom Barneby. “Real living a charmed life before the inevitable goal to make it 1-0 after 85 minutes. I feel bad for Dortmund already.”
30 min: Corner for Real on the right. But they’re seriously rattled, and the set piece gives Dortmund the opportunity to break six on three! Sancho, on the right, crosses for Adeyemi on the other flank. Adeyemi enters the box only to be shoved over by Mendy. From behind? Not quite, so it’s no penalty, though Mendy was gambling right on the edge there.
28 min: Another huge chance for Dortmund! Adeyemi is sent tearing down the inside-left channel, leaving Camavinga in the dust. He enters the box and shoots from a tight angle. Courtois saves, but only parries in the direction of Fullkrug. However the ball is slightly behind the striker, who twists in mid-air in an attempt to steer goalwards, but can’t get any purchase on the ball. It sits up in mid-air and the keeper claims. A huge stroke of luck for Real!
27 min: Real Madrid have enjoyed 61 percent of possession so far. But it’s BVB who have had all the big chances. Will they regret not taking one? Vinicius Junior spins Ryerson with absurd ease down the left and looks for Rodrygo in the middle. Schlotterbeck hooks clear to spare Ryerson’s blushes.
26 min: Can gets up and walks to the touchline. It looks as though he’ll be fine to continue. And indeed he is. Back on he comes.
25 min: I suspect, though I’m not 100 percent sure, that Fullkrug would have been flagged offside. But it was damn close. VAR would have had some work to do. Meanwhile Can goes down and requires some treatment. Play stops.
23 min: Sabitzer makes good into the Real box on the right and cuts back for Adeyemi, who enters the box only to be denied the chance of shooting by Camavinga. He wants a penalty but he’s not getting one. Dortmund come straight back at Real, Adeyemi dinking a pass through the centre of the defence and releasing Fullkrug, who steers the ball across Courtois and onto the base of the right-hand post! Real clear. How did that not go in?!
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21 min: A huge opportunity for Dortmund! Adeyemi curves his run on the halfway line, Ian Rush style, and is released down the middle by a long ping. He’s one on one with Courtois! He tries to round him on the left, when momentum was surely taking him the other way. A heavy touch means he has to settle for a corner, which Courtois fumbles but eventually claims. Dortmund should be ahead.
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20 min: Valverde plays a clever diagonal ball to release Carvajal on the right. Carvajal’s cross flies behind both Vinicius Junior and Bellingham. He slams the turf in frustration.
19 min: Sabitzer steals the ball off Bellingham, and attempts to launch a counter with Real light at the back. The referee awards Real a very generous free kick and Dortmund’s chance to cause problems is denied. The ref has made three strange decisions now. Hopefully that’s the end of it.
17 min: Now it’s Dortmund’s turn to play it around patiently at the back. They’ve started in confident mood.
15 min: Carvajal and Valverde again combine down the right. The ball’s laid off to Vinicius Junior, who flays a wild effort off-target from distance. An enjoyably brisk opening to this match, with both teams showing in attack.
14 min: Fullkrug chases a looped pass down the inside-left channel. He hooks back for Brandt, who enters the box, takes a heavy touch, then improvises a flipper-shot across Courtois and towards the bottom-right corner. Just wide. Had that been on target, Courtois wasn’t getting to it.
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13 min: Sancho jinks in from the right flank and is cynically clipped by Camavinga. A bit later on, that’d surely be worth a booking. But again the referee keeps calm. Both teams have had one each.
12 min: Valverde shows again on the right flank. He chases after Carvajal’s header, then cuts back and one-twos with Bellingham, before blasting miles over the bar from the edge of the box. Real beginning to bare their teeth, albeit elegantly.
10 min: Real impose themselves with some patient possession at the back. Suddenly Valverde attempts to burst through a gap down the inside-right channel. He’s blocked by Schlotterbeck, who is fairly fortunate not to concede a free kick just outside the box. The referee generously waves play on.
8 min: Rodrygo very nearly closes down Kobel, who had been given a bit of a hospital pass by Ryerson. The keeper manages to get enough on the clearance to avoid problems. “Seconds into their biggest showpiece of the year and there’s an interloper on the pitch?” splutters Justin Kavanagh. “After the debacle of the Euros final, you have to think that the Wembley organizers and Uefa couldn’t run a bath.”
