@theonejoeyd
The celebrations at the final whistle created images. A visual narration of a tale greater than any scribe or essay-writer could ever contemplate.
Jurgen Klopp's emotional dash on to the field at full time brought back memories of Jose Mourinho's own pitch invasion at the Nou Camp when he took his Inter side into the Champions' League final.
And his Borussia Dortmund players' desperation to climb the fence to embrace their die-hard supporters in the yellow wall of the Sudtribune epitomised the adoration they possess for one another- indeed the club's motto is Echte Liebe, meaning 'true love'. It is a bond unrivalled by many clubs, including those who have witnessed wealthy tycoons and oil magnates step in and create a managerial revolving door while spending extortionate amounts of money not only on players but paying off a substantial index of discharged employees.
Die Schwarzgelben (the black and yellows) are a sporting institution from the Nordrhein-Westfalen region, not too far from the Ruhr valley- one of the most densely populated metropolitan areas in the entire European landscape. Of course, this is a huge advantage for Borussia in terms of attracting support as the most successful club in the region with one European Cup to their name - and the only other German outfits to lift old big ears were Bayern Munich, with four titles and Hamburg's solitary success back in 1983 inspired by a certain Kevin Keegan.
However, the club's ownership model is financially sound. 50% of its shares belong to its members- loyal fans. Ticket prices are excellent value and in some cases are as cheap as watching Tranmere, while their average attendances are even higher than Bayern's, even though the Bavarian giants' fanbase stems the globe whereas Dortmund's current success is only just slowly attracting the 'glory hunter' from far beyond its own country.
Due to the excellent crowds and the astute business decisions not only off the pitch but on it courtesy of Hans-Joachim Watzke, the club's general manager, Borussia is now one of the most valuable football clubs in the world. Watzke was brought in to save the club after it made a calamitous error in floating shares on the stock market in 2005. But here's the deal, and it's something I strongly admire in the Bundesliga- their rules on club ownership make it almost impossible for an oligarch to come waltzing into town and seize the heart and soul from Die Schwartzgelben.
In the summer, Borussia's net spend was just £308,000. Whilst they invested a sizeable fee in recruiting the fantastic technician Marco Reus from Borussia Monchengladbach, they only did so because they sold Japanese forward Shinji Kagawa to Manchester United for a similar price. They went like for like. They will spend wisely and not recklessly. Reus has fitted into the team like a heartbeat. Polish goal-getter Robert Lewandowski cost around £4m from Lech Poznan in 2010, while his national compatriots Jakub Blaszczykowski and Lukasz Piszczek were drafted in for a combined £3m- indeed the latter was a free transfer! The club's scouting team has worked consistent masterstrokes.
When you add in homegrown products like Mario Gotze- one of the most talented magicians in European football, and the reliable Marcel Schmelzer at left back, then there is a diverse flavour and it is all engineered to perfection by the passionate yet articulate Klopp, with an emphasis on fast-paced technical attacking football, built from the back with the occasional quick counter-attack thrown in. It is in a nutshell, a manifestation of the evolution of German football since Jurgen Klinsmann and Joachim Low teamed up to help revamp the production of its youth systems.
'Kloppo' as he is known by the Sudtribune, has demonstrated that determination and faith in a project can deliver fruitful results. After leading Mainz 05 to its first ever Bundesliga promotion and achieving qualification for the Europa League during their tenure, his stock was impressive when Borussia took a punt in the summer of 2008. The club had been going through a bit of a lull in fortunes having finished 13th in the 2007-08 campaign, and Klopp's first season yielded a sixth placed finish alongside a DFB Supercup- contested between the Deutscher Meister and the DFB-Pokal winners, a la the Community Shield. His second term ended in fifth spot.
Now for Borussia Dortmund, a club that won the European Cup in 1997 when Lars Ricken famously lobbed Angelo Peruzzi in Munich's Olympiastadion, that might not be considered good enough by some. But the hierarchy remained faithful to 'Kloppo' and have been rewarded with two consecutive Bundesliga titles, the second of which was achieved alongside a DFB-Pokal- Borussia's first ever double.
However, the Achilles heel of being a well run club that lives within its means, is that squad depth and rotation will be disadvantageous compared to rivals with humongous resources and this season Klopp's side have struggled a little to juggle defending their domestic crown alongside their exciting quest to conquer Europe's mountains, and subsequently it has allowed the wealthier Bayern Munich to regain the mantle of Deutscher Meister.
But will they care if they end up picking up the UEFA Champions League at Wembley Stadium? You bet your life they won't. And if they do, and I desperately hope they do, then it ought to convince Jurgen Klopp to stick around and snub any billionaires wafting roubles in his face. This is a club that, as the motto says- encourages love and unity. He is in a place where he is revered by supporters and players alike.
To achieve the miracle, his squad still face a mountainous climb- not only are their Der Klassiker rivals from the south lurking, but La Liga's super-heavyweights as well. Achieving victory would be a dream- but after the momentum-generating scenes at the Westfalenstadion on Tuesday night it is far from impossible.
Borussia Dortmund is an eminent illustration of everything that is genuine about the beautiful game. I can experience a vision of English football encouraging sound ownership models, affordable ticket prices, fan involvement and supporter representation at boardroom level, but I guess all it will ever be is a remote pipedream. As Bill Shankly once famously uttered: 'At a football club, there's a holy trinity - the players, the manager and the supporters. Directors don't come into it. They are only there to sign the cheques.'And that iconic quote typifies how football is regarded at the Westfalenstadion, on the banks of the river Ruhr.
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