Hans-Joachim Watzke on his lucky sweater: I will wear it on Saturday no matter how warm it is

Hans-Joachim Watzke has said that he will wear his lucky sweater on Saturday no matter how warm it is as Borussia Dortmund look to win the Bundesliga title.

Borussia Dortmund will go up against Mainz 05 at the Westfalenstadion on Saturday, looking to make history and win the Bundesliga title. A win over the 05ers would be enough to help the Black and Yellows lift the Meisterschale for the first time in 11 years.

Hans-Joachim Watzke is ready to do his part in BVB’s hopes of winning the Bundesliga title by wearing the same sweater that he has worn in all but one of their matches since the turn of the year.

Watzke wore the sweater for the first time during BVB’s 4-3 win over FC Augsburg in January. The Borussia Dortmund CEO then decided to keep wearing the same sweater for every game until they suffered defeat in the Bundesliga.

"“We played against Augsburg in the first half of the season, it was cold, I wore this sweater and then we had that spectacular 4-3 game,” Watzke said in an interview with Sky Sport. “Then I told myself: ‘I’m going to keep this on until we lose our first game in the Bundesliga'”"

Borussia Dortmund have tasted just one defeat in the Bundesliga in 2023, against Bayern Munich in April. Watzke missed that game due to illness.

"“Since then, we haven’t lost any games – except for the Bayern game, which I wasn’t at. By now it’s a running gag. Everyone tells me: ‘Please wear the sweater!’ It was tough in Augsburg, but I wore it and I will do the same on Saturday against Mainz, no matter how warm it is.”"

Hans-Joachim Watzke has also said that nobody could have predicted Borussia Dortmund would turn things around like this after their dismal first half of the season.

"“We were on 25 points at Christmas and now we’ve got 70. After six to eight weeks, I already had the feeling that we’d come close again, but nobody could have predicted it would go like this.”"

Edin Terzic’s side were nine points behind Bayern Munich going into the winter break. But they have enjoyed a stunning turnaround since the turn of the year, and now go into the final day of the season with a two point lead at the top of the standings.