Borussia Dortmund will prepare at home for the final against Real Madrid. Sports director Kehl explains what’s important.

Borussia Dortmund’s professionals were able to enjoy an extended weekend. The team had Sunday and Monday off. BVB will not start preparing for the biggest match in recent years until Tuesday: the Champions League final against Real Madrid at Wembley on June 1.

On Saturday afternoon, at Marco Reus’ dignified farewell following the 4-0 win over Darmstadt 98, which was meaningless in sporting terms, Dortmund at least laid the foundations for optimal preparation for London. “You take a positive feeling home with you today. That will stay with us for the next two weeks,” said sporting director Sebastian Kehl.

The hot days begin on Tuesday. “We need good training sessions, a strong focus,” said Kehl. “We’ll prepare really well for the game. In the end, we need a lot of passion, a lot of fight. We’re playing against Real Madrid and so we’ll need a lot of heart. That’s what the fans gave us today.” It was loud almost throughout Reus’ farewell, especially when the south terrace sang the popular European Cup song.

BVB want to stay in rhythm ahead of the final at Wembley

In preparation for Wembley, there will now be one more test match, possibly against BVB’s own U23s. On May 28, international journalists will gather in Dortmund for the “Media Day”, and BVB is expecting a great deal of hype.

However, the team will no longer be going to the training camp. Various scenarios were discussed, said Kehl, but the decision was made to stay in Dortmund so as not to lose the rhythm of recent weeks. “I believe that a certain kind of normality is quite good, because the final will bring a lot with it anyway,” said the sporting director, who lost to Bayern at Wembley as a player in 2013.