Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund discuss the “last” Champions League | International football

Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund will decide, tonight (8 p.m., TVI), at Wembley Stadium in London, who will succeed Manchester City as European champions, in the final UEFA final similar to what we have known since 1991-92, before the World Cup. The 36-club model came into effect.

In terms of betting, the favoritism of the Spanish team is clear and unambiguous, as it appears for the 18th time in the final, wanting to achieve 15 victories in the competition. Eloquent numbers, especially since the second most successful club in the Champions League is Milan, with seven European Cups.

There's nothing stopping the Germans from fighting for their second title in the club's third Millionaire's League final, 11 years after their loss at Wembley to Bayern Munich.

However, there is an emotional challenge facing Edin Terzic's Borussia, who a year ago, on final day, handed over the 'salad bowl' of the Bundesliga to Bayern Munich in a match that could very well resemble tonight's final, with a draw against Mainz when they had everything to become. German heroes.

This time, Borussia reach the final only occupying fifth place in the Bundesliga (the place that guarantees access to the new Champions League), but with an impressive record at international level, having won Group F (from Paris Saint-Germain, Milan and Newcastle) and After eliminating PSV Eindhoven, Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, he has only lost once in his last 11 Champions League matches… specifically in Madrid.

Paying attention to the Germans' progress, Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid know that the second least leaky defense in the group stage awaits them, along with Arsenal, the decisive side against Paris Saint-Germain, in the semi-finals. Especially since the slightest attacking enthusiasm can always be overcome in the final, which is decided by a penalty shootout.

In any case, both Borussia and Real Madrid are making the case for an exciting spectacle, which will have an additional impact on the nomination of players such as Britain's Jude Bellingham (playing at home) and Vinicius Junior in the race for the Ballon d'Or. .

Moreover, in addition to the aura of champions, Real Madrid presents itself, for the first time, in London, as an invincible finalist, achieving eight wins and four draws in the season that began in Germany, in Berlin, with seven successive wins, before a series of draws in which they overcame RB Leipzig, Manchester City and Bayern Munich.

A campaign with a strong German accent that Ancelotti (the Italian with a German mentality) appears to be mastering in order to win a fifth Champions League, even without Tchouamini, with Lunin suffering from the flu and Courtois in goal.

Cross closes the session

With five Champions League titles under his belt (the same number won by Barcelona), German midfielder Toni Kroos is preparing to close out the tournament in perfect form: Wembley and Borussia Dortmund were in Kroos' first Champions League, won with Bayern Munich.

Happy coincidence? The difference is that Kroos this time will not miss the final match. In 2013, Jupp Heynckes lost to the young Toni Kroos in the 13th minute of the first leg of the Millionaires League quarter-finals, against Juventus.

A serious injury kept him out of the final and the entire competition for seven and a half months. Now, a decade later, with a brilliant career and an endless collection of trophies, Kroos can say a final farewell to Real Madrid – he will be in the European Championship, after accepting Julian Nagelsmann's request to return to represent the national team – with the highest number of goals. A desirable achievement and raising the level to a level that only Merengue Dani Carvajal, Nacho Fernandez and Luka Modric can aspire to reach.

At the back could be Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, Marcelo, Casemiro and Isco, all with five 'ears'. Interestingly, there are two other Germans who will “meet” Kroos at Wembley: Marco Reus, who will also end his career, and Mats Hummels, one of the biggest absentees for Euro 2024.