The last time a Champions League match was played in front of fans in Dortmund was when Paris St. Germain came to town on 18 February 2020. On that day, 66,099 spectators watched on from the stands as BVB won 2-1. 19 months later, Dortmund once again hosted a game in Europe's elite club competition which fans could attend. A small number of those whose hard work has helped control the pandemic were invited to attend the special game against Sporting Lisbon yesterday: 500 care workers watched BVB's 1-0 win and said thank you for the free tickets with a banner. 

''We're unbelievably happy to have the chance to get away from everyday life, switch off and have a nice evening,'' said Cornelia Raue 60 minutes prior to kick-off. The elderly lady had no reservations about being among the crowd in the stands. "We're wearing masks," she said, adding jokingly at first: "Besides, we've had a beer to disinfect ourselves. No. We are vaccinated and feel pretty safe here."

Cornelia Raue was joined at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK by her daughter. ''We are happy about the free tickets,'' said Svenja Jokschat-Raue. Before the pandemic, she used to go to the stadium ''from time to time.'' ''My husband is a regular on the south stand,'' she said. However, on this Tuesday night the family roles were swapped around: ''Today I get to go to the game, and he has to stay at home with the kids.''

The family also enjoyed watching games during lockdown. ''We might not have been able to go ourselves, but at least we had the chance to watch Borussia on the TV. Tonight I can finally get together with a few colleagues and escape from everyday life.''

Beside the Raues sat Iris Seidel. She works in the Fritz-Heuner home on Stockumer Straße. ''We carers and other support workers are grateful that we received tickets,'' she said. Her last visit to the stadium was 20 years ago: ''It's nice to experience this atmosphere once more and wonderful to get out again.''

Eight rows up, we met Dagmar Ludewig from the Gasthaus homeless centre. ''I'm very pleased that Borussia Dortmund thought of us volunteers,'' she said, going on to add: ''I'm looking forward to a great night of football. Beside hers sits Dr. Ulrike Ullrich. She ran the Dortmund social psychiatric service for almost 30 years: "I haven't been to the stadium for a year-and-a-half now because of the pandemic and I'm really looking forward to the game."

The match ended in a 1-0 win for the Black & Yellows thanks to Donyell Malen's goal. Hopefully the 500 guests from the care sector had a nice evening. This won't be a one-off occasion: ''We are planning to send out more invitations for the DFB-Pokal game against Ingolstadt and a Bundesliga home game,'' says Björn Hegemann, head of the fan affairs department at Borussia Dortmund. For BVB boss Hans-Joachim Watzke, this initiative is a cause close to the heart: "We want to thank those who have done an enormous amount for us as a society in the fight against the Coronavirus." Managing director Carsten Cramer adds: "The true heroes in the fight against Covid deserve all our thanks and our utmost respect." (br)