7 min: Brandt sticks the corner into the mixer. Füllkrug flicks on but Rüdiger clears. An impressive front-foot start by the underdogs, though.
6 min: Sabitzer crosses from the right in the hope of finding Füllkrug. Real clear. Ryerson has another go. The ball pings off Mendy for the first corner of the evening.
5 min: Incidentally, there have been reports from Spain suggesting the aforementioned Vinícius Júnior is under the weather, and playing on some sort of flu medication. He seems full of energy nonetheless.
3 min: The game restarts. Vinícius Júnior dribbles down the left touchline but runs out of road. He encourages the Real end to sing even louder anyway, waving his hands in the come-on fashion. They don’t need much encouragement, to be fair.
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2 min: It’s taking some time for the peelers to de-eejitify the pitch. Turns out there were three of them. Sabitzer takes down the third clown.
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20 secs: An eejit runs onto the pitch, enters the centre circle, and films a sweeping 360-degree shot of Wembley on his phone. Good grief.
Borussia Dortmund kick off. The battle for the famous old trophy, which was popped onto a plinth by 2002 hero Zinedine Zidane, is on! “My football-viewing life (sartorial divsion) is now complete,” writes Charles Antaki. “Zidane enters bearing cup, not only with ghastly white trousers, but his blazer buttoned up wrong.”
The teams are out! Borussia Dortmund, the nominal home team, are in their first-choice yellow and black. So there’s no conflict with Real Madrid, who sport their famous meringue-white shirts. Wembley is bouncing ahead of its first Champions League final in 11 years. A quick blast of Zadok the Priest (Version) then we’ll soon be up and running.
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The kick-off show. Lenny Kravitz is currently playing his hit Are You Gonna Go My Way. Got to be honest, they’ve missed a trick not asking Sarah Bee of Chart Music, the greatest of all the podcasts, to accompany him on kazoo. One for all the pop-crazed youngsters out there.
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A reminder of how these two teams got here. Spoiler alert: things got emotional.
You’ll Never Walk Alone. It’s an anthem for Borussia Dortmund as well, and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s most terrace-friendly ditty is currently ringing around Wembley. Up in the posh seats, the aforementioned Kloppo sings and sways in the emotional style. A pfenning for all of the conflicting thoughts running through the head of the former Liverpool boss right now. He looks healthy and happy and about ten years younger. Premier League management is a job of work all right.
Dortmund have Jurgen Klopp, so Real need a celebrity fan of their own in attendance. Step forward Jay-Z, who is at Wembley to support his Roc Nation Sports client Vinicius Júnior. In other news, the Wembley turf is looking lush, so while Jay-Z has 99 problems … no, you deserve better than that. I’m sorry for even thinking about it.
Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid have met each other on 14 previous occasions, all of them in the Champions League. Real have won six matches to Dortmund’s three, but both clubs can boast one particularly notable victory. In the 1997-98 edition, Real knocked out the reigning champions in the semis thanks to first-leg goals from Fernando Morientes and Christian Karembeu at the Bernabéu, while in the 2012-13 semis, Dortmund stunned Real at the Westfalenstadion, Robert Lewandowski getting all of their goals in a 4-1 rout.
Just like Real Madrid before them, there are no real surprises in the Borussia Dortmund starting XI. Mats Hummels is the only player from 2013 still in their starting XI; Marco Reus, who also started here 11 years ago, will most likely come off the bench at some point for his swansong. Jadon Sancho, on loan from Manchester United, lines up along with another erstwhile Old Trafford star in Marcel Sabitzer, while Emre Can plays in his second final after picking up a runners-up medal with Liverpool in 2018.
🚨 STARTING XI VS REAL MADRID 🚨#BVBRMA #UCL #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/PVR3VkJ8y8
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) June 1, 2024
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The teams
Borussia Dortmund: Kobel, Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen, Can, Sabitzer, Sancho, Brandt, Adeyemi, Fullkrug.
