Chapter 225 Champions League 1/8 Final Opponent - AC Milan!
A home league win over Schalke 04 was Dortmund's last game in November as they finally took a breather to prepare for December's campaign. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info
In December, Dortmund didn't have many competitions, with only six games.
Of course, this is only relative to November.
Four league games, one Champions League group stage and the German Cup quarter-finals, one of which is a make-up match against Bayer Leverkusen in the fourth round.
Of these six opponents, except for Marseille and Bayer Leverkusen, the other four opponents are very average.
Borussia Mönchengladbach, Freiburg, Kaiserslautern and Fortun Dusseldorf.
However, these four opponents have a dark horse, Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Borussia Mönchengladbach, who stayed at Borussia Mönchengladbach through relegation last season, has beaten Bayern Munich to second place in the league in the past 14 league rounds, and his dark horse is even better than last season's Mainz.
Borussia Dortmund have 32 points from 10 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss in the league with one game in hand, while Borussia Mönchengladbach has 29 points from 9 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses, one more point than Bayern, who lost in the German national derby.
Borussia Mönchengladbach's ability to finish second in the league is directly related to their absolute heart of Reus, with his first-round upset win over Bayern Munich and home win over Werder Bremen both outstanding works.
While the mainstream European media analysed the final list of three players for the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or, Dortmund was preparing for a league trip away to Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Manager Jurgen Klopp and assistant coach Gerliko Bouácz have been studying Borussia Mönchengladbach's absolute heart Reus together in training, as Borussia Dortmund will have to limit Reuss who have been impressive this season if they want to pick up points at home to a rising Borussia Mönchengladbach.
The German media also has a new look at the next round of the league - the battle for the top spot.
Borussia Dortmund are just three points clear of Borussia Mönchengladbach and would have equalled Borussia Dortmund with a home win, while more than three wins would lift them to the top of the league on goal difference.
At 4:30 p.m. local time on December 3, Dortmund and Borussia Mönchengladbach won the top match of the 15th round of the 2011-2012 Bundesliga season at the Prussian Park Stadium, which can accommodate 54,000 fans.
Borussia Mönchengladbach fans thought they could top the league table if they beat Borussia Dortmund by three goals at home, so the atmosphere in what was known as the North Rhine-Westphalia Lun derby was frenetic.
It is indeed a surprise that the tepid games of the previous two seasons have become so frenetic, after all, Borussia Mönchengladbach is no longer the same Borussia Mönchengladbach side that won five league titles in the 70s.
When it comes to the achievements of this era, the older generation of Borussia Mönchengladbach fans are very proud, and they almost dominated the German stadium at that time.
Little Rocket Reuss, who was named by the Dortmund coaching staff before the game, performed very well, not only because he was extremely fast, but also had strong skills and shooting ability at his feet.
Less than five minutes into the game, Reus relied on his superior individual ability to find his chance, but his shot was denied by a distracted Weidenfeller.
Two minutes later, Tang Zheng cut off the ball at the feet of Reuss through the cooperation of Sven Bender, but soon his foot ball was poked out of the touchline by the aggressive Reuss.
Tang Zheng glanced at Royce unexpectedly, he hadn't found out how good Royce was in the past two seasons.
At the same time, Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp's eyes lit up as he watched the impressive performance of Reuss.
He knew Reuss and was a member of Dortmund's youth team back then, but Dortmund's finances were very difficult at that time and they had to sell some youth team players.
Perhaps, before the winter transfer window opens, Zorc could be advised to consider buying Reus to strengthen the squad.
A place in the last 16 of the Champions League is a certainty, and with the entire Bundesliga team improving, it is imperative to make up for the overall squad if they want to defend their league title.
This thought became even stronger when Grosskreutz went down injured in a subsequent scramble!
The game restarted, both sides played very hard, and the atmosphere was very frenetic.
The heroic character of the North Rhine-Westphalia fans was on full display in this match, which was no less frenetic than the German national derby.
In a frenzied atmosphere, this battle for the top spot in the Bundesliga is also very golden.
