Eleven years after a heartbreaking Champions League final loss to arch-rivals Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund veterans Mats Hummels and Marco Reus are returning to Wembley tomorrow to set things right. This time around, 14-time winners Real Madrid, who eliminated Bayern in typical last-gasp fashion in the semi-finals, stand in the way. Hummels, 35, and 34-year-old Reus face an uncertain future ahead of what is likely their last Champions League final.
Reus has already announced tomorrow's match will be his last for Dortmund. Hummels, whose contract expires in the summer, said he was "excited to see what Saturday's match triggers in me and then I'll make a decision sometime in June". Adding a Champions League victory, the first for each, would be a fitting farewell for two modern Dortmund greats.
Managed by Jurgen Klopp, Dortmund came into 2012-13 having won back-to-back titles, including a league and cup double in 2011-12. They made it to Wembley with an exciting young team seemingly on course for more success. Hummels, a modern defender who blended attacking flair with shrewd game understanding, had established himself at the heart of Germany's defence.
Reus, a Dortmund junior who made his senior debut at the club in 2012-13 after a stint at Borussia Moenchengladbach, appeared to be the country's next great attacking talent, having just been named Germany's Footballer of the Year. That loss to Bayern would instead be the beginning of the end of Dortmund's time in the sun. K.
