BVB mark their European anniversary in Copenhagen | OneFootball

As early as 1956, Borussia Dortmund played its first match in the European Cup of Champions. 199 more would follow in this and its successor, the Champions League. Thus, the 4:2 victory over FC Copenhagen was BVB's 200th match in the most prestigious club competition in European football, which they famously won in 1997.

After BVB became German champions in 1956, they were also qualified for the European Cup of Champions for the first time. The first match was part of the playoffs before the main round, held on August 1, 1956, at the Rote Erde Stadium. The opponent was Spora Luxembourg, which was defeated 4:3. However, they lost the return match 1:2, leading to a deciding match that BVB won 7:0. Subsequently, they faced Manchester United in the first round, where their journey ended. The 2:3 away was followed by a 0:0 at home, making Borussia Dortmund's first chapter in the European Cup a short one.

But the start was made, and to date, 195 more matches in the European Cup or the Champions League have followed. In the former, there were 18 matches after becoming champions again in 1957 and 1963. By the next championships in 1995 and 1996, the Champions League had already been established, so all further participations took place in this successor competition.

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200 times there, once at the top

The debut in the Champions League took place on September 13, 1995, against Juventus Turin, as already extensively covered here. As the second in the group stage, BVB qualified for the quarter-finals, where their journey ended against Ajax Amsterdam.

A year later, the great triumph with the victory in the 1997 final against that same Juventus Turin. To this day, the only title in this most important club competition in Europe. At least two more final appearances followed in 2013 and 2024, where they fell short each time.

In total, there have now been 200 matches in the "Champions League," of which Borussia Dortmund won 97, drew 39 times, and lost 64. The jubilee in Copenhagen was successful, which gives hope for the next 200 matches in this competition.

However, with these 200 completed games, they are far from the German record holder FC Bayern Munich, which has played more than twice as many matches. The Munich team has already been in action 411 times in the European Cup or Champions League, even though they only made their debut in 1972.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.