Destiny Awaits Borussia Dortmund And Marco Reus At Wembley

Marco Reus celebrates Dortmund's 1-0 victory over PSG at the Parc des Princes. The former Borussia ... [+] Dortmund captain will now play his last game for his club at Wembley in the Champions League final. (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)

Borussia Dortmund has written the next chapter in what has been an incredible Champions League run this season. On Tuesday, Dortmund beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 (2-0 on aggregate) at the Parc des Princes thanks to a goal by defender Mats Hummels (50’).

It is a remarkable achievement from a side that has struggled all season in the Bundesliga. Indeed, it was the first leg 1-0 victory at the SIGNAL-IDUNA Park that secured Dortmund’s Champions League spot. With that win, the Bundesliga was guaranteed a top-two spot in UEFA’s co-efficient and, therefore, five Champions League spots.

Those five Champions League spots could now grow to six. For that to become reality, Dortmund must finish fifth and win the Champions League final at Wembley on Jun. 1.

That scenario seemed all but impossible. Indeed, many experts predicted that Dortmund would exit the Champions League following the group stage. The Black and Yellows were drawn in a group with Milan, PSG, and Newcastle United.

Despite struggling in the Bundesliga, Dortmund won the so-called group of death. Indeed, their Bundesliga struggles while doing well in the Champions League is a big part of this Dortmund story.

Many times this year it almost felt like there were two complete characters inside this Dortmund side. For example, Dortmund was smashed by Bayern Munich in the Klassiker (4-0) but then beat Newcastle (2-0) just three days later.

Dortmund has been the “Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” all season. Usually, the Black and Yellows would follow up a poor Bundesliga performance with a strong match in the Champions League or vice versa. But there was also the bizarre 5-1 win over Augsburg last weekend in a game Dortmund rotated heavily or the win over Bayern in a Klassiker that didn’t matter for the Black and Yellows.

Dortmund defender Mats Hummels celebrates taking the 1-0 lead over PSG on Tuesday. (Photo by Glenn ... [+] Gervot/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Where will this lead? First to Wembley, the stadium in which Dortmund lost the final to Bayern Munich in 2013 (2-1). It was the last time Dortmund reached a final; indeed, the club hasn’t gotten past the quarterfinal stage since. There is a good chance, too, that Dortmund will face Bayern in that final, setting up an unbelievable redemption arch.

A redemption arch with the main protagonists Hummels and former captain Marco Reus. Reus, who will be a club legend no matter what happens at Wembley, will play his final game for Dortmund in the final. It will also be Reus’ final chance to win something significant in his career.

In fact, Reus was over the moon after the PSG win on Tuesday. The 34-year-old used profanity to express his feelings on German television. “Now we have to win it; otherwise, it would be s..t,” Reus said on Amazon Prime after the game. Nobody thought we would get this far, especially after we were drawn into that group. There, we set an exclamation point.”

Hummels, in the meantime, credited the difficult group phase with Dortmund’s strong run in the Champions League. “We have believed since the second game in the group stage,” Hummels, who hasn’t made a decision about his future, said to Amazon Prime. That game was a 0-0 draw against AC Milan.

There is something to this, though. Dortmund had to show resilience from the very first match in this competition, and that has unleashed a mindset required to win the title. Because make no mistake, no matter who wins between Real Madrid and Bayern, Dortmund believes they can win the final.

In some ways, this run to the final feels like destiny for Dortmund. This group endured the embarrassment of losing the German title to Bayern on the final day of the season last year. It would also complete Reus’s career at Dortmund.

Often called Der Unvollendete (the uncomplete) in German, winning the Champions League would undoubtedly make him the Der Vollendete (the completed). And that would be the sort of happy end Reus and Dortmund deserve.

Manuel Veth is the host of the Bundesliga Gegenpressing Podcast and the Area Manager USA at Transfermarkt. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth and on Threads: @manuveth