Madrid: Borussia Dortmund relish their status as underdogs for the Champions League final and are determined to prove they belong among Europe's elite, coach Jurgen Klopp said after they knocked out Real Madrid on Tuesday.
The Germans successfully protected their 4-1 first leg lead until the 83rd minute on Tuesday, after which Karim Benzema and Sergio Ramos scored in a frantic finale to get Real within a goal of reaching the final. But Dortmund, considered as the outsiders among the four teams who reached the semi-finals, hung on to progress 4-3 on aggregate and will now meet either Barcelona or Bayern Munich in Wembley on May 25.
"I've never been to Wembley before," Klopp said before joking. "I have watched Wimbledon many times though. It will be one of the greatest moments in our lives but we don't want to be tourists. I don't care who we get in the final but we know we are not favourites. Everyone in Wembley will see we are not satisfied simply with getting to the final. We want to be the winner of this Cup. We'll see what will happen, but it will be great."
While Real have won Europe's premier club competition a record nine times, Barcelona and Bayern have each triumphed four times. In comparison, Dortmund's sole European Cup success was in 1997. However, past records counted for nothing at the Bernabeu on Tuesday as Dortmund survived a whirlwind start from the hosts and a similar ending to condemn Real to their third successive semi-final loss.
Mourinho's post-match complaints that Mats Hummels should have been sent off for handball near the end were quickly brushed off by Klopp.
"I can understand when a team is defeated so closely they say things. I didn't see it. None of my players can remember the incident," he said before countering with his own complaint about Howard Webb's officiating. (Defender Sergio) Ramos did so many things to (striker Robert) Lewandoswki. So many fouls were not called. He could do what he liked," Klopp said.
"If we hadn't won, I would have said our side should have been smarter. We played cleanly. I have nothing more to say."
Comments
0 comment