Borussia Dortmund might not have been celebrating a DFB Cup victory at Berlin's Kraftwerk venue on Saturday night, but the club bid farewell to Sebastian Kehl, Jürgen Klopp, Zeljko Buvac and Peter Krawietz in style at a party which lasted into the early hours of the morning.

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When BVB boss Hans-Joachim Watzke picked up the microphone to speak to some 2,000 guests, players, officials, fans, friends and sponsors of the Black and Yellows at 01:33 in the morning, his first port of call was to pay tribute to the club's long-serving captain. "We've taken some very dark and difficult journeys together, but we've experienced some real highs too. Sebastian, you've not just been an extraordinary footballer for 13 years, a great captain, but you were also an important go-to person for me, someone I was really able to trust," said the Chief Executive Officer.

The tribute was immediately followed by a farewell to Dortmund's coaching staff following a seven-year stint with the Black and Yellows. Watzke said: "It's difficult to even find the right words. But what you three have done in the last seven years, this wonderful story that we've written together, is not something that will ever quite be repeated again. It was extraordinary and there's never been anything like it."

"Thanks for all the success and a wonderful friendship"

Watzke then had a special message for Jürgen Klopp: "Jürgen, you joined us in the toughest of times and you and your colleagues brought a smile back to our faces. Your optimism and your unique ways have done us all a great deal of good. Over all the years, we've built up a fantastic trusting relationship with each other. It's been so incredible that you just can't put it into words. Thank you for these seven years, thank you for all the success and a wonderful friendship. I hope we'll see each other again."

Though composed, it was still an emotional Klopp who addressed the crowd: "I can't express what is going through my head right now. Over the course of the last seven years an incredible amount has happened, I've learnt so much, it has just been so emotional, special. We'll take that with us for the rest of our lives. I will always be thankful to you for that. It's been crazy what we've experienced together.

The BVB coach cast a glance back to 2008, a time when Zeljko Buvac, Piet Krawitz and he were not 100% sure what to expect on their arrival in Dortmund. He said: "We just thought the stadium was awesome, that it'd be a good place to work."

"It's important what people think of you once you're gone"

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It might have been a "tough journey", but step by step it all fell into place. Defining moments included missing out on qualification for the Europa League, qualifying before making an early exit against Udinese, participating in the UEFA Champions League, lifting the league title in 2011, winning the double in 2012 and reaching the final of Europe's elite club competition in 2013. Klopp added: "People told me that if we'd won the DFB Cup this season, it would've been a bit of a cheesy ending. Perhaps a bit too American... I'm happy that we're all so realistic. It's better that way."

The message that will make the longest-lasting impression came at the end of Klopp's speech: "I put my arm around each of the lads, one after another, and hugged them goodbye. Hard. Honestly. Really hard. But it's not so important what people think of you when you arrive. It's extremely important what people think of you once you're gone. I'd like to thank you for the thoughts you've expressed tonight. We'll take that with us, carry it around with us wherever we end up in this world. It's not something we'll ever forget." (fu)