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ENDURING another disappointing domestic season, Borussia Dortmund will take inspiration from last year’s incredible European run ahead of tonight’s Champions League football quarter-final first leg at Barcelona.
Last season, Dortmund stumbled to fifth in the Bundesliga, their lowest placing in a decade, while piloting a shock run to the final at Wembley, where they put in a strong showing in a 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid.
Their European campaign included wins over Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, Atletico Madrid, Newcastle and PSV Eindhoven.
This year, Dortmund sit eighth in the league and are in danger of missing the Champions League for just the second time since the 2010-11 season.
Dortmund have however once again saved their best performances for the European stage, including a 7-1 demolition of Celtic at home and a 3-0 triumph over Sporting Lisbon away.
Dortmund pushed Barcelona in their group stage match in December, going down 3-2 to an 86th-minute goal from Ferran Torres.
World Cup winner Jurgen Klinsmann said Dortmund’s problem, both in the league recently and in last season’s Wembley showpiece versus Real, had nothing to do with the quality on the pitch.
In an interview with AFP and other media on Monday, Klinsmann, who played for and coached Dortmund’s rival Bayern Munich, said the key for Dortmund was getting – and keeping – their emotions in check.
“Dortmund have all the potential in the world to go and challenge for the title, in last year’s final against Real Madrid, you know they are among the top teams in Europe.
“Then you see they are so inconsistent and not getting things done, especially in the league. And you start to wonder.”
Calling the club “a very emotional place,” Klinsmann said “when things don’t work out like they have this season, they cannot get things emotionally under control.” – AFP
Online Reporter