"We're not just going to beat Real Madrid — we're going to beat Barcelona too!"
Shane Carter's bold declaration sent the entire Spanish media into a frenzy.
But this time, no one called him arrogant.
His ability spoke for itself.
His confidence only earned him more respect.
When Matchday 33 ended, both Atlético and Barcelona sat on 86 points.
The La Liga title race would truly go down to the wire — right until Matchday 36 and the direct clash between the two sides.
That would be the real final.
Before that, though, there was another final.
The Champions League semi-finals!
Both Barcelona and Real Madrid would play their second legs at home, but their situations were very different.
Atlético had drawn 1-1 away against Dortmund, giving them a slight advantage.
Barcelona…
had no advantage at all.
A 4-0 first-leg defeat meant they needed a miracle at the Camp Nou.
Of course, the Catalan media refused to accept defeat.
They called on fans to fill the stadium and create hell for the visitors.
"If any team can create a miracle after going 4-0 down, it has to be Barcelona" — Mundo Deportivo
"Barcelona fans, let's unite and turn Camp Nou into hell for Bayern!" — Sport
Under the Catalan media's hype, the atmosphere at the Camp Nou was electric.
Unfortunately, Bayern were simply too strong this season.
They won 3-0 away from home.
Aggregate: 7-0.
A dominant march into the Champions League final!
Now all Bayern had to do was wait for the other semi-final result.
Their opponent would be the winner of Atlético vs Dortmund.
...
May 1. Vicente Calderón, Madrid.
2012-13 UEFA Champions League semi-final, second leg.
Atlético Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund.
This was a true top-level clash for both sides.
Before kick-off, Klopp must have fired up his players.
Dortmund walked out with their heads high, like warriors heading into battle.
Compared to the first leg at the Westfalenstadion, Dortmund had made only one change.
Mario Götze had recovered from injury and returned to the starting lineup.
Großkreutz dropped to the bench.
Kuba stayed on the right, Götze played on the left, and Reus operated as the number 10.
But aside from Kuba, both Götze and Reus were versatile players who could operate wide or centrally, dribble or pass.
Their constant positional swapping would be one of Dortmund's main weapons to break the deadlock.
Götze's return gave Dortmund fans a little more hope.
Even though, when Götze confirmed he would join Bayern at the end of the season, many Dortmund fans had burned his shirt on live streams.
After all, Mario Götze — the crown jewel of Dortmund's academy, their golden boy — had been in talks with Bayern, their biggest rival, before the season had even ended.
For Dortmund fans used to Bayern poaching their stars, it was still a bitter pill.
Because of all the off-field noise around Götze, the pre-match camera actually lingered on him longer than on Shane Carter...
...
Of course Götze knew the situation he was in.
Leaving Dortmund hadn't been an easy decision.
His whole family were Dortmund fans.
His father and grandfather had their regular seats in the Yellow Wall.
His home was less than three kilometers from the Westfalenstadion.
He was Dortmund through and through.
But there was no helping it.
If you want more, you have to move to a bigger club.
Dortmund had been brilliant these past two seasons, but at its core, the club developed stars, sold them, and rebuilt.
A team like that couldn't maintain long-term dominance.
Götze understood this clearly. Shahin, Kagawa — they had already left.
And starting next season, Lewandowski and Hummels would likely follow.
So Götze saw his departure as a career decision, not a question of loyalty.
And before he left…
he naturally wanted to leave something behind for Dortmund.
For example…
the Champions League trophy!
...
After all the pre-match ceremonies, the players took their positions.
This highly anticipated Champions League semi-final second leg was about to begin.
Dortmund kicked off.
Götze stood wide, while Reus and Lewandowski waited in midfield.
English referee Atkinson checked his watch.
When the countdown ended, he blew his whistle.
The match began.
Just like in the first leg, Dortmund used the opening kick-off to launch an immediate attack!
Götze took an early shot, forcing Courtois into a sharp save.
"Götze! Beautiful! Götze's return is a huge boost for Dortmund's attack!"
German commentator Schmitz was thrilled.
Right after that, Dortmund's corner was whipped in.
Subotić rose above Godín and headed toward goal, but Godín's pressure forced it over the bar.
The ball flew out, giving Atlético fans a momentary scare.
"Wow… another dangerous attack! Dortmund have started at incredible intensity! That's one of Klopp's team's biggest strengths!"
Schmitz was ecstatic.
This was exactly the kind of start he wanted to see.
"Dortmund's momentum is there!"
When Atlético regained possession, Dortmund's players came at them like mad dogs.
They swarmed and pressed furiously in midfield and the attacking third.
On the sideline, Klopp gritted his teeth and waved his arms, urging even more intensity.
In Germany, some media had already started calling this approach Klopp's "mad dog style."
Eleven mad dogs baring their teeth at you.
Most teams would be scared.
Klopp knew that.
Now that the aggregate was 1-1 and Atlético held the away-goals advantage, if Dortmund tried to play patiently away from home, they would be finished.
They needed to build momentum.
They needed to use overwhelming pressure to score as quickly as possible.
Take the lead and cancel out Atlético's away goal advantage.
If they did that, the balance of the tie would swing in Dortmund's favor!
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