Among the most famous atmospheres created for home football matches anywhere in the world is generated for Borussia Dortmund at their home, Signal Iduna Park.
The venus is known as this due to sponsorship. However, it is better known to many as the Westfalenstadion. It sits just two miles from the centre of Dortmund to boot. Its initial name comes from the fact that it is situated in North Rhine-Westphalia or the former province of Westphalia.
Brief History of Signal Iduna Park
With a new stadium needed, plans for what this ground became were initially drawn up in the 1960s. It had become clear the former ground the Stadion Rote Erde was too small to house the number of fans eager to see this side.
Eventually, in 1971, Dortmund was chosen to host games at the 1974 World Cup. Thus, the project was finally given the go-ahead. The Westfalenstadion eventually opened in April ’74. In time for the finals during which it hosted four games, three of them featuring The Netherlands.
It has been modernised plenty since then. Signal Iduna Park is now one of the most iconic stadiums in world football.
Stats
- Capacity: 81,365 for domestic games, reduced to 65,829 for any international matches
- Record Attendance: 83,000
- Pitch: A standard 105 metres x 68 metres
- Stands: As with many German stadiums, Signal Iduna Park is simply split into Nord, Sud, Ost and West stands along with the four ‘curves’ linking the whole seating area together. The South Stand, or Sud, is known as the “Yellow Wall”, a single-tiered stand housing up to 25,000 standing fans.
Classic Matches
Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Manchester United
During what was a great season for Borussia in 1996-97 the club went on a great Champions League journey, reaching the semi-final and playing in front of a capacity 48,500 crowd against a very strong Man United side.
With the place bounding, Borussia eventually took a late lead through Rene Tretschok to send the crowd into raptures. The team also won the second leg at Old Trafford and went on to claim glory in the final in Munich too, winning 3-1 against Juventus.
Borussia Dortmund 4-1 Hannover 96
In a title-winning year for Dortmund in 2010-11, the club had lost at home to Leverkusen on an opening day and they would go on to become their closest challengers. The rest of their home form, however, was imperious, never losing another match here, with the performance highlight being this game.
A good Hannover side, who eventually finished fourth, came to town expecting plenty but were summarily dismissed by Borussia. Mario Gotze, Lucas Barrios (2) and Kevin Grosskreutz were all on target.
Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Bayern Munich
In April 2012, Dortmund was still challenging Bayern for the Bundesliga title when they welcomed their great rivals to this ground.
A tense affair was played out in front of 80,000 people. They reached a crescendo when future Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski netted with 13 minutes remaining. The club went on to land the title a few weeks later.
Borussia Dortmund 4-1 Real Madrid
In April 2013, Dortmund and Bayern Munich played Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively in the Champions League semi-finals. The Spanish sides favourite for both encounters.
After Bayern destroyed Barcelona 4-0 on a Tuesday evening, it came down the next day to Borussia to match the performance. They did it justice with an amazing 4-1 win against the Galacticos. A stunning four-goal salvo from Robert Lewandowski put paid to Real’s campaign. Though Borussia went on to lose the final at Wembley.
Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Bayern Munich
Although not able to beat their great rivals to the title, Borussia managed to avenge one or two heavy away defeats with a fine win at Signal Iduna Park against Bayern Munich in November 2018.
Despite two goals from former Borussia star Robert Lewandowski, the home side claimed a deserved victory. Two goals from Marco Reus and one from Paco Alcacer gave them the win.
Borussia Dortmund 4-0 Schalke 04
Everyone loves a derby win, so Borussia’s 4-0 success in the Revierderby against Schalke in May 2020 was a little special. Erling Haland and Thorgan Hazard were in particularly brilliant form grabbing a goal and an assist each, while Raphael Guerreiro also grabbed a brace to put the polish on what was a very good display from the home side.
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