Early years
The club was founded on 19 December 1909 by a group of young men unhappy with church-sponsored Trinity Youth, where they played football under the stern and unsympathetic eye of the local parish priest. Father Dewald was blocked at the door when he tried to break up the organizing meeting being held in a room of the local pub, Zum Wildschütz. The name Borussia is Latin for Prussia but was taken from the Borussia beer from the nearby Borussia brewery in Dortmund. The team began playing in blue and white striped shirts with a red sash, and black shorts. In 1913, they donned the black and yellow stripes so familiar today.
Over the next decades the club enjoyed only modest success playing in local leagues. They had a brush with bankruptcy in 1929 when an attempt to boost the club's fortunes by signing some paid professional footballers failed miserably and left the team deep in debt. They survived only through the generosity of a local supporter who covered the team's shortfall out of his own pocket.
World War II and the postwarThe 1930s saw the rise of the Third Reich which restructured sports and football organizations throughout the nation to suit the regime's goals. Borussia's president was replaced when he refused to join the Nazi Party, and a couple of members who surreptitiously used the club's offices to produce anti-Nazi pamphlets were executed in the last days of the war.
Borussia has won 3 national championships in 1956, 1957 and 1963 before the Bundesliga started. In 1965, Dortmund captured its first German Cup. Next year Dortmund won the European Cup Winners Cup 2–1 against Liverpool. The 70s were characterized by financial problems and relegation from the Bundesliga in 1972. The club earned its return to Bundesliga in 1976, but continued to suffer from financial problems through the 80s. Dortmund did not enjoy any significant success again until a 4–1 German Cup win in 1989 against Werder Bremen.
Golden age – the 1990sAfter a tenth place finish in the Bundesliga in 1991, manager Horst Köppel was let go and manager Ottmar Hitzfeld was hired. In 1992, Hitzfeld led Borussia Dortmund to a second place finish in the Bundesliga and could have won the Bundesliga had VfB Stuttgart not won their last game to win the Bundesliga instead.
Along with a fourth place finish in the Bundesliga, Dortmund in 1993 made it to the UEFA Cup final, which they lost 1–6 on aggregate to Juventus. In spite of this result, Borussia walked away with DM25 million under the prize money pool system in place at the time for German sides participating in the Cup. Cash flush, Dortmund was able to sign players who later brought them numerous honours later in the 1990s.
Dortmund won Bundesliga championships in 1995 and 1996 – with Matthias Sammer from the '96 side being named European Footballer of the Year and in 1997 Champions League Final in Munich, they beat a Zinedine Zidan-led Juventus 3-1 to claim the ultimate prize in European club football. They went on to beat Brazilian club Cruzeiro 2–0 in the 1997 Intercontinental Cup Final.
21st century and Borussia "goes public"
At the turn of the millennium, Borussia Dortmund became the first—and so far the only—publicly traded club on the German stock market. Two years later they won their third Bundesliga title. The club had a remarkable run at the end of the season to overtake Bayer Leverkusen, securing the title on the final day. In the same season, Borussia lost the final of the 2002 UEFA Cup to Dutch side Feyenoord.
Dortmund's fortunes then steadily declined for a number of years. Poor financial management led to a heavy debt load and the sale of their Westfalenstadion ground. The situation was compounded by failure to advance in the 2003 Champions League when the team was eliminated on penalties in the qualifying rounds by Club Brugge. Borussia was again driven to the brink of bankruptcy in 2005, the original €11 value of its shares having plummeted by over 80% on the Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse (Frankfurt Stock Exchange). The response to the crisis included a 20% pay cut to all players.
Dortmund suffered a miserable start to the 2005–06 season, but rallied to finish seventh. The sales of David Odonkor to Real Betis and Tomáš Rosický to Arsenal finally helped the club to report a profit that season.In the 2006–07 season, Dortmund unexpectedly faced serious relegation trouble for the first time in years. Dortmund went through three coaches and appointed Thomas Doll on 13 March 2007 after dropping to just one point above the relegation zone. Christoph Metzelder also left Borussia Dortmund on a free transfer.
In the 2007–08 season, Dortmund lost to many of the smaller clubs in the Bundesliga. That season was one of the worst in 20 years. Nevertheless, Dortmund reached the German Cup Final against Bayern Munich where they lost 2–1 in extra time. Thomas Doll resigned on 19 May 2008 and was replaced by Jürgen Klopp.
Return to prominenceIn the 2009–10 season, Dortmund qualified for the UEFA Europa League and finished fifth in the Bundesliga. Under the tutelage of Jurgen Klopp the team was starting to develop a new identity and style of play that brought big success next season.
They have equalled seven national titles held by rivals Schalke 04 by winning the title in the 2010–11 season with two games to spare. Next year, Dortmund made a successful defense of its Bundesliga title. By the final matchday, Dortmund set a new record with the most points (81) ever gained by a club in one Bundesliga season. The club's eighth championship places it third in total national titles and players will now wear two stars over their uniform crest in recognition of the team's five Bundesliga titles. The club capped its successful 2011-12 season by winning the double for the first time by beating Bayern Munich 5-2 in the final of the DFB-Pokal.
Stadium
The team plays at Westfalenstadion, named after its home region of Westphalia and opened in 1974. To reduce debts, the stadium was renamed "Signal Iduna Park", after a local insurance company, in 2006 under a sponsorship agreement that runs until 2016. The stadium is currently the largest football stadium in Germany with a capacity of 80,720 spectators, and hosted several matches in the 2006 World Cup, including a semi-final. Borussia Dortmund enjoys the highest average attendance of any football club in Europe, at 80,478 per match (2010–11). However, the ticket prices are some of the lowest in Western Europe (€15 on average for the fans' stand).
Honours tally
8 National Championships (5 Bundesliga titles)
3 National Cups
4 Supercups
1 Champions League Cup
1 Cup Winners Cup
1 Intercontinental Cup
