JC: So we are here 2 minutes before the big kick-off at the San Siro, Real Madrid, one of the favourites play Borussia Dortmund who are an unexpected finalist here. We have Clive Tyldesley to describe their route to the final.
CT: Yes, we'll start with Madrid, so the group they were put in, the only real challenge were PSG the others were Hungarian side Videoton and Ukrainian giants Shakhtar, the favourites Madrid came top, PSG second. In the 1st knockout round they drew 1-1 in the first leg but won 3-1 in the second leg which saw them through to group stage rivals PSG, unexpectedly, PSG won 1-0 away but Madrid's pride saw them win 3-0 at Parc des Princes and then the draw pitted Madrid against English giants Manchester United which the breezed through 5-2 on aggregate, which makes them here today.
JC: And Dortmund?
CT: Well, the group stage they were against was a fairly tough one with Sevilla, Croatians, Dinamo and Manchester United. Dortmund got off to a poor start against Dinamo, losing 2-1 away then bounced back with a 3-0 win against Sevilla. Then doubts that Dortmund weren't going to get through rose after two 2-0 losses to Manchester United but Dortmund got back on form after a tough 2 games to win 3-1 against Dinamo. Then pressure was all on Dortmund as they had to get a win against 2nd place Sevilla anything else and Sevilla and Man United went through, and a 3rd minute goal from Neymar was enough to see Dortmund through. In the last 16, BVB were drawn against Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon, in the 1st leg Dortmund just edged it 1-0 and got through on away goals after losing 3-2. The quarter final saw Dortmund drawn with their German title rivals FC Bayern Munich and surprisingly breezed through 3-1 in the 1st leg and 2-1 in the 2nd, like Madrid, Dortmund were against a Manchester team, Man City and surprisingly won 2-1 at the Etihad in the 1st leg and drew 0-0 with a defensive performance.
JC: Thank you Clive, now the teams are ready the referee is ready to blow his whistle... And we're off!
04 mins: Luis Suarez has had the first proper chance of the game, caught by ter Stegen.
05 mins: Casillas walks out with the ball... Hoofs it long... Hummels is going to head this one awa.... Oh no he's missed it! Luis Suarez has gone around the ter Stegen! It's in! An early goal from the Uruguayan after a mistake from former Madrid centre back Mats Hummels! 1-0 Madrid!
13 mins: Kurt Zouma boots it forward... El Shaarawy chases, Marcelo heads it back to Casillas... Oh dear! Casillas has missed it! it's going to trickle into the net!!! Shocking goalkeeping from Casillas! Own goal Marcelo! 1-1!
30 mins: Nuri Sahin gets it in from the corner, Hummels heads it! It's in isn't it?! No, it's off the bar! But Zouma is at the far post, surely! No, another corner! Unlucky from Dortmund!
38 mins: Sahin gets in another corner, beautiful cross, Hummels heads it! Hits the bar! Zouma!!! Hits the post! It comes to El Shaarawy!!! IT'S IN!!! EL SHAARAWY!!! 2-1 DORTMUND!
45+1 mins: Lukaku gives it to Bender, Bender to Belfodil, Belfodil tackled, it's gone into the stride of El Shaarawy! 1 on 1! Saved!
50 mins: Nkoulou tackles Modric, it's gone to Khedira, surely! The equaliser for Madrid through an unlikely source! SAMI KHEDIRA! 2-2!
54 mins: Zouma tackles Gotze it's gone to Suarez, back to Gotze, Modric now, back to Gotze! 3-2 MADRID! FORMER DORTMUND MAN GOTZE HAS SCORED!
85 mins: Last few minutes here, Dortmund trailing 3-2 to Real Madrid, here's Montoya, plays it back to Zouma, gives it to Nkoulou who's pushed forward... Nkoulou still going... Nkoulou shoots! Saved! Great effort from the Cameroonian centre back! Corner now... Sahin with yet another excellent cross, Hummels, it's on target! Saved! It's bounced off El Shaarawy's head for a goal kick, you can't blame El Shaarawy there, it's too unexpected.
86 mins: El Shaarawy, Montoya, back to El Shaarawy, El Shaarawy whips in a beautiful floating cross to Lukaku, heads it! Hits the bar! Away from Ramos! So unlucky for Lukaku and Dortmund, time is really running out... can they do it?
89 mins: Neymar drills a cross in... Away by Ramos, Ronaldo heads it straight back to Dortmund, Sahin here, Neymar... Drills a ball in, this looks promising... Lukaku controls it on his chest, AND VOLLEYS IT IN!!! A LATE, LATE EQUALISER FOR DORTMUND!!! THIS IS GOING TO EXTRA-TIME SURELY!
90+1 mins: ter Stegen plays it short to Nkoulou, maybe one last chance for Dortmund? Now it's with Neymar, he gets down the left-wing... Neymar cuts inside... Neymar getting closer and closer... He's inside the box... NEYMARRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!! THE NEW PELE HAS WON THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FOR BORUSSIA DORTMUND!!! A CURLER INTO THE BOTTOM CORNER!!! NICOLAS NKOULOU JUMPS INTO THE DORTMUND CROWD! YOU CAN SEE HOW MUCH IT MEANS TO HIM!!!
90+4 mins: Gotze gets down the left-wing... Gets a low cross in... ter Stegen holds!!! That's surely it now! It is! Dortmund are Champions of Europe! John Barnes runs onto the field with his colleagues chanting with the Dortmund fans! What a sight, it's beautiful!
End of Season
Okay we lost the league but we won the German Cup! (I hid the Madrid score so you can read the commentary)
After coming off the back of a superb 5-0 win against Borussia Monchengladbach, John Barnes has retired from football management due to personal reasons. Some BVB fans say he is up there with Jurgen Klopp who brought the club out of the financial state the club was in and made them into a European superforce over 4 years. It was Klopp's sacking that led to Barnes' appointment. Barnes was first appointed by Everton in 2012 when David Moyes left his 11 year reign at the club. His appointment led to disappointment and many fans were disgusted with then-chairman Bill Kenwright's decision and Barnes got some decent results and then came his big break. Dortmund were 9th in the Bundesliga with 22 games played and needed a hero to get them into the Champions League spots, sure enough Klopp got the axe and Barnes applied for the job. Many were unsure but it turned out to be one of Dortmund's greatest decisions of all-time. By the end of the 2012-13 season Barnes had turned it around in 12 games and edged it into 4th spot and qualified for the Champions League. Although Der BVB didn't get very far in the Champions League, they won the Bundesliga title that season. 2015 was Barnes' best year, winning 5 trophies altogether, the German Super Cup (which he also won in 2014), the German Cup, the European Super Cup, the Club World Cup Championship and most notably, Dortmund's first ever Champions League title with a very entertaining 4-3 win over Real Madrid with the last 2 goals coming in the last 5 minutes from Romelu Lukaku and Neymar.
Current Champions League holders Borussia Dortmund has announced former midfielder and icon Sebastian Kehl as the man to take over from Jamaican/English manager John Barnes following the news of his retirement. There has been mixed response from the Dortmund faithful some saying his pride and passion for the club will rub off on the players and play well but others think his lack of managerial experience will effect his tactics and morale of the players. Kehl left the Champions League holders in 2013 after his contract ran out and then spent his last 3 years of his playing career at 2.Bundesliga side VfL Bochum making 48 appearances in the 3 years he spent there. "I am very excited at the prospect of managing the club I will always love which will be a big factor in the way I go about my job." said Kehl. Kehl had spent 12 years at Dortmund during his playing career making over 320 appearances for Der BVB.