How the General's army became the champion of Europe

In the history of the European Champions Cup, later the Champions League, only three German teams have won this competition - Bayern five times, Hamburger and Borussia Dortmund once each. HSV lifted the cup in 1983, Borussia in 1997.

Dortmund's journey to the European throne was the final epilogue of a long-term project. It all started in 1991 when Otmar Hitzfield was appointed as coach. General has been building his reputation for years in Switzerland, where he won the title twice in a row with Grasshoppers. The invitation from Germany seemed like an ideal career challenge.

In the debut season under Hicfield's command, the team finished second in the championship due to a lower goal difference. Stuttgart won the title. But they did not despair at "Westphalia". The memories of 1986 were still fresh, when Borussia barely managed to preserve the first division status after the playoff matches with Fortuna from Cologne.

Stefan Šapuiza comes with Hiciflda. The Swiss scored 20 goals in the first season, before leaving the club he hit the net over 100 times and became one of the most effective foreigners in Bundesliga history.

Winning second place guaranteed a trip to the UEFA Cup. There, the club - despite all expectations - reached the final, where it was defeated by Juventus. Thanks to the European final, they earned the amount of money that enabled them to operate smoothly and buy European stars. The team includes German internationals - Stefan Reuter, Andreas Möller and Jürgen Kohler from Juventus, Matthias Zammer from Inter and Karl Heinz Riddle from Lazio. Lars Riken was reassigned from the youth unit.

A wave of changes swept over "Westphalia" - 1995 and 1996 were the years of dominance in Germany. Yellow and black have won the title twice in a row. A special stamp was given by Matias Zammer - both times he was chosen as the best player of the Bundesliga, and in 1996 he won the "Golden Ball".

And while the dominance in Germany was to some extent expected, no one could have imagined that the team would win the Champions League in 1997. Especially when injuries started to plague the playing staff. Zamer had knee problems throughout the season, while newcomer Paulo Sousa was out until February.

Sousa's absence was taken advantage of by the silent hero of the generation, a man whose name is still spoken with respect in Dortmund today - Paul Lambert. The Scot - playing for Motherville - impressed Hitchfield two years earlier in the Uefa Cup. After the contract expired, he came to Germany and left an indelible mark. In the final against Juventus, he played a superb match, completely stopping Zidane and rightfully being one of the most deserving players for winning the Champions League.

And the way to the European title led through Atletico Madrid, Romanian Steaua and Polish Lodz. Second place was won in the group and the opponent in the quarter-finals was Oxer. The French were smoothly eliminated, and in the semi-finals, to everyone's surprise, the "millionaires" were better than Manchester United with Canton and the '92 generation. In the match for the trophy in Munich, the "old lady" was waiting for them.

Turinese were the current champions of Europe, a powerful team led by Zidanon, Jugović, Dešan, Del Piero, Bokšić, Vijeri... They reached the final without losing a game, but they hit the yellow wall. Riddle scored two goals in the first half, cutting down Del Piero, and then Lars Riken lobbed Perucio right after coming on to score one of the most beautiful goals in Champions League history and a goal that will mark his career. Rieken is a child of Dortmund, he spent his entire career at "Westphalia", but injuries prevented him from achieving greater success in his career.

The final with Juventus was the last championship dance of the generation. Hitzfield was declared the best coach in the world, but he left the bench and became the sports director of a "millionaire". He didn't stay there for long either, since in the summer of 1998 he was appointed coach of Bayern, where he continued with his successes.

Without the General, Borussia wandered for a long time, ending the 2000 season five points above the relegation zone. The playing staff also fell - some ended their careers, others changed clubs and some other winds were blowing at "Westphalia". The title won in 2002 was only a cover-up for the grim reality - debts were piling up and the club was on the verge of bankruptcy. Faced with a financial collapse, they sold the stadium to the company "Signal Iduna" - later, when they recovered, they bought back the majority of the shares - reduced the salaries of the players and avoided shutdown.

One golden period ended, another will begin in 2008 when a charismatic German with a cap and glasses walked into "Signal Iduna Park"...