Betting on Borussia Dortmund

The Bundesliga has been dominated by Bayern Munich for years. It is also often enjoyed by Borussia Dortmund however, even in Europe. Get to know the club and what the betting opportunities are for Borussia Dortmund!

History of Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund is remarkably one of the ‘youngest’ clubs in the Bundesliga. Yet the club is over a century old. With 1909 as its founding year, Borussia Dortmund is one of the last German clubs founded around 1900.

In December 1909, some young people in Dortmund were dissatisfied with the Catholic Church-sponsored club where they played. The pastor overseeing it was strict and unsympathetic.

So they resolved to set up a new football club in a private meeting in a local pub. The parish priest still tried to thwart it, but he did not get in.

The name Borussia Dortmund was chosen. ‘Borussia’ is Latin for Prussia, a former kingdom and current state in Germany. The boys used the name to refer to the local Borussia brewery however.

Borussia Dortmund: a humble club till the WWII

The club did not immediately start in the distinctive black-and-yellow colours of today. It started with a blue-and-white striped shirt with a red slash, with black shorts underneath. By 1913, the club was already moving to black and yellow. There were modest successes in local competitions in the early years.

In 1929, however, Borussia Dortmund teetered on the brink of bankruptcy. They tried to achieve more success with some professional players, but as a result things almost went wrong financially. The club survived only because a generous fan made up the difference in the coffers from his own pockets.

In the 1930s, the Nazi regime threw around a lot at sports clubs in order to conform to the ideal as much as possible. The chairman who refused to become a Nazi member was thrown out of office. The club office was used to make anti-Nazi pamphlets. For this, some people were still executed at the end of the war.

Incidentally, it was at this time that the rivalry with the more successful Schalke 04, which won the national championship six times between 1934 and 1942, emerged.

Oberliga West and first national title

Between 1946 and 1963, the West German championship was still between the champions of regional leagues. At that time, Borussia Dortmund played in the Oberliga West, one of the strongest leagues at the time. In 1949, Borussia Dortmund still lost the final for the German championship.

In 1956 and 1957, however, Dortmund became German champions twice in a row. It was the crowning glory of ten years of successful football. For in 1948, 1949, 1950, 1956 and 1957, Borussia Dortmund had become champions of the Oberliga West.

In 1963, Dortmund finished second in the Oberliga West behind 1.FC Köln. They did win the last national title before the introduction of the Bundesliga by beating that same Köln in the final however.

First DFB Pokal and first European success

The next national title would be a long time coming after 1963. There were still two fine successes for Borussia Dortmund in the 1960s however. In 1964-1965, the club won the German Cup, the DFB Pokal.

This allowed them to enter the European Cup II for Cup winners the following season. In the quarter-finals, they survived a meeting with Atlético Madrid. In the semi-finals, Dortmund won against West Ham United and in the final against Liverpool 2-1 after extension.

Dortmund also looked to be on their way to the Bundesliga title in 1965-66, but it went disastrously wrong. Five games before the end, they were still well in the lead. Losing four out of five games, however, 1860 Munich ran away with the title. Not in the least due to great influence of Friedhelm Konietza, who had left for 1860 Munich in 1965 after seven years at Dortmund.

Relegation and financial problems

Remarkably, performance fell way back after those two prizes. Dortmund still finished third in 1967, but after that the club made a free fall to the bottom of the Bundesliga.

In 1971, construction of the Westfalenstadion (now Signal Iduna Park) began, but note that the same season Dortmund was relegated from the Bundesliga.

The club was also plagued by financial problems. That was alleviated somewhat by its return to the Bundesliga in 1976. Until the 1980s however, finances would remain under pressure. In 1986, Borussia Dortmund narrowly avoided relegation by winning a third decider against Fortuna Köln.

Golden 90’s

In 1989, after 23 years, there was reason to cheer for a prize again at Borussia Dortmund, two reasons in fact. For the club won that season’s DFB Pokal and then also the DFL-Supercup against rival Bayern Munich.

After finishing tenth in 1991, however, coach Horst Köppel was sacked, and succeeded by Ottmar Hitzfeld. He was to become one of the club’s most successful trainers.

Among others, he brought Stéphane Chapuisat to the club. In 1992, Hitzfeld immediately finished second with Dortmund in the Bundesliga.

The following season, the club reached the final of the UEFA Cup. After wins over Celtic, Real Zaragoza and AS Roma, among others, Dortmund played the two-match final against Juventus. However, the Italians were far too strong with 3-1 and 3-0 victories, including two goals for brothers Roberto Baggio and Dino Baggio.

Borussia Dortmund wins Champions League

However, the fans’ patience would be rewarded by Hitzfeld and Borussia Dortmund. After twice finishing fourth in the Bundesliga and a quarter-final and semi-final in the UEFA Cup, Dortmund became champions of Germany in 1994-95.

