News
Dortmund boy, Black & Yellow legend – Marco Reus's final home game
"These were wonderful moments that I will always remember. I feel a great sense of gratitude. It's a wonderful feeling to be able to experience such moments at this club," said Reus, looking back on his twelve years in a BVB shirt. On Saturday afternoon, there were more moments that will stay with him forever.
8:45 CEST: Marco Reus arrives at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK in the morning and is surprised by a new mural under the South Stand. Reus is immortalised on the walls of the stadium.
14:52: He returns to the stadium for the match in the afternoon. Before warming up, the team leaves the stage to him: Marco Reus is the first and for a long time only player to run onto the pitch, with his team-mates following some distance behind. There is some noise in the stadium!
15:11: After Marius Wolf, Mateu Morey and Otto Addo have received their farewell gifts, it's Reus' turn. The best scenes from his Black & Yellow career are shown on the scoreboards and the boards read "Dortmund boy. Black & Yellow legend. Thank you, Marco!". "It's the end of an era," says stadium announcer Nobby Dickel, while numerous banners are raised in the South Stand with inscriptions such as "Danke, Marco", "100 % Dortmunder" and "Legende".
15:13: Reus receives a bouquet of flowers from BVB management team Hans-Joachim Watzke, Carsten Cramer, Thomas Tress and Lars Ricken, sports director Sebastian Kehl, coach Edin Terzic and the club presidium consisting of Dr Reinhold Lunow, Silke Seidel and Bernd Möllmann, not to mention honorary president Dr Reinhard Rauball, as well as a trophy to remind him of his time in Black & Yellow. No-one in the ground remains seated.
15:15: A guard of honour of players and coaches has already formed behind everyone, through which Reus walks to the South Stand. The fans sing "And we will always be Borussia, there will never, never, never be another club!". Lots of shirts bearing the number 11 are held up.
15:17: "I'm not so good at talking, so I don't think I'll be taking the microphone in front of 80,000 people," Reus had already announced - and he doesn't take a microphone. Nevertheless, he runs back to the fans to do the wave with the South Stand.
15:28: The next goosebump moment: As the teams enter the pitch, the BVB fans perform a tifo showing an oversized jersey with the number 11 and the message "Thank you, Marco!".
15:29: With his eldest daughter by his side and the armband on his sleeve, the former captain leads the team onto the pitch - the fans' choreography in full view.
16:09: A scriptwriter couldn't have devised it any better: in the 38th minute, Reus scores a fantastic goal to make it 2-0 when he curls a free-kick over the Darmstadt wall and into the back of the net from 18 metres out. He is lifted into the air by his teammates as he celebrates the goal. The fans celebrate the Dortmund boy and chant his name three times.
17:06: The number 11 lights up on the substitution board. "One of the greatest Borussians is being substituted off for the last time in his stadium," says Nobby Dickel. The entire stadium stands. The team, coaches and officials form a guard of honour as Marco Reus leaves the pitch for Felix Nmecha. The opponents from Darmstadt also applaud. Edin Terzic embraces Reus on the touchline. He still has the captain's armband on his arm, Emre Can comes and takes it. "And we will always be Borussia", sings the South Stand.
17:18: Final whistle. Reus walks back onto the pitch and is embraced by all his teammates. The South Stand calls out for the number 11 and he follows the invitation, climbs over the barrier and makes his way through the fans until he reaches the chorus leader. He grabs the microphone to thank them for their support.
17:34: Reus is wearing a scarf when he comes down from the stands and jumps back onto the pitch. He lines up between his teammates.
17:37: Just like when he scored: his team-mates give Reus another cheer and throw him into the air.
17:45: On his lap of honour around the stadium, which he makes with his family, fans in each part of the ground celebrate the Black & Yellow legend, who repeatedly waves and claps into the crowd.
17:47: Niclas Füllkrug and Karim Adeyemi shower Reus with confetti as he passes the players' tunnel.
17:51: Reus leaves the pitch to huge applause and shouts of "Marco Reus". He heads to the dressing room.
"I'll miss everything: the bus journey to the stadium, the atmosphere. We've had a lot of home games recently where the atmosphere was incredible. I've already tried to imprint it in my mind so that I can relive it again and again. Then celebrating with the fans after the game. When you score a goal and the whole stadium is chanting your name, it's something very special," Reus had already said before his last home game. "I'll probably miss coming to training the most, hanging out with the lads in the dressing room and spending time with everyone."
He will spend two more weeks with the boys. There could be no bigger match to round off his time at Borussia Dortmund than the Champions League final against Real Madrid at Wembley Stadium. Afterwards, he will take some time to reflect on this period: "I will need weeks and months to process the whole thing."
Christina Reinke