Dortmund gearing up for year-long party

The last few seasons may not have been among their most memorable, but BV Borussia Dortmund are planning a year of celebrations to mark their centenary, with president Reinhard Rauball saying one party "would not be enough".

'Something back'
Next Friday, 19 December, marks the start of the 100th year since the 1996/97 European champions' formation in 1909, with Rauball saying: "We are going to celebrate throughout the year with different events to reach all of our fans and give them back some of what they have given us for almost 100 years. Just one celebration in December 2009 wouldn't be enough."

Biggest in Germany
They may only lie eighth in the table, but Dortmund are a massive club with 30,000 members and the biggest stadium in Germany, the 80,552-capacity Westfalenstadion. That arena contains the biggest terrace in Europe, with space for 25,000 fans. Moreover, Dortmund have won six German titles, two German Cups and three German Super Cups, not to mention their European successes.

European triumphs
Dortmund were the first German side to win the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, with goals from Reinhard Libuda and Siegfried Held taking them past Liverpool FC in the 1965/66 final. However, they eclipsed that success by winning the 1996/97 UEFA Champions League, with two goals from Karl-Heinz Riedle and a third from the then 20-year-old Lars Ricken securing a 3-1 win against Juventus.

Place in history
"You play football to ensure that something of you lasts forever and I have achieved that with this goal," said Ricken recently. Unfortunately, Dortmund have yet to match that success, having had their fingers badly burned after becoming the first – and to date only – Bundesliga club to float on the stock market in October 2000.

Lean years
A period of unprecedented spending saw the likes of Tomáš Rosický, Jan Koller and Marcio Amoroso joined the club, but while they won the German title in 2002 and lost the UEFA Cup final to Feyenoord the same season, results began to trail away. The club's heavy spending began to be a major burden, and Dortmund almost collapsed in 2006 due to massive debts.

Stable again
New general manager Hans-Joachim Watzke has since steadied the ship in that regard, and the slimmed-down club are improving under coach Jürgen Klopp. "Now the club is economically stable we can make the next step," explained Watzke, adding: "We want to build a team that is competitive and which can play in international competitions in the next few years. We are a good way along with this."