Champions League Final: “Animosity” Beyond the Rivalry on the Field Between Real Madrid and Dortmund
The “kings” of the UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid, aim to win their fifteenth title in the most prestigious continental tournament as they face German team Borussia Dortmund in the upcoming final on Saturday at Wembley Stadium.
However, beyond the battle for the cup, which many believe will end up in the hands of the royal team, there are concerns that the premier European competition could face extinction if the ongoing efforts led by Real Madrid to launch the Super League succeed.
Real Madrid, along with their traditional rivals Barcelona, are pushing forward in their quest to launch the Super League, despite facing significant opposition from across the “Old Continent.”
At the forefront of this opposition is their next opponent, Borussia Dortmund. The club’s CEO, Hans-Joachim Watzke, has expressed on multiple occasions that his club firmly rejects the Super League project.
The first attempt to launch a separate league in 2021 collapsed within days after a violent reaction from fans, governments, and continental and local federations. However, supporters of the Super League achieved a significant victory this week when a court in Madrid ruled that the two governing bodies, FIFA and UEFA, “abused their dominant power” and “prevented free competition” by opposing the new breakaway league.
The reasons for Real Madrid’s quest to shake up European football may be somewhat surprising. The Royal Team has won the Champions League title five times in the last ten years.
Therefore, Real Madrid’s aura in the Champions League may strike fear into the hearts of their opponents. However, there is concern within the competition’s most successful club that their position could eventually be threatened without a structural change to the game.
For the first time last season, a club supported by a state, namely the Emirati-owned English club Manchester City, succeeded in winning the Champions League title after eliminating Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals.
City also benefits from huge television revenues, with the English Premier League leading all other European leagues in terms of financial potential.
This financial disparity is evident when comparing Dortmund and Real Madrid. Dortmund’s player wages are less than a third of what Real Madrid spends.
The German team has their own story in dealing with the challenge of facing state-supported clubs during their remarkable journey to the final, which they have reached for only the third time in their history.
Dortmund previously defeated Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United, the English club supported by Saudi Arabia, during the group stage, before overcoming the French champions again in the semi-finals.
Dortmund realize that the opportunity they have now in the final may never occur again, so they must capitalize on it to make history.
However, their recent experience at Wembley Stadium is not promising, as they lost the Champions League final in 2013 to fellow German team Bayern Munich.
Despite this, they yearn to emulate the success of Italian club Atalanta, which surprised German champions Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final last week, handing them their first loss of the season and securing their first continental title.
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