A new era has dawned in European football – and Borussia Dortmund is right in the middle of it. The draw for the “new” Champions League took place on Thursday evening (30 August) (find out more here). Instead of eight groups, there is now just one large table, and in the preliminary round there are eight games instead of just six.
UEFA pushed through the CL reform despite massive criticism, especially from fans. At Borussia Dortmund, the bosses are stressing their joy at the new format. But they cannot help but be amazed at the moment.
Borussia Dortmund: It’s a joy to see each other again
It took some getting used to what UEFA had come up with for the new form of draw. The association had already announced in advance that a computer would be used to draw the matches in future – the end of analogue drawing. According to UEFA, the new system would have required over 1,000 balls.
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Instead, Gianluigi Buffon drew each team exactly once on Thursday evening, then Cristiano Ronaldo started the computer’s calculations by pressing a button with the Champions League logo design. This meant that Borussia Dortmund played against Barcelona, Donetsk, Glasgow and Graz (all at home), as well as Bruges, Zagreb and Bologna (all away). And of course, let’s not forget the rematch of the final against Real Madrid in Spain.
Kehl is amazed
The new way of drawing lots also surprised Sebastian Kehl at first. “It’s a new world in which you see Cristiano Ronaldo press a button – and then, as if by magic, all eight of your opponents appear on the screen within seconds,” explained the BVB sports director.
Nevertheless, he stressed how much they are looking forward to the new format – “even if the draw used to be more exciting and nerve-wracking.” Hans-Joachim Watzke emphasised: “When you see the new format with all the opponents as vividly as this evening, the anticipation grows immensely.”
Borussia Dortmund has only one goal
Now that BVB knows which eight opponents they will face, the management has formulated ambitious goals. Of course, as the current runner-up, they want to go far again. And apart from Real Madrid and Barcelona, Borussia is the favorite in all of its games. “In a first step, we want to reach the round of 16,” explained sports director Lars Ricken.
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To achieve this directly, Borussia Dortmund would have to finish in the top 8 in the large group table. If they finish in places 9 to 24, they will go into the knockout round after the knockout round. The last eight teams are eliminated directly.
