The 32 teams in the UEFA Champions League form a select circle, so it is not surprising that you often meet the same opponents. BVB had to deal with Arsenal three times between 2011 and 2014, and faced Real Madrid as many as five times between 2012 and 2017. The 2021/22 group phase has provided interesting, attractive opponents, against whom we have not yet had the chance to test ourselves so often.

"The really big names may not be there," captain Marco Reus said after Thursday night's draw, and spoke of "interesting opponents that we haven't played against for a long time." The only games to date with Portugal's champions Sporting Lisbon came five years ago, BVB last played Dutch champs Ajax nine years ago, and the only two encounters with Turkish league winners Besiktas so far date from 1989. A good omen: Borussia Dortmund managed to win all those games! Sporting director Michael Zorc, who himself played in the matches against Besiktas some 32 years ago, highlighted another fact: "This is a very interesting group, which consists exclusively of clubs with great traditions." And together they have amassed some 78 national league titles.

UEFA had invited Branislav Ivanovic, 37, and Michael Essien, 38, to conduct the draw. Both had successful stints at current champions of Europe, Chelsea. When the teams came out of the second box, Ivanovic drew the ball bearing the label "Borussia Dortmund" first. Essien could have then given BVB any of the eight top seeds other than Bayern Munich – including Manchester City, Chelsea, Atlético Madrid and Inter Milan – but he picked the ball from the pot that saw Sporting join BVB in Group C. "We can't complain. We have a decent chance of getting into the last 16 again," explained Hans-Joachim Watzke, setting the target. "Our objective is to qualify from the group," Sebastian Kehl said: "We are looking forward to this group." The first group games will kick off on 14 or 15 September. UEFA has not yet released the schedule and announced that this may take until Saturday.

"It's going to be emotional," said Kehl with a view to the games against Besiktas: "We have a large Turkish fan base in Dortmund. We are also looking forward to going there. There are a few stories to tell. There is also something that connects us with Ajax. And we last met Sporting in 2016, and we were able to get two positive results back then."

Against the club who finally became champions of Portugal this summer for the first time in 19 years – and for the 19th time in total – BVB managed two victories in the group phase in 2016, winning 1-0 and 2-1. Sporting are in the group stage for the ninth time, but have only managed to progress once in 2008/09. Besiktas won the Turkish league for the 16th time, and have made the last 16 once in eight attempts in the group phase of the UEFA Champions League (in 2017/18). In 1989, Borussia Dortmund and Besiktas met in the first round of the European Cup Winners' Cup. BVB won 1-0 and 2-1.

With some 35 titles, Ajax are the most successful Dutch club in history. The list of European successes is also long. They have won the European Cup four times, in addition to the European Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Cup (once each). Only five clubs in history have managed to win all three European cup competitions at least once. BVB would have been the sixth club in 2002 if they had not narrowly lost (2-3) to Feyenoord in the final in Rotterdam.

This will be the 17th time Ajax have played in the group phase of the UEFA Champions League. The two sides have faced off in the Champions League twice to date. In 1995, BVB lost to the defending champions at the time in the quarter-finals. In 2012/13, BVB won 1-0 in Dortmund and 4-1 in Amsterdam, laying the foundations for reaching the knockout stages, which led to the final in Wembley.

"We can't complain about the draw. We will be well prepared," said Marco Reus, adding: "Whether we're favourites or not, our goal is to get through the group."
Boris Rupert