The sporting situation suggests that the players should be focussing exclusively on their football. But this particular visit has been a firm date in the calendar for almost 20 years. In the run-up to Christmas the team's players visited Dortmund Children's Hospital in the hope of raising a smile on the faces of the young patients.

They gave out black and yellow presents and made sure that the dreary hospital atmosphere faded into the background. On this day the sporting situation definitely took a back seat.