Marcel Sabitzer on anticipation, respect and the gameplan ahead of PSG clash

30 April 2013 was the last day on which Borussia Dortmund made it to the final of the UEFA Champions League. Back then, a frenetic 4-1 home win and a 2-0 away defeat were enough to see the Black & Yellows secure a ticket to Wembley at the expense of Real Madrid. "I still have strong memories of the final and the Malaga game,'' says BVB player Marcel Sabitzer, speaking 11 years to the day since BVB last booked a place in the biggest game in European club football. Back then, the Borussia midfielder was playing his football for Rapid Vienna and followed the semi-final triumph over Real Madrid and the final against Bayern Munich as a spectator. Now he's ready to wear the Black & Yellow jersey in a Champions League semi-final. This wasn't something that most people expected at the start of the season. After all, BVB were drawn in what the press described as the "group of death". 

"Of course you start thinking about how far you can realistically go," says Sabitzer, who, like his teammates, knew that it would be difficult to make it through the group stage, let alone make it all the way to the semi-finals. "But we shared a dream in the dressing room of making it further," says Sabitzer. Despite a less than ideal start, the Black & Yellows didn't just make it through to the knockout stages; they also finished top of the group. "Over the course of the season, things developed in such a way that we started to believe that we could do it," says Sabitzer, adding: "If we have a good day, everything is possible."

Anticipation for the semi-final is understandably high - and not just within the team and the club, as Sabitzer is well aware. "You feel it everywhere, lots of people will start talking to you about it," says the 30-year-old. "We know what kind of game this is and what it means to the people here. Of course we want to reach the final, but," explains Sabitzer, "we also want to make the people happy, like we did in the game against Atletico - that would be a good story for everyone." To make it a good story, however, a positive result is needed against PSG. The first leg on Wednesday will be the third edition of this fixture in the current season: after a 2-0 loss and a 1-1 draw in the group stage, the Black & Yellows are the presumed underdogs in the clash with Paris - right? "I don't know. Are there any underdogs in the Champions League?" asks Sabitzer. 

Despite this label, BVB have made it all the way to the last four of Europe's elite. But the Austria midfielder suspects that Kylian Mbappe and co. will take a certain view of things: "I think that PSG will be slightly happy to have been drawn against us. But the most important thing is that it comes down to us to show them that this is a false perception." 

"We will show a different face"

BVB already have a plan: "Keep a very compact shape defensively and stay wide awake," says Sabitzer, before taking a moment to make one thing clear: "Above all, we can't let ourselves become frozen by the occasion. We have to disrupt them early and, above all, play to our strengths." Otherwise it could be a long night on Wednesday, as the 2-0 defeat in Paris earlier in the season demonstrated: "We didn't find our rhythm at all, they dominated us. But we will show a different face." Of course he has respect for his opponents, "but when a game like this gets underway, you forget everything around you and just focus on yourself - that's the most important thing." 

The gameplan for Paris Saint-Germain has already been decided, but how big is the belief in making it to London? "Very big," says Sabitzer, going on to add: "Everyone who heard our comments after the quarter-final will know where we want to go." Of course, the Dortmund midfielder is aware that making it through the semi-final is far from a foregone conclusion: "But our big goal is to knock out PSG and reach the final." Eleven years later, the stage is set for BVB to book their ticket to Wembley once again. And this time, Marcel Sabitzer will be on the pitch instead of following the action from afar.

Nina Bargel-Neuhaus