The Borussia Dortmund U17s will face a Herculean task when they take on Bayer Leverkusen in the final of the German B-Junior Championship at the Niederrheinstadion in Oberhausen on Sunday (kick-off 11:00 CEST, live on Sky).

"If anyone is capable of beating Leverkusen, then it's us," said coach Marco Lehmann self-confidently prior to the biggest match of his career. He has been working at the BVB Youth Performance Centre since 2013 and has been employed on a full-time basis since 2017. He assumed responsibility for the U17 squad for the first time last summer. Together with his assistant coaches Marcel Schmelzer and Sahin Kösecik, he has guided the B-Juniors to the final of the German Championship. "It's incredible how hard everyone – the players, staff and coaching team – has worked so hard to get us to this final," Lehmann declared.

The last time the BVB U17s reached a final was five years ago. The opponents that the team featuring current Bundesliga players Youssoufa Moukoko and Ansgar Knauff faced at Stadion Rote Erde that day were 1. FC Köln and Florian Wirtz, who was already billed as a top talent back then and now plays for Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. The Rhineland outfit, who had finished nine points adrift of Borussia in the Bundesliga runners-up spot, went into the final as the rank outsiders and won 3-2 in front of 10,000 spectators. "I can still remember that well, and I've also discussed it in meetings. The scenario today is similar, only we are the underdogs and Leverkusen are the favourites. Why shouldn't we manage a similar coup to Köln in 2019?" smiled Lehmann ahead of the repeat edition of the 2016 final, which BVB lost 2-0 to Leverkusen.

Bayer are still unbeaten this season, finished the Bundesliga campaign as western champions and have a team "with great individuals in every position in the squad," said Lehmann. Eintracht Frankfurt also experienced this in the semi-final. Although Bayer were the better team, they also revealed their weaknesses and only reached the final via a penalty shoot-out. 

Marco Lehmann: "We can hurt anyone"

Marco Lehmann knows what awaits his team. He knows his opponents inside out, but he also knows the quality of his own team: "We haven't lost a game since October and can hurt anyone." BVB proved that in the return fixture in the Bundesliga when they came back from 2-0 down in Leverkusen to drew 2-2 and laid the foundations for an impressive late charge which saw them claim 13 wins on the trot and finish in second place in the table.

Lehmann has prepared his team in detail to deal with the opposition's strong attack: "Every attacker can prevail in one-on-one situations and make the difference. We can only defend against that collectively as an entire team." As they did in the semi-final against Leipzig, when the team performed outstandingly in the 3-2 victory in the second leg in particular and proved their maturity. 

"We're now of course highly motivated to swing the final in our favour and win it if possible," declared Marco Lehmann, who regrets that BVB cannot take full advantage of the home advantage that they have been given and will have to relocate to the Niederrheinstadion due to the upcoming European Championships. "That's a real pity. But I hope that many fans will make their way to Oberhausen to support us. The boys have earned that." (wiwi)

Tickets for the final are available here.