Borussia Dortmund dream of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League semifinals for the first time in eleven years. The last time they achieved this came in the 2012/13 season thanks to Felipe Santana, who scored a dramatic goal in the quarterfinal rematch against Malaga.
“It was our increase in confidence during that process and a miracle against Malaga that really allowed us to believe that yes, we could reach the final. That miracle had an extremely gigantic significance for our team,” said the defender in an interview for Globo Esporte, recalling the feat that saw the German club reach the tournament decider at Wembley, where they lost 2-1 against Bayern Munich.
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After a goalless draw in the first leg in Spain, the rematch started uphill for Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park. The visitors took the lead and, although Robert Lewandowski equalized for Dortmund, the away goal rule favored Manuel Pellegrini’s side.
It wasn’t until stoppage time that the winnin goals arrived for Jürgen Klopp’s team: Marco Reus (90+1′) and Santana (90+3′) completed the comeback and helped make the next round.
#OnThisDay 2️⃣0️⃣1️⃣3️⃣
"TOR, TOR, TOR, TOR, TOR, TOR, TOR, TOOOOOOR, TOOOOOOOOR, TOOOOOOOR!"
Felipe #Santana und sein unvergessener Treffer zum 3:2 in der @ChampionsLeague gegen den @MalagaCF! pic.twitter.com/xDwRWXNP11
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) April 9, 2019
“In the second goal, I kick the ball, it hits the guy right on the line, and I say, ‘Not again.’ The ball comes back to my foot. I say it was the most difficult goal of my life. Putting my foot on that ball there with subtlety just to push it, but at that moment, the leg weighed two tons,” Santana said.
Eleven years later, Dortmund hope to pull off another “miracle” to be among the top four in Europe. After losing 2-1 to Atlético Madrid in the Spanish capital, the Bundesliga giants will be looking to turn the series around in Germany.
Borussia Dortmund’s recent Champions League campaigns:
- 2022/2023 Round of 16 (eliminated by Chelsea)
- 2021/2022 Group stage
- 2020/2021 Quarterfinals (eliminated by Manchester City)
- 2019/2020 Round of 16 (eliminated by PSG)
- 2018/2019 Round of 16 (eliminated by Tottenham)
- 2017/2018 Group stage
- 2016/2017 Quarterfinals (eliminated by Monaco)
- 2014/2015 Round of 16 (eliminated by Juventus)
- 2013/2014 Quarterfinals (eliminated by Real Madrid)
- 2012/2013 Final (runner-up against Bayern)
Dramatic goals by Brazilians in the Champions League
In addition to Santana, other Brazilians who scored dramatic goals in the Champions League in recent years were Lucas Moura for Tottenham against Ajax in 2019 and Rodrygo for Real Madrid against Manchester City in 2022.
“That’s very characteristic of us. You can see that these goals that happen at the end are always with Brazilians. Lucas, Rodrygo, me… I think it’s part of us, of our nature. We who come from below, we already know that it’s difficult to reach the top and to maintain the level up there, we have to have some extra fuel, some extra motivation,” said the former Dortmund player.
