The evening might have ended in celebration following Borussia Dortmund's win, but it began with a spectacular send-off for a BVB great as the crowd at Signal Iduna Park commemorated the late Alfred "Aki" Schmidt, who passed away eight days ago.

When the song "You'll never walk alone" rang out from the stands shortly before 18:30 CET, it was dedicated to Aki Schmidt, one of the greatest Black and Yellows of all time. Schmidt, who won two German league titles (1957 and 1963), one DFB Cup (1965) and one European Cup Winners' Cup (1966) with the Westphalian club, died last Friday aged 81 following a short battle with illness.

In the South Stand there were banners reading "Thanks, Aki Schmidt – Your living room bows down to you", followed by a choreography covering most of blocks 12 and 13 which showed Schmidt, cast in yellow on a black background, holding the DFB Cup aloft. It read "Thanks Aki" and listed the years of his birth and death underneath: 1935 to 2016.

A minute's silence was then followed by even more applause for the BVB legend, from Dortmund and Bayern fans alike. We would like to express our thanks for that! (br)

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