In the 34th minute, Borussia Mönchengladbach's absolute core Reuss accelerated through Tang Zheng in the middle and then faced Sven Bender and Kehl's defensive choice to break through.
His explosiveness and pace were on full display at this point, with Sven Bender and Kyle half a beat slower, forcing him to push through.
By the time Hummels came up to defend too late, he opted for a long-range shot straight from the top of the box.
The ball scurried to the bottom right corner of the goal on the turf, and goalkeeper Weidenfeller's view was blocked by Hummels, and by the time he saw the ball fall to the ground to save it too late, the ball went into the net.
Borussia Mönchengladbach scored at home stadium in Prussia Park, and the home fans danced like children with excitement.
They were fighting for relegation last season, but they are second in the league this season, and if they can beat the visiting Borussia Dortmund in this game, they will tie the points with the top team Dortmund......
However, Hummels equalised from a corner just before half-time to dash the hopes of Borussia Mönchengladbach fans for three points at home.
Because Hummels' goal was also the last goal of the game, the two sides ended in a draw at the Prussian Park Stadium.
The snipe and the clam compete, and the fisherman profits.
Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Mönchengladbach drew and Bayern Munich, who beat Stuttgart 2-1 away, overtook Borussia Mönchengladbach to move back into second place, just two points behind Borussia Dortmund with a game in hand.
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Borussia Dortmund's draw away at Borussia Mönchengladbach was somewhat disappointing for Jurgen Klopp, as the gap in points this season is hugely different from last season's goal, and the slightest mistake could result in missing out on the league title.
However, the result was a foregone conclusion, and Klopp did not delve too deeply into the game, but immediately went to the office of sporting director Zorke after returning to Dortmund, and suggested that the team take Reuss, who had played for Dortmund's youth team, during this year's winter break!
Zolke gave Jurgen Klopp a surprise look: "I have to say, you really have a vision! Recently I was in talks with Borussia Mönchengladbach to see if I could sign Marco Reus in the winter transfer window. ”
Hearing this, Klopp's spirits perked.
Both are quick talkers, and since the club is interested in Royce, the rest will be left to Zolke.
What Jurgen Klopp needs to do is lead Borussia Dortmund to play all the games leading up to the winter break and try to secure the Bundesliga halfway through the season.
Borussia Dortmund host Marseille, the final opponent of the Champions League group stage, in midweek.
Marseille, who suffered a surprise home defeat to Olympiacos in the last round of the last round, have lost their chance of qualifying for the last 16 of this season's Champions League, so this match at the Lun Stadium in Westphafa fielded plenty of substitutes and young players.
Borussia Dortmund at home did the same, giving their main players a good rest as they prepare for the remaining three league games and the German Cup final in December.
In the end, Dortmund beat Marseille 2-0 at home.
In the six rounds of the 2011-2012 Champions League group stage, Dortmund won four and drew two unbeaten, and they finished first in Group F with 14 points ahead of Premier League giants Arsenal.
Finishing top of the group allowed them to avoid top clubs such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea and Inter Milan in the quarter-finals.
Still, the other teams that finished second in their group should not be underestimated.
Napoli, Lyon, Zenit and AC Milan, who emerged from the Group of Death, are no slouches and will need to work 100 or 12 per cent to advance to the next round.
Arsenal, who unexpectedly finished second in the group, are not so lucky, and they will most likely draw strong teams such as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan.
It is worth mentioning that there have been many upsets in the group stage of the Champions League this season, and Manchester United, who entered the Champions League final last season, lost 1:2 away to Basel in the final round, thus missing the Champions League round of 16.
The Mansour family have spent billions of pounds every season since they moved to Manchester City, but they have not been able to break out of the Group of Death this season.
The other upset came from Group G, where Atletico Greek, who were originally thought to be from Cyprus, were the top team in the group, but they finished first in the group ahead of Zenit and Porto, and broke out the biggest upset except Manchester United to miss out on the Champions League round of 16.
Of the sixteen teams, Serie A and the Bundesliga are the most qualified, with three teams each.
