2023-12-13 18:00:03
View of Signal Iduna Park and its “yellow wall” before the round of 16 first leg of the 2020 Champions League, between Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain, in Dortmund, February 18, 2020. WOLFGANG RATTAY / REUTERS
First there are its proportions: 40 meters high, 100 meters wide, all with an inclination of 37 degrees. Then its colors, which are truly eye-catching. This sparkling yellow, clad in black touches, born from the communion of jerseys, scarves brandished in the air, oversized tifos. Above all, there is its incessant noise. The beats of the bass drums, the screams, the songs, which give it the air of “roaring monster”, says Johnny Rotten, lead singer of the British punk band Sex Pistols. There South standthe south stand of Signal Iduna Park – or Westfalenstadion, as purists prefer to call it –, the stadium of Borussia Dortmund (BVB), is an institution in the world of football.
As in Liverpool, we sing You’ll Never Walk Alone at the top of his lungs before kick-off. “You will never walk alone”, visitors are warned. Wednesday December 13, at 9 p.m., Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) will have to deal with this cumbersome twelfth man when it comes time to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League against BVB. Nothing is lost yet for Luis Enrique’s troops. They can still take first place in Group F if they succeed in the Ruhr. A draw or a defeat, on the other hand, and their future in the tournament would depend on the epilogue of the meeting between Newcastle and AC Milan at the same time.
Since the takeover by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011, the capital club’s journey has never stopped at this stage of the prestigious European competition. Never during this period has he experienced a campaign as laborious as during this 2023-2024 edition: two victories, a draw snatched at the last minute and, above all, two defeats. The rout in the bustling St. James Park of the Magpies in Newcastle (4-1) first, then the disappointment against the Rossoneri (AC Milan), at San Siro (2-1). Speakers with a reputation for vibrating to the rhythm of the football. Not necessarily reassuring while the south stand of Dortmund, the yellow wall – the “yellow wall” – stands in their way.
“The pressure on the opposing team is enormous”
“The only kop [du Signal Iduna Park] represents the equivalent of a town like Dole [Jura] or Vierzon [Cher]. It’s colossal!insists Patrick Guillou, who comments on the Bundesliga, the German championship, on BeIN Sports. Can you imagine having the number of residents of Dole or Vierzon massed behind your back? The pressure on the opposing team is enormous: for the goalkeeper, the defenders, on set pieces, on corners…”
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