Just the one game remains to gild the 2016/17 season. Borussia Dortmund will participate in a grand-final this coming Saturday for the sixth consecutive season. After a year of highs and lows, which has ultimately reached a more than satisfactory conclusion with the achievement of third place, Thomas Tuchel's team want to give their all to bring the DFB Cup back to Borsigplatz after five years.

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"At times, this season seemed particularly difficult, at others, less so", analysed BVB manager Thomas Tuchel after the match against Bremen, in which everybody "quite literally fought until the penultimate minute" in order to reach third place. "Aki" Watzke said prior to the beginning of the season that BVB would experience its greatest upheaval of the last decade this year, according to Tuchel. Consequently, he thought directly qualifying for the Champions League once more would be no small achievement. Ultimately, Tuchel and his team reached this target. After Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had made it 4-3 against Bremen with a penalty right at the death, and simultaneously earned himself the top-scorer canon, BVB secured third place for themselves.

"It wasn't easy to handle how things were going and to go through the rough times after everything was so stable and went so exceptionally well last season", continued Tuchel. "We had enormous problems with injuries as well. Marco Reus was absent for half a year. Sven Bender basically missed the entire season. Nuri Sahin was repeatedly injured. Then there was the situation in attack. There were so many different things going on that were really challenging. Therefore, the team and the entire support staff have earned my utmost respect, because they never lost sight of our target."

They delivered in key matches

The BVB manager spoke about the key games of the season, in which his team always came up with the goods: the duels in the Champions League group stage, the match at Sporting Lisbon, which they ultimately finished with three youth squad members on the pitch, the second Bundesliga fixture against Leipzig, the home match, and above all, the cup semi-final against Bayern, the second leg against Benfica, the first decisive encounter for third place against Hoffenheim two weeks ago, and also the game against Bremen on Saturday. When BVB were challenged, they stood up to the plate. "That gives us enormous self-confidence for next week", said Thomas Tuchel. The season is not yet finished, but can be crowned in Berlin!"

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And it was clear that it is exactly that on which all the BVB players are focussed, including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who after winning the top-scorer canon, had more than enough cause to celebrate. "We can celebrate a bit today", said Sokratis, for example, "but tomorrow we must focus totally on the final next week." Goalkeeper Roman Bürki added: "The game against Bremen has given us lots of confidence for next week. Auba can make his winning of the top-scorer canon even sweeter. We have also managed to qualify for the Champions League directly. We can take all of these things, enjoy them, and use them to give us fresh impetus for next Saturday."

"We will be ready"

One piece of bad news on Saturday: Marcel Schmelzer's injury. The captain sustained a muscular injury to the rear of his thigh while warming up. "It is touch and go whether he will be ready for the final next week", according to Thomas Tuchel. Everybody, then, must cross their fingers for the captain. All the fans are hoping for his timely recovery – as is Marco Reus, who led the team onto the field of play as captain in Schmelzer's stead, and who just avoided picking up an injury himself as he missed a pass in the closing stages of the match and smashed into the left goalpost in front of the South Stand. The wait was a nervous one while he received treatment, followed by a huge sense of relief for all those involved, as Reus continued to play. "I'll also play with the one leg in Berlin, I don't care. I'll take some painkillers. I'm not missing this one", said Reus. It seems, therefore, that his participation is beyond doubt.

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Borussia's "Mister Important", who has scored in six games out of eight since his comeback, and who, on top of that, always got BVB's first goal, will be challenged in Berlin. "The game against Bremen was very important for the team's morale. The season was a difficult one, with many highs and lows, but we always came back", opined Reus. "This positivity could be very significant for the cup final. Next week will be a different game, since Frankfurt are a very tricky opponent to play against." BVB learned this the hard way themselves, as they lost 1-2 in their first of this season's two league matches against Eintracht, despite a superior performance. In contrast with the duel in November, the game next Saturday is once again an absolute key-fixture – something Marco Reus also recognises: "All of us will be ready. We want to win the cup!"
Dennis-Julian Gottschlich