Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid have already met 14 times in the Champions League – a real evergreen of the premier class. However, the most memorable impression was made by BVB’s first duel against the royal team.
It’s April 1, 1998: Under the eyes of Tainer Jupp Heynckes, Real’s star ensemble of Bodo Illgner, Clarence Seedorf, Davor Suker, Roberto Carlos and Raúl is preparing to outstrip defending champions Borussia Dortmund in the semi-final first leg of the premier class.
Suddenly, an unforeseeable event turns the process in the venerable Estadio Santiago Bernabéu upside down: Even before the Dutch referee Mario van der Ende can start the game, the first goal is scored – in the literal sense.
Because after Spanish fans climb the protective fence behind one of the goals, which is connected to it by a rope, the housing collapses under the pressure. It should be 76 minutes before van der Ende can actually take action and open the game.
“We couldn’t have imagined that it would take so long for a new goal to be installed. Of course nobody was prepared for that,” remembered the then BVB captain and long-time Dortmund sports director Michael Zorc later. “The worst thing in such situations is the uncertainty. And you still have to keep the tension high.”
Goal fall from Madrid: With improvisation for the television award
However, the unexpected incident not only poses a challenge for actors and officials, the planned course of the live TV broadcast was suddenly for naught. While eager helpers and a hastily created special commission try to rebuild the goal, RTL commentator Marcel Reif and presenter Günther Jauch have to bridge the break somehow.
A task that the duo masters in an extremely entertaining manner: After a few minutes, Jauch, who is sitting in the television studio, joins Reif, who has previously seemed insecure. In the improvised interaction between the two, which is also occasionally attended by expert Toni Schumacher, the situation is now analyzed professionally and with a lot of irony.
“The first goal has already been scored!”, Jauch quips over the airwaves, “Never before would a goal have done a game as good as it does today”, Reif also elicits a verbal dig. The exchange attained cult status almost immediately and later earned the unexpected team the Bavarian Television Award.
Real Madrid vs. BVB becomes a minor matter
The ratings confirm that Reif and Jauch are right with their improvised show. More than 12.5 million viewers follow the verbal banter on the TV screen.
When the game finally kicks off at 10:01 p.m. – a goal from Real’s training ground was installed in the stadium – only about half are still watching.
The actual game to get into the Champions League final becomes a minor matter. “Günther and I created anarchy. Obviously, people liked it,” Reif later recalled in “Sport Bild”.
Little is known about the fact that BVB finally lost the game 2-0 after Fernando Morientes and Christian Karembeu conceded. The coverage of the “Madrid goal”, on the other hand, is still unforgettable 25 years later.
To the chagrin of the royal: “You must never mention the topic in Madrid, they are immediately under the covers. Real is still ashamed today because it was a disgrace,” says Reif.
Julian Bischoff and Marc Affeldt