Late on Saturday evening, Marcel Schmelzer became the fourth Borussia Dortmund captain after Alfred Schmidt (1965), Michael Zorc (1989) and Sebastian Kehl (2012) to lift the DFB Cup. Having been presented with the trophy by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the full-back raised it high into the night sky as 33,000 jubiliant BVB fans at Berlin's Olympiastadion watched on.

It was the final act of a season unlike any other the club has experienced in its 108-year history. "This title is the crowning conclusion to our season. I've never experienced as much as I have this season – both on and off the pitch," declared goalkeeper Roman Bürki.

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"We showed that we really wanted to win," emphasised Marcel Schmelzer, who had been doubtful in the run-up to the final due to a muscle injury sustained in the clash with Bremen a week earlier and was ultimately limited to 45 minutes in the capital. "In the end we won the DFB Cup, we can be incredibly proud of that as a team," the captain concluded.

At the same time, Schmelzer and team-mate Lukasz Piszczek became the first Bundesliga players to feature in six major finals in as many years.

Once top referee Aytekin had blown his final whistle to confirm BVB's victory over a battling Frankfurt side, who were strong opponents on the pitch and in the stands, both the team and the Black & Yellow faithful felt as if a real weight had been lifted off their shoulders. The atmosphere after the 5-2 win over Bayern Munich that rounded off a stunning 2011/12 campaign was one of exuberance; yesterday, there was initially silence at the Olypiastadion before the celebrations got into full flow: "We always battled back, we grew together. Everyone deserved to win this title. Everyone," said Marco Reus, before adding: "Now we're going to enjoy the moment, the night. At times like these, all you feel is a sense of pure joy."

This feeling will be further enhanced when the team board the MAN Truck at 15:30 CET to begin the Black & Yellow victory parade through Germany's football capital, where over 250,000 fans are expected to line the route. BVB total! will broadcast the parade as a live stream.
Boris Rupert