BVB Buzz
Fansided

Borussia Dortmund: Highs and lows from the dramatic 2012/13 season

By Adam Bakr

(First row, from L) Dortmund's striker Marco Reus, Dortmund's midfielder Mario Goetze, Dortmund's defender Marcel Schmelzer, Dortmund's midfielder Ilkay Guendogan, Dortmund's Polish midfielder Jakub "Kuba" Blaszczykowski, (second row, from L) Dortmund's goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller, Dortmund's Polish defender Lukasz Piszczek, Dortmund's midfielder Sven Bender, Dortmund's Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, Dortmund's Serbian defender Neven Subotic, Dortmund's defender Mats Hummels pose before the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg football match Real Madrid CF vs Borussia Dortmund at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on April 30, 2013. AFP PHOTO / PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU (Photo credit should read PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP via Getty Images)
(First row, from L) Dortmund's striker Marco Reus, Dortmund's midfielder Mario Goetze, Dortmund's defender Marcel Schmelzer, Dortmund's midfielder Ilkay Guendogan, Dortmund's Polish midfielder Jakub "Kuba" Blaszczykowski, (second row, from L) Dortmund's goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller, Dortmund's Polish defender Lukasz Piszczek, Dortmund's midfielder Sven Bender, Dortmund's Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, Dortmund's Serbian defender Neven Subotic, Dortmund's defender Mats Hummels pose before the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg football match Real Madrid CF vs Borussia Dortmund at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on April 30, 2013. AFP PHOTO / PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU (Photo credit should read PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 4
Next
LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 25: Bayern Muenchen players celebrate victory with the trophy after the UEFA Champions League final match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern Muenchen at Wembley Stadium on May 25, 2013 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 25: Bayern Muenchen players celebrate victory with the trophy after the UEFA Champions League final match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern Muenchen at Wembley Stadium on May 25, 2013 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images) /

Low: Bayern’s dominance

The sad truth for the season was that, while Borussia Dortmund were one of the best teams in Europe, they were the clear second best team in Germany. The season started with a 2-1 loss to Bayern in the German Supercup, where Dortmund fell behind 2-0 in the opening 11 minutes.

That was the first of three trips to the Allianz Arena for Dortmund. The second was a 1-1 draw in the league and the third saw the end of Dortmund’s DFB Pokal run, losing 1-0. The sides then had their second 1-1 draw of the league season, this time at the Westfalenstadion. With the Champions League final already set, and Bayern’s league title secured, that match was probably the least relevant of the five fixtures.

Worse than any of the losses to Bayern during the season was the shocking transfer that saw Mario Gotze agree to join Bayern in the summer ahead of Dortmund’s semi final tie with Real Madrid. It was a 37 million euro deal as the Bavarian side triggered his release clause, and Gotze very controversially agreed to the move.

Three weeks later, and the sides met in Wembley for the biggest game of the season. As mentioned previously, Gotze was not able to recover from an injury he picked up in Madrid, and had to watch this one from the stands. It left fans wondering what could have been if he had been fit to play, as the side would go on to lose 2-1 on the cusp of stoppage time.

Next. Bundesliga 2019/20 Team of the Season so far. dark

The final whistle saw Dortmund end their season trophyless, with every piece of silverware possible falling to their rivals instead. After five consecutive wins against Bayern from 2010-2012, it was time for Klopp’s side to experience a winless run in Der Klassiker.

Home/Dortmund All-Time Lists