AC Milan will take to the field tonight in front of an atmosphere that few stadiums around Europe can match, and that is the Signal Iduna Park, home of Borussia Dortmund.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) writes, the main attraction of Dortmund is not its cathedrals or other architecture, is if the Westfalenstadion with its huge capacity and the famous ‘Yellow Wall’.
Anyone who pays for a plane ticket to Dusseldorf and then takes the train to Dortmund comes to see the Südtribüne, the most famous ‘Curva’ in Germany. What’s special about it? Well, the choreography, the heat and the colour, the noise.
Before the start of games You’ll Never Walk Alone comes on the PA system and during the match the chants bounce. Stefano Pioli spoke to journalists yesterday about this, rather than about tactics, and tonight he will coach a challenge within a challenge: the Wall against the Wall.
The Borussia fans will meet the defensive resistance of Milan, who after the derby conceded just one goal in four games – from Luvumbo against Cagliari – and regained solidity and certainty.
Calabria-Thiaw-Tomori-Hernandez is the chosen quartet, and yesterday had the team train with Borussia chants blasting from the loudspeakers, then explained the thinking.
“The idea was born while watching the matches. I also wanted to prepare the players from an environmental point of view. The important thing will be to communicate on the pitch because they won’t even hear my voice,” he said.
“I told the team that the stadium might be reminiscent of Anfield, but we will find energy and adrenaline from the environment.”
He’s not the only one who was impressed. Schweinsteiger, the heart of Bayern Munich’s successful sides in the 2010s, was once asked which Dortmund player he feared the most and he responded: “The Yellow Wall especially scares me.”
Then Klopp, who coached at BVB, said: “Coming out of the tunnel and seeing the stadium is like being reborn, you come out of the darkness and see the light. It’s as if there were 150,000 people in that stand.”
It’s partly passion, partly mathematics. The Südtribüne has an inclination of 37 degrees – vertical – and the front row can almost touch the goalkeeper. The Yellow Wall has become famous for this and over the years it has also made headlines for its twinning with the fans of Napoli and Catania.
In 2014, Borussia declared its opposition to right-wing extremism and neo-Nazism, while the Ultras have changed orientation over the years, turning to the left.
The Milan wall is equally metaphorical but also holds up in reality. Pioli did well to compact the team after the 5-1 loss against Inter and in the Champions League, against Newcastle, there was just one shot on target conceded in stoppage time.
Mike Maignan is back after the short break due to injury but the impression is that the X-factor is Tomori. In recent weeks, Fik has stopped making mistakes and against Lazio he returned to a very high level.
Tonight, pay attention to the double duel on the flanks – Malen and Brandt against Calabria and Theo – and to the spirit of Malick Thiaw. The latter came through at Schalke and Dortmund-Schalke is one of the fiercest rivalries in Germany.
