Real Madrid visit Borussia Dortmund to celebrate their centenary

One of Germany's greatest clubs: Signal Iduna Park will be the venue for a very special evening as Borussia Dortmund celebrate their centenary with a clash against Real Madrid (Wednesday, 20.15 CET). The last time they met, during the 2002/03 season, the encounter ended with a 1-1 draw.

BV Borussia Dortmund, founded on 19 December 1909, is one of Germany’s historical clubs and became the last champions prior to the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. Their honours include six league titles, two German cups, one Champions League, one Intercontinental Cup and one Cup Winner’s Cup.

Despite finishing in sixth place of the table and not qualifying for European competitions last season, Borussia Dortmund are sure to return to Germany’s top spots of the table after overcoming financial problems and counting with Europe’s best attendance average.

They played ten games during their preseason and remained undefeated tallying five victories and five draws. Rivals included important teams such as Valencia, Udinese and Basel. They have knocked out SPVGG, a fourth division team, in the second round of the DSF Cup. Jurgen Klopp’s men have started the Bundesliga with a 1-0 victory over FC Koln and a painful 4-1 defeat against Hamburg.

Borussia Dortmund likes to play an offensive 4-4-2 diamond formation. Their most common line-up consists of keeper Weidenfeller; defenders Owomoyela, Subotic, Santana and Schemelzer; Tinga, Kuba, Sahin and Hajnal as midfielders; and Valdez and Barrios up front.

Real Madrid Press

Dortmund looking forward to tournament… and superstar David Villa

Borussia Dortmund turn 100 years old, and to mark the anniversary the club is holding a tournament. With FC Valencia and Udinese Calcio, BVB have two big names on their guest list at the SIGNAL IDUNA PARK on Saturday afternoon.

"They are our top opponents of the preseason," said sports director Michael Zorc. "We take on two famous international teams. As you know, we had some not so good experiences against Udinese last year, and despite their problems, Valencia still managed a top-table finish in Spain. I´m looking forward to this tournament."

The players are also very excited about this event. They are, in a way, "on detox". For 10 long weeks they had to do without the incredible atmosphere of the SIGNAL IDUNA PARK, looking forward to the moment they come onto the pitch in front of the "Yellow Wall." All season ticket holders have free admission, and a few thousand tickets have also already been sold.

And from a football point of view, this tournament also has it´s significance. Apart from the "dress rehearsal" on Tuesday at FSV Mainz 05 (kick-off 1900 CET), these are the final preparation games before next Saturday´s cup tie at fourth division SpVgg. Weiden (1 August, 1530). Michael Zorc expects a "real good picture on the shape of the team" from the two 45-minute matches.

On Saturday at 1530, BVB first take on 2002 Spanish champions FC Valencia, who made a promising start to the millennium by reaching the Champions League final in 2001 and 2002 as well as winning the UEFA Cup in 2004. Valencia come to the SIGNAL IDUNA PARK with David Villa, the Golden Boot winner of the Euro 2008. The Spanish side are currently preparing in Holland for the new season. At 1730 the Black ´n´ Yellows then play Udinese Calcio, giving them a chance to take revenge for their exit in last season´s UEFA Cup.

Good for the fans: there will be no draws! If a game ends in a tie, a penalty shoot-out will decide the winner.

Source: Borussia Dortmund Press