Subs: Ozcan, Nmecha, Haller, Reus, Wolf, Moukoko, Malen, Sule, Meyer, Laurenz Lotka, Watjen, Bynoe-Gittens.
Real Madrid: Courtois, Carvajal, Rudiger, Nacho, Mendy, Valverde, Camavinga, Kroos, Bellingham, Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior.
Subs: Eder Militao, Alaba, Modric, Lunin, Joselu, Lucas, Tchouameni, Ceballos, Garcia, Diaz, Guler, Arrizabalaga.
Referee: Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).
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This is the fifth European Cup final between teams from Germany and Spain …
1960: Real Madrid 7-3 Eintracht Frankfurt
1974: Bayern Munich 4-0 Atlético Madrid (replay after 1-1 draw)
2000: Bayern Munich 1-1 Valencia (Bayern won 5-4 on pens)
2002: Real Madrid 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen
… and while both of those Spanish triumphs were by Real Madrid and on British soil, there is a little historical succour for Dortmund, who have had some success on these islands of their own: they won the 1966 Cup Winners’ Cup at Hampden, beating Bill Shankly’s Liverpool 2-1 after extra time.
This will be the eighth European Cup final to be played at Wembley …
1963: AC Milan 2-1 Benfica
1968: Manchester United 4-1 Benfica (aet)
1971: Ajax 2-0 Panathinaikos
1978: Liverpool 1-0 Club Brugge
1992: Barcelona 1-0 Sampdoria (aet)
2011: Barcelona 3-1 Manchester United
2013: Bayern München 2-1 Borussia Dortmund
… but the first of them to feature 18-time finalists Real Madrid. The Spanish giants have however contested two finals in Scotland – the legendary 7-3 rout of Eintracht Frankfurt in 1960 and the Zidane show against Bayer Leverkusen in 2002 – plus the 2017 edition in Wales, in which they routed Juventus 4-1. Hey, any old excuse …
The Yellow Wall is on tour and is already making its presence felt in Wembley. Plenty of party noise, not least because an old pal is also in town, and his trademark grin has just been flashed up on the big screen. Ah Jürgen, we’re going to miss you.
Kloppo is ready! 🔥😍#UCL #UCLFinal pic.twitter.com/pSHSYcIOvP
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) June 1, 2024
Real Madrid don’t hang about. They’ve already announced their starting XI. Thibaut Courtois starts only his fifth match of the season and his first in the Champions League since Manchester City whistled four goals past his lugs in the semis at the Etihad last May. His deputy Andriy Lunin has recovered from flu and takes a place on the bench. Toni Kroos will play his 153rd and final Champions League game for Real Madrid.
📋✅ ¡Nuestro 𝗫𝗜 inicial para la final!
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) June 1, 2024
🆚 @BVB#UCLfinal | #APorLa15 pic.twitter.com/2B4HyEtdNa
Preamble
It’s the 69th European Cup / Champions League final! Real Madrid have been involved in 17 of the previous stagings, winning 14 of them, last losing one in 1981, nine appearances ago. It’s not a point that desperately needs making, but let’s say it anyway: los Merengues are rather good at this.
Borussia Dortmund on the other hand have a more grounded record of one from two. BVB lifted this trophy in 1997; they lost on their other final appearance, here at Wembley, in 2013. They’re very much the underdogs tonight, and not just for all those historical, date-stamped reasons: Real are the new Spanish champions while Dortmund finished a disappointing fifth in the Bundesliga; Real boast Vinícius Júnior, Toni Kroos, Jude Bellingham, Luka Modrić plus The Wall in goal; Real are Real, who always find a way to get it done.
But then Dortmund were underdogs against Juventus back in ‘97, and they comfortably won that. So there’s some precedent in their favour, too. Throw in the staunch way in which they saw off Atletico Madrid and PSG in earlier rounds, plus the narrative purity of their return to Wembley and a last hurrah for 2013 veterans Marco Reus and Mats Hummels, and perhaps there’s just something in the air this year. All of which is a long-winded way to say that this is set up deliciously: the kings of European football versus a club that revels in the role of underdog, facing off in the biggest club match of the season. Kick-off at Wembley is at 8pm BST. It’s on!
