Thirteen years wearing the No17 shirt at Borussia Dortmund, two Bundesliga titles and a real love for the Black and Yellows - hardly any other player has conquered the hearts of BVB fans quite like Leonardo de Deus Santos, known as Dede for short. The fact that the Brazilian is soon set for a testimonial in the Signal Iduna Park is in line with Westphalian tradition and for the benefit of all BVB fans.

image
Jürgen Klopp and Dede

At least half a dozen Brazilians, a whole host of Germany internationals and many friends from his 13 years in the Bundesliga - the guest list for Dede's testimonial is a real "who's who" of football.

Dede is planning a "great BVB day" as a way of saying thank you for the affection shown towards him between 1998 and 2011 - a spell that saw him win two Bundesliga titles with Borussia. "But my greatest title was being able to play for BVB for so long," he said.

Julio Cesar, Marcio Amoroso, Ewerthon, Stéphane Chapuisat and many more will all be attending the Black and Yellow party, which is likely to take place in a wonderful atmosphere and will see an international eleven square off against a national eleven.

Dede is set to play alongside stars from his 13 years at BVB and will form two teams of companions from his journey between 1998 and 2011. The "International Team" will include players from Amoroso to Zidan, while the "National Team" will include players from Addo to Ziegler.

The Black and Yellow spectacle is set to kick off at 18:00 CET on 5 September at Signal Iduna Park. Tickets, starting from 11 Euro, will go on sale on Saturday at www.bvb.de/tickets or on Monday at all standard advance sales points.