Inside Barça’s Champions League opponents, Part I: Borussia Dortmund

FC Barcelona are in Group F — arguably the toughest in the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League group stage — along with Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, and Slavia Prague. First up for Barça is the German outfit, a historically distinguished club which is a perrennial participant in Europe’s top competition.

CLUB HISTORY

• Founded: 19 December 1909
• 5x Bundesliga winners: 1994-95, 1995-96, 2001-02, 2010-11, 2011-12
• 6x German Super Cup winners: 1989, 1995, 1996, 2013, 2014, 2019
• Notable current and/or former players: Weindenfeller, Hummels, Götze, Gundogan, Reus, Lewandowski, Aubameyang.

EUROPEAN SUCCESS

• 1x UEFA Champions League winners: 1996-97
• UEFA Champions League runners-up: 2012-13
• 1x UEFA Cup Winners' Cup winners: 1965–66
• UEFA Cup runners-up: 1992–93, 2001–02
• UEFA Super Cup runners-up: 1997
• UEFA club coefficient ranking: 13*

*As of September 4, 2019

CURRENT SEASON

German Super Cup

• Date: August 3, 2019
• Score: Borussia Dortmund 2 – 0 Bayern Munich
• Goals: Alcácer 48’, Sancho 69’

Bundesliga

• Matchday 1: Borussia Dortmund 5 –1 Augsberg
• Matchday 2: FC Köln 1 – 3 Borussia Dortmund
• Matchday 3: Union Berlin 3 – 1 Borussia Dortmund
• Matchday 4: Borussia Dortmund 4 – 0 Bayer Leverkusen
• Current position - 2 nd 

*Updated 15 September, 2019

PLAYERS TO WATCH

• Marco Reus (captain), FW
• Paco Alcácer, FW
• Jordan Sancho, MF
• Mario Götze, MF
• Mats Hummels, DF

KEY TRANSFERS

In

• Hummels (Defender, from Bayern Munich)
• Julian Brandt (Midfielder, from Bayer Leverkusen)
• Thorgan Hazard (Forward, from Borussia Mönchengladbach)

Out

• Christian Pulisic (Midfielder, to Chelsea)

MANAGER

• Lucien Favre
• Notable experience: Zürich (2003–2007), Hertha BSC (2007–2009 ), Borussia Mönchengladbach (2011–2015), Nice (2016–2018)
• System: 4-2-3-1

BORUSSIA VERSUS BARÇA

• Two matches
• 1997 UEFA Super Cup
• First leg: Barça 2 – 0 Borussia Dortmund (Goals: Luis Enrique, Rivaldo)
• Second leg: Borussia Dortmund 1 – 1 Barça (Goals: Giovanni Silva, Jörg Heinrich)
  
  

STADIUM

• Signal Iduna Park
• Opened: April 2, 1974 (then called Westfalenstadion)
• Capacity: 81,360 (biggest in Germany, fifth largest in Europe)