In 1995-1996, they lost in the Champions League to Ajax in the quarter-finals, but grabbed a second consecutive league title.

The following year, Hitzfeld would crown his six years at Dortmund with the ultimate prize. In the Champions League final, they faced Juventus.

The club that beat Dortmund in the 1993 UEFA Cup final and the defending champion in the Champions League (after winning against Ajax in 1996). This time, however, Dortmund were too strong and won the final at Munich’s Olympiastadion 3-1 over Juventus.

From a few national titles to the era of Jürgen Klopp

After winning the Intercontinental Cup (competition between champions of Europe and South America) in 1997, the trophy cabinet would not be properly replenished for a long time.

Bayern Munich would dominate the Bundesliga again and Dortmund always flew out of the DFB Pokal early. In 2001-2002, there was a small revival under coach and former player Matthias Sammer. He led the club to the national title and the lost UEFA Cup final.

In 2008, the club brought in Jürgen Klopp as coach. He had to pull Borussia Dortmund out of the mid-table and he succeeded. In 2011 and 2012, the club, which included Robert Lewandowski, became national champions, and cup winners in 2012.

However, that was also when the finals curse began for Klopp. In 2012, he lost the Champions League final to Bayern Munich and lost three cup finals in a row (after also two defeats in the DFL-Supercup.

The “Bronze” period

The 2012 national title would prove to be Dortmund’s last for the time being. That is because Bayern Munich has won the Bundesliga every year since then. The club did still win the DFB Pokal in 2017 and 2021, and the DFL-Supercup in 2014, 2015 and 2020.

Dortmund’s ‘bad luck’ is that rival Bayern Munich is bigger and richer, and can therefore often buy away players. In the last 20 years, these included: Torsten Frings, Mario Götze, Robert Lewandowski and Mats Hummels. ‘Luckily’ for Dortmund, Erling Haaland left for Manchester City.

Club icons Borussia Dortmund

In the second half of the 1950s, Borussia Dortmund had a brief period of success. This happened under coach Helmut Schneider, who took two titles with the club. He had at his disposal ‘the three Alfredos’, among others: Alfred Preißler, Alfred Kelbassa and Alfred Niepieklo. Together accounting for more than 400 goals in about 10 seasons.

Preißler is the top scorer of all time with 174 goals. Heinz Kwiatkowski, Helmut Bracht and Wilhelm Burgsmüller were the only ones to also win the 1963 national title.

A few years after that title, Dortmund still won the DFB Pokal and the Europa Cup II. Dieter Kurrat (nicknamed ‘Hoppy’) won all those awards as he became a club legend between 1960-1974.

Borussia Dortmund: Champions League legendes

The club’s next peak period was, of course, the 1990s. The biggest name to witness the build-up and all the successes was that of Michael Zorc. From 1981-1998, he played his entire career at Dortmund, in which he reached 572 games, a record. He won two national titles, the DFB Pokal, the DFL-Supercup twice, the Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup.

Other club icons of the time included Stéphane Chapuisat, Lars Ricken, Stefan Reuter, Andreas Möller, Stefan Klos and Matthias Sammer. And of course, we must not forget the success coach of the time: Ottmar Hitzfeld.

Borussia Dortmund: Jürgen Klopp and co

In the last 20 years, Borussia Dortmund won two league titles, in 2011 and 2012. That happened, of course, under the leadership of coach Jürgen Klopp. He relied on regulars like goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller, Mats Hummels, Marcel Schmelzer, Sebastian Kehl, Neven Subotic, Jakub Blaszczykowski and top strikers like Robert Lewandowski and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (now both FC Barcelona).

Looking back at 2021/2022

Last season was a bit of the same nasty old song for Borussia Dortmund. They were once again ‘best of the rest’, as number two behind Bayern Munich. They had also lost the DFL-Supercup to Bayern.

In the Champions League group stage, Dortmund had already been eliminated by a formidable Ajax and Sporting, despite the presence of Erling Haaland. In the play-offs, they also went straight down against Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Rangers. Just as quickly, Dortmund also flew out of the DFB Pokal, in the eighth finals against Sankt Pauli.

Looking ahead at 2022/2023

It will be a tough season for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga. Bayern Munich have lost Robert Lewandowski. Borussia Dortmund has bought back plenty however with the likes of Matthijs de Ligt, Sadio Mané and Ryan Gravenberch. Dortmund lost Erling Haaland to Manchester City and unfortunately not for a top price.

Sébastien Haller came from Ajax, but he was struck down by a terrible illness. 20-year-old striker Karim Adeyemi came for 35 million from Red Bull Salzburg. Then again, German international and defender Niklas Süle came transfer-free from Bayern Munich. Then again, Borussia Dortmund are of course playing in the Champions League.

So when betting on football, you have every opportunity to bet on this illustrious German club!