Klopp’s 2013 Champions League final BVB squad – Where are they now?
When modern day football fans hear the name Borussia Dortmund, they often think of the club’s most recent golden era.
2023 marks a decade since ‘die Schwarzgelben’ lost the UEFA Champions League final to Bayern Munich in 2013.
After the club had won consecutive Bundesliga titles for just the second time in their history, one of which coming as part of their first ever league-cup double in 2012, Jürgen Klopp’s side had just one major title left to win.
Klopp had transformed BVB since his arrival from Mainz and his gegenpress style was starting to become a popular tactic across the sport.
A penalty from Ilkay Gundogan cancelled out Mario Mandzukic’s second half opener for Bayern at Wembley, only for an Arjen Robben goal to snatch the trophy at the death, sealing a historic treble for the Bavarians.
That magical run which had seen some of Dortmund’s finest ever moments: namely Felipe Santana’s quarter-final winner against Malaga and Robert Lewandowski’s four-goal destruction of Real Madrid, had ended in heartbreak.
And despite finishing as runners-up both in the league and in the DFB-Pokal in 2014, that final defeat is somewhat regarded as the end of that golden era at Signal Iduna Park.
Klopp, whose name is still held in the highest esteem among the Yellow Wall, has achieved great success in England with Liverpool.
But where are the rest of that squad now?
Substitutes
Mitchell Langerak: The Australian backup goalkeeper played 35 times across five years in black and yellow, providing a solid pair of hands to step in for Roman Weidenfeller when required.
He left in 2015 to join VfB Stuttgart before leaving for Levante and is still playing in Japan for Nagoya Grampus.
Felipe Santana: Forever known for that aforementioned winner in the last eight against Malaga, the Brazilian will always be a cult hero at the Westfalenstadion.
After making over 100 appearances, the defender did make a controversial, short-lived move to Schalke, and has since played in Greece, Russia and his native Brazil, where he remains with Atletico Catarinense.
#OTD in 2013:
🏟️ Westfalenstadion, Dortmund
🏆 Champions League (QF)
⚽️ 2-2 (Malaga lead on away goals …)
⏱️ 90+3′
🏃♂️ Felipe SantanaWhere were you?@BVB #UCLpic.twitter.com/JOmVqu7p59
— DW Sports (@dw_sports) April 9, 2020
Sebastian Kehl: Having made 362 appearances with ‘die Borussen’, the defensive midfielder is 12th on the club’s all-time appearance rankings and won three Bundesliga titles in his time in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Kehl was captain for six years and is now the club’s Sporting Director.
Moritz Leiner: The midfielder played 66 times for BVB in the early years of his career and was an unused substitute in London.
After spells with Lazio and Augsburg, Leiner returned to England to play for Daniel Farke’s Norwich. He most recently played for Zurich but is now without a club.
Nuri Sahin: A Dortmund icon, Turkish international Nuri Sahin made 274 appearances for the Black and Yellows, becoming the youngest ever Bundesliga player at 16 – a record only recently taken by Youssoufa Moukoko.
The midfielder was the league’s player of the season in the club’s triumphant 2010-2011 campaign and such performances earned him a move to Real Madrid. But Sahin’s heart was black and yellow, so he soon returned, leaving for good in 2018.
After retiring at Antalyaspor, he is now the manager of the Turkish Super Lig club.
Oliver Kirch: A squad player for BVB, the midfielder played just six times that season and left in 2015 to join Paderborn, where he retired after a year.
He is now Under-19s manager at Hamburg.
Julian Schieber: Schieber was Klopp’s reliable man in Europe. The German played nine times in the Champions League that season and will be remembered for scoring the winner in a group stage match against Manchester City.
After staying for just two years, the striker went on to play for Hertha BSC and Augsburg, where he retired in 2021.
Starting XI
Roman Weidenfeller (C)
World Cup winner Weidenfeller served a remarkable 16 years at Signal Iduna Park, racking up over 450 appearances and four major honours.
The goalkeeper captained the team that night, with Kehl on the bench. Now 42 years old, Weidenfeller is the definition of a club legend, standing third in the club’s all-time appearance ranking and is currently an international ambassador.
Lukasz Piszczek
Another legend in this list, Piszczek appeared in 11 of Dortmund’s 12 matches on the way to the final, contributing to his total of 382 matches in black and yellow.
The right-back was an ever-present in his time at the club, particularly under Klopp, after arriving from Hertha in 2010.
He left the club in 2021, returning to his hometown club Goczałkowice-Zdrój in the Polish third tier.
Neven Subotic
The Serbian remains, to this day, a Borussia Dortmund icon, after forming a formidable defensive pairing with Mats Hummels.
