Roman Weidenfeller recently had an unwanted flashback. The former goalkeeper of Borussia Dortmund had again put on the gloves to play in the Beckenbauer Cup in Munich together with former big ones. He was again confronted with Arjen Robben.
The Dutchman scored the winning goal in the Meidenfeller in the Champions League final at Wembley in 2013. A dozen years later, both long retired, in a friendly game in honor of the life of Franz Beckenbauer, Robben managed to replicate the moment.
“I couldn't believe it,” laughs meadow feller. “It was the same goal. He never knew how he did it in London and now it's the same. But he is a great player and he is still completely fit and in shape. With him and Franck Ribery it was just like the old days of the Klassiker.”
Speaking with Weidenfeller Prior to the latest episode – Bayern -Gastheer Dortmund in the Bundesliga this Saturday, live on Sky Sports – there are fortunately better memories of the fixture to persuade. In 2012 he was a player of the game in Munich. It changed his life.
After seeing him making a series of spectacular saves, Dortmund -Baas Jurgen Klopp described it afterwards as “his game” but more importantly, the reaction of Jupp Heynckes, the Bayern Chief. Weidenfeller, at the time 32, was in one way or another still unapped.
“Jupp Heynckes spoke with the journalists after this game and he said,” If this man is not invited to the national team, I can't imagine what he should save to get a call. ” It was then that Jogi Low called me and said, “Hey, would you like to participate with us?” “
He debuted the debut for Germany against England back in Wembley of all places the following year, and became a World Cup winner in the summer of 2014. Four years later he withdrew from football after 16 seasons in Dortmund, but remains an ambassador.
So when Weidenfeller is critical about the team, it makes the news. That is what happened after the scoreless draw with Sporting in February, which ensured the qualification for the last 16 of the Champions League. Dortmund had already won the first stage with three goals.
For example, captain Emre can then comment that Dortmund had done what was needed to make progress. That may seem like a tame comment after a 3-0 total victory over the Portuguese champions, but it was firing something in the passionate meadow feller.
“I can't believe that our leader, our captain of Borussia Dortmund, would say something like that. I know how players can sometimes feel when they talk after the game. Journalists ask a lot of things and ultimately you ultimately say something small.
“But at the end of the day this is not Borussia Dortmund. These are just like the words you expect to hear from a smaller club. Borussia Dortmund has to play to win. When people go to our stadium, it is a special thing and there is a special atmosphere.
“They have to perform under the lights in the Champions League. We don't have to win every game. If it is possible to win, we win. If it is not possible to win, we will draw. If we have a bad day, we will lose. But we will never go on the field with this mentality.
“It's about mentality, it's character, it's how they work together on the field. It is very important to go on the field and say:” We have to do our job well. “They play for Borussia Dortmund, 81,000 in the stadium.
Few can claim to feel that connection between player and supporter stronger than the protector of the yellow wall, the man who kept the goal for Dortmund more than 450 times. For him there has always been something else about a Dortmund player.
“You saw the photos after our last road game against Freiburg? It was great,” says Weidenfeller. “We have always had this very special spirit. Behind my goal, that yellow wall, 25,000 people in this grandstand, it's just great to have this kind of support.”
Maybe he feels very strong as a keeper. A two-time Bundesliga champion with the club, he would often look after each other next to them. And when Dortmund had to defend, he would feel that thousands are trying to ward off the ball behind him.
“Our fans, they are very close to the team,” he explains. He means it figuratively and literally. “We have contact with the boys, we know the famous fans under the support. It is very special to have this kind of support. The black and yellow is everywhere.
“I am really proud of this, the chance to be at the yellow wall when they sing their songs and support the boys. For me it was a very pleasure. And also, when I had my last game in the Bundesliga to Hoffenheim, they lifted me up and it was great.”
Those scenes during his last matches were special, but the low points were also in their own way. When the bottom of the table under Klopp in 2015, after a defeat from home with the 10 players of Augsburg, Weidenfeller chose to scale up the screens to Converse with the fans.
“If you play for Dortmund, you have to organize your body and your mind. They push you so that you do not run away and hide when you make a mistake. Of course, if you have a bad time, it is sometimes not easy. They make a sound. It is normal.
“If they are upset and we do a bad performance, if we don't put it on the field, they will evoke things, but you have to manage that as a young player. If you are a little older, you can manage it better. But I always feel the support.”
That support remains. But this version of Dortmund looks like a pale imitation of the big sides of the past, even those who reached the Champions League final last season. They are confronted with Bayern, not in a title set -up, but are getting rid of the eighth in the table.
The Champions League had offered some respite, a victory over Lille in the last 16 set up quarterfinals against Barcelona. But the first stage was lost 4-0 on Wednesday evening, further proof of the ups and downs that they have undermined throughout the year.
“We are not consistent enough,” says Weidenfeller. “We had some great matches in the Champions League, but bad games in the Bundesliga. We are 21 points behind Bayern Munich. It's too much, that gorge. We are too far away from Bayern.
“The best thing is that many other teams in the Bundesliga are not doing great, so we were really far away from the Champions League places, but now we are only five points of the top four. Champions League is still possible next season.”
The former teammate Nuri Sahin van Weidenfeller was fired in January, but was replaced by former Bayern coach Niko Kovac. He also knows him well after he played at Dortmund in addition to his brother. There is hope that he can correct the course.
“Niko has a lot of experience in the Bundesliga as a player and a head coach. But he joins trying to help us take the last step to the Champions League, so it's not easy for him. The team is now very complicated, but he manages really well.
“He plays every three days, so it's hard for him to change everything about the team at the moment. But he made steps forward. He was a hard worker on the field and is the same on the touchline and he works on the spirit of the team.”
That Dortmund spirit still embodied by the Roman meadow feller.
View Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund Live on Sky Sports Football this Saturday; kick -off 5.30 pm.
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