Worthy champions

To fully appreciate Dortmund's triumph, which culminated in Saturday's title-clinching two-nil win against Nuremberg, you need to understand at least one word of German: Geil.

The German equivalent of "cool," the word originally had sexual connotations, and dictionaries still suggest as possible translations the terms "horny," "lewd," "salacious" and, most amusingly, "ruttish."

The mental processes that led a nation of poets and thinkers to associate these two meanings are a mystery even to students of the German language. But geil, together with the comparative and superlative forms geiler and am geilsten, became the watchwords of Dortmund's title drive.

Winger Kevin Grosskreutz, the heart and soul of the squad, used the terms roughly three times a sentence in his post-title interviews, and coach Jürgen Klopp was hardly sparing in the employment of them either. In the end, the euphoria was contagious - even among the competition.

"I think Kloppo is geil," Stuttgart's coach Bruno Labbadia said, paying tribute to his colleague. "Dortmund is an absolutely deserved champion who played breathtaking football."

Indeed, the sight of Klopp's charges attacking full-bore, week after week, right from the word go was vaguely reminiscent of a bellowing stag driven by some undeniable mating instinct. The remarkable thing was that the id-powered intensity did not come with the loss of tactical and emotional control.

The first and last time Dortmund conceded two goals was the first game of the season. In 32 matches since, they have picked up only a single red card, and their defense is on course to set the German record for the least goals conceded in a season.

Those superlative statistics beg the question: Just how good are Dortmund in comparison to past German champions and Europe's current elite teams?

Adversity? What adversity?

As fantastic or, to stick with the lingo, geil as Dortmund’s season has been, their record could actually have been much better if not for bad luck.

Borussia are a particularly profligate champion, ranking fourth-worst in the league in chances converted to chances created. That's partly because they hit the woodwork a league-leading twenty times this season, and partly because opposing goalkeepers (Schalke's Manuel Neuer and Cologne's Michael Rensing stand out particularly as examples) rose to the occasion against them.

Although largely spared too many major injuries, the squad did suffer losses to ley players during the course of the season. Stand-out midfielder Shinji Kagawa broke his foot during the winter, the team's rudder Nuri Sahin went down in round 30 with a knee injury, and top striker Lucas Barrios hobbled down the home stretch with various dings and dongs.

Throughout it all, though, Dortmund persisted. Most notably, teenager and rising star Mario Götze stepped up admirably to plug the hole left by Kagawa’s absence.

The only game in which Borussia was outplayed over ninety minutes was their opening-day two-nil loss to Leverkusen. So one could legitimately argue that they should have far more than a 'mere' 72 points after 32 rounds. Indeed, had everything gone Dortmund's way, they could have cracked the 80, perhaps even the 90-point mark this season.

Dortmund's fans probably don't care, with a title in the bag and a Champions League campaign on the horizon.

And, in comparison to Europe's footballing aristocracy, one thing can be said about this Dortmund team: They're more fun to watch.

A good time, all the time

Fans of Manchester United like to beat their chests about their team’s uncanny knack for injury-time winners, and Barcelona supporters delight in their club’s ability to pass the ball around in tiny midfield triangles for hours on end. But we here at Deutsche Welle are going on the record - Dortmund were Europe's most entertaining team this season.

Borussia don’t hog the ball or sit back and wait for opponents to tire. What they do is push forward at every conceivable opportunity.

As far as we know, there are no statistics kept about match time consumed by lateral passes, but if there were, Dortmund would almost certainly be near the bottom of the list. Borussia's game plan consists of pressing and advancing the ball as soon as it has been won.

They don’t just specialize in short passes. Under Klopp, Dortmund are not at all averse to the speculative long ball into the box, just see whether it might unleash a bit of chaos in front of the opponents' goal.

Elite European teams like Man United or Barca are clinical. This year's Dortmund side, the youngest ever in team history, is anything but. They make mistakes, simple ones even, but they always play with a youthful enthusiasm for the things that make football exciting to watch.

When asked about his goal in life, Viv Savage - the keyboardist for the legendary, if fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap - responded: "To have a good time, all the time." That's a pretty good description of what Jürgen Klopp and his charges did over the past nine months.

Will the youthful élan carry over to next season and allow Dortmund’s band of prodigious upstarts to surprise a Rooney, Ronaldo or Messi? A healthy sense of realism says probably not.

But as those who followed the Bundesliga this year know, it’s going to be really, really geil watching them try.

Author: Jefferson Chase
Editor: Rob Turner