All you need to know about Borussia Dortmund ahead of Celtic visit

Celtic continue their Champions League campaign when they take on Borussia Dortmund in Germany on Tuesday evening.

The Hoops began their European adventure with a comfortable 5-1 win over Slovan Bratislava at Parkhead last week, with Adam Idah and Liam Scales both getting on the scoresheet for Brendan Rodgers' side.

Dortmund were also victorious in their opening Champions League game, and while they beat Bochum 4-2 at the weekend, they are still smarting from last week's humiliating 5-1 loss away to Stuttgart.

Here is the lowdown on Celtic’s latest opponents.

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Form

Last season’s runners-up opened their Champions League campaign with a 3-0 away win against Club Brugge but their Bundesliga form has been mixed. They sit fifth in the table with 10 points from five matches but suffered a 5-1 defeat at Stuttgart immediately after their trip to Belgium. They were two down at home to Bochum on Friday night before coming back to win 4-2.

Manager

Nuri Sahin took over in the summer following the departure of Edin Terzic but is well accustomed to his surroundings, having played 274 games for Dortmund over two spells. The German-born former Turkey international had a loan spell under Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool having moved to Real Madrid, but the stint on Merseyside was an unhappy one and was cut short so Sahin could return to Dortmund ahead of a permanent move back. Sahin ended his playing career at Antalyaspor to take charge of the Turkish Super Lig side in October 2021 and oversaw a long unbeaten run to steer them away from danger. The 36-year-old returned to Dortmund as assistant manager in January before stepping up in the summer.

European Pedigree

Dortmund won the 1966 European Cup Winners’ Cup, beating a Liverpool side who had overcome Celtic in the semi-final. But their only two European ties against Scottish opposition in the subsequent 21 years both resulted in aggregate defeats by Rangers. They became a real European force when they assembled a formidable team in the 1990s containing players such as Andreas Moller and Karl-Heinz Riedle. Their highpoint was the 1997 Champions League final win over Juventus, when future Celtic midfielder Paul Lambert kept Zinedine Zidane quiet. They have been runners-up in the 2013 and 2024 finals and also lost in the 2002 UEFA Cup final. Dortmund have reached the Champions League knockout stages in five of the past six years, the exception being when Rangers knocked them out of the Europa League three seasons ago.

Past Meetings

Derek Whyte’s 89th-minute winner handed Celtic a 2-1 UEFA Cup first-round first-leg victory over a Dortmund side featuring Murdo MacLeod in September 1987 in their first game against West German opposition. But two late goals in the return leg saw the hosts prevail 3-2 on aggregate before home fans invaded the pitch to celebrate. The pair met again in the second round five years later with Dortmund winning home and away. Celtic had beaten Cologne in the previous round and levelled the aggregate score at Parkhead when Gerry Creaney scored but Stephane Chapuisat struck twice over the two legs to give the Germans a 3-1 aggregate win on their way to the final.

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