“When you’re scoring, being two meters away isn’t close enough – I had to smell his breath,” says Paul Lambert of Zinedine Zidane’s deft cancellation during Borussia Dortmund’s UEFA Champions League final victory. 1997 Champions over Juventus.
“I never watched the whole game, although I saw the highlights and the goals, of course.
“What I remember is that I was always behind Zidane, who was probably the greatest player in the world at the time.”
Twenty-seven years have passed since Ottmar Hitzfeld’s Dortmund defeated the Italians 3-1 at Munich’s Olympiastadion to win their only European Cup to date.
The aristocratic Juventus were the current champions and had stellar names such as Didier Deschamps, Christian Vieri, Alessandro Del Piero and Zidane.
Dortmundhowever, it boasted players such as Stefan Reuter, Jürgen Kohler, Matthias Sammer and Andreas Möller, who had helped Germany win Euro 96 the previous summer.
Lambert, who patrolled the center of midfield alongside Portugal’s Paulo Sousa, adds: “I knew I would mark Zidane because that was my job at Dortmund when I played against players like Stefan Effenberg, Thomas Hassler and Mehmet Scholl in the Bundesliga. .
“I faced some great number 10s at that time – Krasimir Balakov at Stuttgart, Milinko Pantic at Atlético Madrid and Paulo Sérgio at Bayer Leverkusen.
“It was always my duty to close them and Ottmar showed us images of Zidane, as he liked to do. He was fantastic with both feet, had a great step in any direction and was brilliant at drifting. If you get caught watching the ball or give him too much space, he can really hurt you.”
Lambert, however, produced a tenacious and highly disciplined display as Hitzfeld’s men, who eliminated Manchester United in the semi-finals, led 2-0 at half-time.
Karl-Heinz Riedle scored twice, the first from Lambert’s cross, and although Del Piero responded for Juventus, Lars Ricken’s goal confirmed a truly historic victory for Dortmund.
“If you look at that dressing room, it’s easy to forget how many world-class players we had,” says Lambert, 54, who spent just over a year at Dortmund before joining Celtic in November 1997.
“Kohler, Sammer and Martin Kree were incredible defenders. Jorg Heinrich was an incredible full-back and Stefan Reuter had great speed. Then we had Paulo Sousa, Lars Ricken, Michael Zorc and Andy Möller with Stéphane Chapuisat and Riedle at the front.
“These guys knew how to win and trained like they played, plus we had a very intelligent coach, Ottmar. Playing for his team was a brilliant experience, so I had a lot of belief in myself and the guys next to me.
“I met Zidane during a visit to Real Madrid a few years later and we talked and laughed about 1997, because I played against him in the European Cup final and won.”
‘Incredible’ celebrations – and winning a Rolex from a teammate
After lifting the trophy, Hitzfeld’s victorious team headed to Munich to celebrate.
“Honey, my God, it was absolute chaos,” recalls Lambert with a huge smile. “We then flew back to Dortmund for the celebrations on Thursday and I have never seen or experienced anything like it. It’s a one-club town with a population of 600,000 and everyone came out to greet us – it was an incredible sight.
“Even though Dortmund was already a big club, winning the Champions League raised its status even further.
“We had a big party that night before training on Friday because we still had one last Bundesliga game to play. I remember Ottmar saying ‘Paul, are you okay to play on Saturday?’ I played again and we beat Cologne 2-1, despite having celebrated for three days.”
Lambert has a precious memory of that glorious European campaign; a luxury Rolex Daytona watch from teammate Riedle.
“We came back from Auxerre after beating them in the quarter-finals,” explains the former Scottish international. “I said ‘Kalle, I bet we’re going to win the Bundesliga or the Champions League’ and he agreed.
“After the final, we were celebrating and Kalle threw the watch to me. Years later, someone in Glasgow offered me a lot of money for it – but I turned it down because the sentimental value is irreplaceable.”
Lambert remains close to several players from the 1997 Champions League winning team and will be at Wembley to support Edin Terzié’s men in the Saturday final against Real Madrid.
“I’m really looking forward to going as a fan,” says Lambert.
“I lived in the Yellow Wall about six years ago with my wife because watching a Dortmund game there, at the Westfalenstadion, was always on my bucket list.
“We were right in the middle of it all and it was absolutely unbelievable, so I know how much the Dortmund fans support it as they will be at Wembley on Saturday.”
Lambert is wary of the threat from Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo on the counterattack.
“Dortmund’s defensive display will be key to everything, but I believe they will go for Real Madrid rather than just sit still,” he says.
“It’s just a case of saying ‘if we attack, make sure we have everything under control’ because Real Madrid are very good in transition.”