A USA youth international, Subotic served ‘die Schwarzgelben’ for over a decade, playing over 260 times for the club in one of its most successful eras.
Since his 2018 departure, the defender has played for Saint-Étienne, Union Berlin, Denizlispor in Turkey and most recently Austrian side Rheindorf Altach, where he retired in 2021.
He has since been featured across several German television stations and has travelled the country to promote his own book.
Mats Hummels
The first of just two current BVB players on this list, Hummels has given incredible service to this football club.
A product of Bayern Munich’s youth academy, Jürgen Klopp gave the defender his first big break in his early years, overseeing his rise to becoming an elite defender in that golden era.
Despite returning to Munich in 2016, the now 34-year-old couldn’t stay away from home for long and has been back in North Rhine-Westphalia since 2019, and is second only to Michael Zorc in the appearance rankings.
15 – Mats Hummels is the 7th player in Bundesliga history to score in at least 15 consecutive seasons, and the first to do so since Olaf Thon from 1984-85 to 1999-00 (16 successive seasons). History. #BVBSGE pic.twitter.com/WND54qBjox
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) April 22, 2023
Marcel Schmelzer
Making up that iconic back four is left-back Marcel Schmelzer – a one club man and legend for ‘die Borussen’, having played 367 times across a 14-year period, winning five major honours.
Players with such loyalty are rare in football, but this club tend to have a few!
He has been enjoying life post-retirement since 2022, but surely will return to the club in some form one day.
Sven Bender
Forming half of German football’s best-known twin brother pairing, Sven Bender was a key player in this Dortmund team and won four major honours in his eight-year stint at the club.
After leaving in 2017 to join brother Lars at Bayer Leverkusen, the pair retired together in 2021, citing health reasons as part of their decision, but returned to play for their hometown amateur club Brannenburg.
Sven is now also Under-16s assistant manager for the German national team.
Ilkay Gundogan
One of the most important players in Klopp’s team, Ilkay Gundogan was the club’s only goalscorer in the final, converting his 68th minute spot-kick.
That was one of 15 goals he scored for Borussia Dortmund across 157 appearances in a five year stint.
After Klopp moved to Anfield in 2015, the midfielder followed him to England, joining Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City a year later, where he remains today as club captain.
His two goals off the bench against Aston Villa on the final day of the 2021-2022 season ensured the club came back to win both theirs and his fourth Premier League title in five seasons.
Jakub Błaszczykowski
One of the more underrated players in this team, the Polish winger gave nine years of service to BVB, playing over 250 times and scoring over 30 goals, contributing to his three major honours playing under Klopp.
He was a regular starter for Dortmund and that season saw ‘Kuba’ produce his best goal tally of 11 in the Bundesliga.
Since 2019 he has been playing for his previous club Wisla Krakow in his native Poland, without taking a salary and is now part-owner.
Marco Reus
The final current player on this list, Marco Reus is a Borussia Dortmund legend in every sense of the word.
BVB born and bred, the winger left the club at 17 but returned five years later, ahead of the 2012-2013 season.
A remarkable period has followed, which has seen Reus score 161 goals in black and yellow, the second most by any player in the club’s history, while he has also racked up 382 appearances.
Having signed a contract extension just yesterday, the Yellow Wall will be hoping he can finally get his hands on that ‘Meisterschale’.
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) March 18, 2023
Kevin Großkreutz
The winger played a key role in Dortmund’s successes under Jürgen Klopp and was eventually part of the Germany team which won the 2014 World Cup.
He left the club two years later, going on to join Galatasaray, Stuttgart, Darmstadt and Ürdingen, before following Bender to the amateur leagues with TuS Bövinghausen, where he remains today.
Robert Lewandowski
Arguably the most well-known name in this team and the best striker of his generation, Robert Lewandowski made his name in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Another Polish hero, the number nine put up three successive seasons in black and yellow where he netted at least 28 goals, incomprehensible numbers which he maintained after making the switch to Bayern in 2014.
That season he scored 10 goals and assisted a further two on the way to the final, including that unforgettable demolition of Real Madrid, the competition’s most successful ever side.
Now 34 years old, Lewandowski is still delivering at the other half of the ‘El Clasico’ rivalry with Barcelona.
10 years ago today, Dortmund crushed Real Madrid 4-1 in the Champions League semifinals.
Robert Lewandowski scored all four 👊
(via @ChampionsLeague)pic.twitter.com/zw7zhepQo2
— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 24, 2023
All in all, this was an incredible team with incredible loyalty to the club.
(Featured Image: Flickr)
