Hummels: We are respected as a team now

Following their emphatic semi-final first-leg victory, Borussia Dortmund were made to sweat by a persistent Real Madrid CF in Tuesday's return before the Bundesliga team eventually advanced to the 2013 UEFA Champions League final. UEFA.com rounds up the reaction from a dramatic night in the Spanish capital.

Mats Hummels, Dortmund defender

Of course I am happy. This is something I dreamed of when I started playing football and that is almost 20 years ago now. It's still hard to come to terms with the fact we made it. We didn't want Madrid to score as we knew what would happen. We played really well from the 15th minute on but missed a chance to score ourselves which would have made things easier. In the end we had to suffer 12 or 13 very hard minutes.

The first leg was where we took our big step towards the final. I think we deserve to be there as we were not the worst team today – we just failed to score that goal. We didn't expect to be here when the season started, especially when we were drawn in the same group as Real Madrid, Manchester City and Ajax. Our objective was to qualify from the first two places but from the first game everything went almost perfectly.

I expect we will meet Bayern München in the final as four goals is normally too much to come back from. They are outstanding this year in the league and the UEFA Champions League. If we get a German final it means we will have a German winner which is what everyone wants back home. Now that we are in the final we don't want to lose it. I hope our presence there isn't a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but it could be.

It was unbelievably loud here which made things hard. We showed everyone that this is not all about luck – we are respected as a team now. It's still hard to believe. I was eight years old and a supporter of Bayern München when Dortmund won the 1997 final. Everyone in Dortmund knows about that game. I wouldn't bet against us achieving the same feat.

Felipe Santana, Dortmund defender

We are enjoying a moment now that I'm not sure we can repeat. Tonight we played well and stood up to Madrid's pressure. In the end we got the result we needed to get to the final. We have fought a lot in order to reach Wembley. Even after conceding twice tonight we were only thinking of the final. Madrid are a magnificent team and it's very hard to come here and not concede. The important thing was the result, though. There was a lot of joy in our dressing room. We wanted to get to the showpiece and we did it.

Robert Lewandowski, Dortmund forward

It's the best moment of my career because we have made the final. Of course, it was a very difficult match tonight – everything was fine until their first goal, but afterwards it was a little dangerous. We held our nerve and the ending really doesn't matter any more because we made it.

The last five minutes really dragged on – it felt like ten minutes to me, not five. Afterwards we were delighted. For me and the team it is the first time in such a final but we will have to wait to find out who we are up against. We have three weeks until the game and have to prepare well.