Edin Terzic urges Dortmund to feed off underdog status and trophy heartache

The Borussia Dortmund head coach, Edin Terzic, wants his players to embrace their underdog tag against Real Madrid, and use past disappointments to fuel their desire to win the Champions League.

While Carlo Ancelotti’s side are seeking their 15th European Cup at Wembley on Saturday and are La Liga champions, Dortmund have not reached the final since losing to Bayern Munich at the same venue in 2013 and suffered the misery of letting the Bundesliga title slip through their hands on the final day of the season a year ago.

“The last [league] game last season is now part of our life and now part of our path to success,” Terzic said on Friday. “If I am honest, I don’t think this was the most beautiful chapter in my life but I think it was the most important chapter as it shows you it doesn’t matter how tough it is, stand up and go again.”

Dortmund, who finished fifth in the league this season, began their Champions League campaign with a defeat to Paris Saint-Germain and draw with Milan – but bounced back with two wins over Newcastle and a 3-1 success at San Siro to top Group F. After overcoming PSV Eindhoven in the last 16, they knocked out Atlético Madrid before gaining revenge on PSG in the semi-finals.

That run of results has instilled Terzic with confidence that his team can pull off an upset. “We lost important players in the summer and it was going to take some time. We didn’t manage to be on our top level in September but now we are a totally different team. We are ready to compete and fight to win the trophy.

“If you play 10 games against Real Madrid it is difficult, but if you go to a final everything is possible in football. It is about the game, not the occasion. We’ve had 60 games to prepare ourselves for tomorrow. It is clear they [are] favourite but we don’t care – we weren’t favourites against Atlético or PSG.”

The 41-year-old also said that Ancelotti has been a “role model” for his coaching career. “The way he manages the team and the way the player play for him, he needs to be a role model for young coaches,” Terzic said. “I still think I am a young coach so he’s a role model for me.”

Ancelotti is seeking his seventh Champions League title as a player or manager, but Terzic has no plans to roll out the red carpet. “If we are brave and ready to show we are not here to see Real Madrid lift the trophy, and we are here to give them a game, then we are going to have a chance.”