Founded: 1909

Colours: black and yellow

Ground: Westfalenstadion

Titles: 1956, 1957, 1963, 1995, 1996, 2002

German Cup Winners: 1965, 1989

Champions League Winners: 1997

European Cup Winners Cup (Europapokal der Pokalsieger): 1966

World Club Champions: 1997

Most famous players:

Karl-Heinz Riedle, Matthias Sammer, Andreas Möller, Jürgen Kohler, Fleming Povlsen, Stephane Chapuisat, Manni Burgsmüller, Jens Lehmann, Amoroso, Lothar Emmerich, Sigi Held

Dortmund is the biggest city of the Ruhr Valley, the region in West Germany traditionally linked with mining and steel industry.

In 1909 the Catholic youth group "Trinity Parish" decided to form the "Ballspiel-Verein Borussia 09", very much to the annoyance of local chaplain Hubert Dewald. The Father tried to prevent the "rebels" from founding the club – in vain. He and his faithful followers were physically blocked when trying to enter the restaurant where the foundation took place. After this turbulent start BVB focused on sports and have become one of the most succesful teams in Germany.

In 1947 BVB won the Westphalia Championship final 3-2 over Schalke 04. Schalke – the other big traditional club of the Ruhr Valley – have always been Dortmund’s arch rivals. This triumph was the introduction to two very succesful decades for the club. In the 1950’s Dortmund strenghtened their position in German football with two successive German Titles in 1956 and 1957. One year later BVB had their first international appearance taking part in the European Cup Winners Cup. In 1963 BVB were the last team to win the German Championship before the start of the Bundesliga format.

The first big international success for the club was the 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the European Cup Winners Cup final in Glasgow in 1966. The squad, to achieve this historic victory, was loaded with high quality footballers such as Lothar Emmerich, Siegfried Held, Wolfgang Paul and Rudi Assauer, today’s manager of Schalke 04.

In the following seasons BVB could not repeat the success and were even relegated to the second division. They managed to come back in 1972 but during this decade two other teams dominated German football: Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayern München.

In 1991 the new coach Ottmar Hitzfeld was to bring back success to Dortmund. The team finished second in the Bundesliga thus qualifying for the UEFA Cup.

The high aims of president Dr. Gerd Niebaum and other club officials led to the launch of a unique project in German football: the transfer of the stadium ground to the Westfalenstadion Dortmund GmbH & Co. KG (public limited society). This act was supposed to enable the officials to act independently; the stadium was enlarged to about 70,000 standing and seating without any financial support of the city council. At that time nobody could or would foresee the financial desaster the club would have to face years later.

For the time being officials seemed to follow the right track; the club won the German Title in 1995 and 1996. However, the most succesful season was yet to come. In 1997 BVB played a terrific Champions League season and also managed to gain attention off from the pitch. On the occasion of the Champions League semi-final between BVB and Manchester United the club arranged a fan meeting with over 6,000 BVB and ManU supporters in the old market place in the city of Dortmund. The event lasted until the evening hours because the big match in the Westfalenstadion was broadcasted on a large video screen. The afternoon appearance of legendary English footballer Sir Bobby Charlton was the highlight of the fan meeting. Charlton conveyed fairness and friendship to both groups and got a positive response. BVB reached the final of the Champions League where they beat Juventus Turin 3-1.

Eager to repeat this triumph BVB subsequently effected very expensive transactions culminating in the signing of Marcio Amoroso from Parma in 2001 for the record transfer fee of 25 million euros. The Brasilian was the team’s hero for one season but then suffered from various injuries and finally left for Málaga on a free transfer. In the season of 2000 officials called up Udo Lattek and Matthias Sammer as coaches to prevent crisis- stricken Dortmund from being relegated. The two coaches managed to keep the club in the league.

However, the next step into financial crisis was to come: on October 31st. BVB went public. At first this seemed to be a sensible decision as one month later the club announced record earnings of 184,4 million DM. In November 2001, however, the BVB-share had dropped to 5,18 €. In February 2005 club officials confirmed that the financial situation threatened the club’s existence. As part of the emergency plan the Westfalenstadion was sold in order to prevent the bankruptcy. Dortmund fans will never forget the worry they went through in the past months when bankruptcy brought the club to the brink of having to fold. The lessons will have been learnt for the future.