Eleven years later, Hummels and Reus hope to make things right at Wembley

Eleven years after a heartbreaking Champions League final defeat to arch-rivals Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund veterans Mats Hummels and Marco Reus return to Wembley on Saturday to set things right.

This time, 14-time winners Real Madrid, who eliminated Bayern in a last-gasp semi-final, are in the way.

Hummels, 35, and Reus, 34, face an uncertain future ahead of what will probably be their last Champions League final.

Reus has already announced that Saturday’s game will be his last for Dortmund.

Hummels, whose contract expires in the summer, said he was “excited to see what Saturday’s game brings out in me and then I will make a decision in June.”

Achieving a Champions League win, their first, would be a fitting send-off for two of modern Dortmund’s greats.

Managed by Jurgen Klopp, Dortmund entered 2012-13 having won back-to-back titles, including a league and cup double in 2011-12.

They arrived at Wembley with a young, exciting squad, seemingly on their way to further success.

Hummels, a modern defender who combined attacking flair with playing acumen, established himself at the heart of the German defense.

Reus, a Dortmund junior who debuted for the club in 2012-13 after a spell at Borussia Moenchengladbach, looked to be the country’s next big attacking talent, having just been named Germany’s Footballer of the Year.

This defeat to Bayern would instead be the beginning of the end of Dortmund’s period in the sun.

Klopp left the club in 2015, joining Liverpool five months later, where he played in three Champions League finals, winning one, both defeats against Real Madrid.

Hummels returned to Bayern, where he came through the junior system, in search of Champions League glory.

The search for the defender, however, was unsuccessful.

With doubts over his age and health, Hummels returned to Dortmund three years later – and Bayern won the Champions League the following season.

Five years after returning to Dortmund, Hummels is in the midst of a career renaissance, named Man of the Match in both semi-finals after keeping Paris Saint-Germain and star Kylian Mbappe scoreless.

– ‘Perfect way to come full circle’ –

On Tuesday, Hummels said he was “disappointed” to have been left out of Germany’s Euro 2024 squad but had the chance to miss out on it in London.

“If I have the trophy in my hands, I will give my career an A,” said Hummels, saying the disappointment would be “shelved.”

Reus – who missed out on World Cup glory alongside Hummels in 2014 due to injury – has remained at Dortmund since the 2013 final despite offers from Germany and elsewhere as Bayern won the 11 subsequent Bundesliga titles.

While Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen broke Bayern’s streak this season, Reus leaves Dortmund without ever having won the league.

It came agonizingly close last season, when a final-day 2-2 draw with Mainz saw Bayern lift the shield again, but a victory on Saturday would erase any remaining disappointment.

In addition to Hummels and Reus, captain Emre Can suffered defeat for Real in the 2018 final with Klopp’s Liverpool, while Niklas Suele won in 2020 as Bayern beat PSG.

Can revealed that he contacted Klopp, who told him to sort things out on Saturday.

“He texted me after the (semi-final) in Paris and just said ‘go and win the final’.”

Dortmund coach Edin Terzic acknowledged the romance of Reus’ story but said he would be in the team for football reasons.

“Marco showed that he’s not done yet,” Terzic said.

“Having a final at Wembley in his first and last season with Borussia Dortmund… would be the perfect way to come full circle.

“I need Marco on Saturday. I need his qualities and we need his quality. We need Marco because he has that experience and has played on this stage before.”

Karim Adeyemi, 22, the speedy winger who saved his best performances for Europe this season, said Saturday was “not just about us, but also about a good farewell to Marco.

“And I personally will do everything I can to make sure he leaves the field happy.”

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