Weidenfeller draws on 1997 triumph

23 May 2013 19:17

Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller has called on his side to go down in history like the 1997 team by upsetting the odds to win the Champions League.

Dortmund are the underdogs for Saturday's meeting with Bayern Munich at Wembley, just as they were when Ottmar Hitzfeld's side beat defending champions Juventus 3-1 to win the title 16 years ago.

The 32-year-old, dubbed the 'best non-international goalkeeper' by the German media, said in an interview with Kicker magazine: "Everyone still speaks today with unbelievable admiration about the '97 team. Should we now also succeed in lifting the trophy in London, we would probably achieve a similar status."

He added: "Champions League winners - that would be the best for the club and for us."

Weidenfeller, who was in brilliant form in the semi-final second leg against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, is expected to be in for a busy night at Wembley but claims he is ready for anything Bayern throw at him.

"We have extensive video material," he added. "And moreover we know Bayern. No matter what happens in the final, nothing can surprise us."

Dortmund will be without their Bayern-bound playmaker Mario Gotze through injury, but Weidenfeller knows the team can cope without him.

"It goes without saying that with him we have a different quality," he said. "(But) everything shouldn't rest on him. In the DFB-Pokal final in 2012 Mario also didn't play."

On that occasion, Dortmund ran out 5-2 winners against Bayern with the help of a Robert Lewandowski hat-trick.

Source: PA