There are two teams each in the English Premier League, La Liga and the Russian Premier League, and the remaining four are from the Russian Premier League, Swiss Super League, Ligue 1 and the Cyprus League.
The 2011-2012 Champions League group stage is over, but the draw for the quarter-finals will not be held until the Europa League group stage is over, so the teams that are active in the last 16 of the Champions League can temporarily turn their attention back to the league.
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Before Dortmund's home match against Kaiserslautern, that is, at 1 p.m. local time on December 10, the official website of the authoritative Italian newspaper "Torino Sport" prominently updated the winner of the 2011 European Golden Boy Award.
Mario Gotze, a 19-year-old German international who plays for Borussia Dortmund, won the award.
Gotze is also the second Dortmund player to win the honor after Tang Zheng, who won the European Golden Boy Award in 2009.
Perhaps as a result of his successful European Golden Boy award, Götze scored twice in the league at home to Kaiserslautern, including a direct assist from Tang Zheng.
In the end, Dortmund beat Kaiserslautern 2-1 at home.
Four days later, Borussia Dortmund played the fourth round of the 2011-2012 Bundesliga season against Bayer Leverkusen at Bayer Arena.
After 90 minutes of fierce battle, Bayer Leverkusen drew 2-2 with Borussia Dortmund thanks to a controversial penalty in stoppage time.
However, Dortmund is still at the top of the league with 11 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss in 16 rounds, with 37 points, Bayern Munich is second with a difference of three points, Schalke 04 is third with 31 points, and Borussia Mönchengladbach has fallen to fourth in the league due to consecutive defeats.
The referee was naturally the focus of attention when the penalty was controversial, but Klopp's regular post-match press conference did not follow reporters, but instead changed the subject, saying that he was more focused on the 2011-2012 Champions League quarter-finals at UEFA headquarters in Nyon tomorrow afternoon.
Borussia Dortmund returned to the Champions League after nine years and advanced to the round of 16 as group winners, so it is natural and reasonable to pay more attention to the draw ceremony.
Similarly, the mainstream European media is also watching the draw tomorrow afternoon.
The Chinese media have always focused on Europe's top Champions League, and now that Tang Zheng's Borussia Dortmund is playing, they have become even more enthusiastic.
According to the same group and the same FA avoidance rules, all six of Dortmund's potential opponents have been analysed by enthusiastic Chinese media.
There is no doubt that whoever wins the group will be hoping to meet Basel, who finish second in the group.
It's just that according to their analysis, Dortmund's chances of drawing Basel are not very good......
At 12 o'clock at noon on December 16, local time in Europe, the 2011-2012 Champions League 1/8 finals and the Europa League 1/16 finals were held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon.
Borussia Dortmund FC was attended by manager Jurgen Klopp and sporting director Zorc.
The draw ceremony for the Champions League 1/8 finals was first delivered by UEFA Secretary General Gianni Infantino as the host, and then reviewed the highlights of the 16 Champions League qualifying teams, followed by the introduction of the draw rules for the Champions League 1/8 finals by UEFA's Director of Competition, Marchetti.
Paul Breitner, a member of the 1974 West German Championship team, arrived as a guest on the draw and was the first team he drew from Lyon.
However, Lyon were very lucky, and they drew the Greeks that all the groups coveted.
The second draw in the group was Napoli, who drew Premier League giants Chelsea.
When the second draw of the third group was drawn, the draw scene obviously became tense, because it was the Serie A giants AC Milan who were drawn!
Although AC Milan is no longer the invincible AC Milan in the Champions League, no team dares to underestimate them, even if they are as strong as Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
At this time, the on-site director switched shots with a very meaningful manner, and swept over Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid one after another.
Apparently according to the UEFA draw 'rules', these three teams are the most likely to draw AC Milan.
Sure enough!
The corners of UEFA Secretary-General Gianni Infantino's mouth turned up slightly, and he flipped the plastic paper strip taken out of the small ball made of the Champions League five-star logo, and said at the same time: "Dortmund!"
The camera once again showed the Dortmund club personnel, and Klopp and Zolke's expressions were visibly stiff.
Because...... One of the last teams they want to face is AC Milan!