Echte Liebe Meaning: Love That Connects Dortmund & Its Fans

Borussia Dortmund or “BVB” is a German sports club based in Dortmund and one of the most successful soccer clubs in Germany. The team Borussia Dortmund plays in the “Bundesliga”: The German Premier League.

Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German soccer history. Furthermore, they won eight German championships and three DFB Cups. In 1966, BVB won the European Cup as the first German club ever as well as 1997 the Champions League Cup.

Over the years, Borussia Dortmund have forged an identity of their own. Their scintillating attacking football, a knack for upsetting European giants on the biggest stage and a repertoire of exciting talents in their ranks, have made fans from all over the world fall for them.

However, there is an aspect that truly sets them apart from the rest of the pack and makes them world-class – their fans. The Signal Iduna Park is a vociferous cauldron of noise that often tends to unsettle the opponent. And many a point has been won with the crowd getting behind the team, as they give their all to overturn a deficit.

Their support stems solely from the club mantra and culture; Echte Liebe. This translates to ”real love’ in English, but only covers the surface of what the club is truly about. Here is all you need to know about it!

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So what is Echte Liebe? It’s more than just a catchy club motto. It’s a way of uniting people from all over the world through a common love, sports. Because at the end of the day, sports matter, plain and simple. People form lifetime connections and memories over sports and that’s not something anyone can ever take away.

The club ethos has always been to make you feel one of them even if you do not hail from the city of Dortmund or even Germany. And the fans are the linchpin in this endeavour.

Klopp became the godfather for shaping an era that would go down the annals of history. During his time, they not only won two successive Bundesliga titles and the UEFA Champions League runners-up medal, but the manager also instilled a belief that they have the potential to look Bayern Munich in the eye and challenge for silverware after a significant period of lull.

⏪ Rewind to 2012, when Dortmund last won the Bundesliga title…

???? Could this be their year again? pic.twitter.com/3FCI0j684V

— DW Sports (@dw_sports) May 19, 2023

It is not only the fans and their affection that make the players teary-eyed while bidding farewell, but it is also due to humane club management that aims to strike a chord with every player on a personal level, beyond the professional nitty-gritty of contracts and wages.

Echte Liebe is about being unconditional. The love from the fans is unconditional, the love the players bear for the crest is unconditional, and finally, the affection and respect that the club shows towards its players and staff is unconditional.

“It’s indescribable. Even when you’re unhappy, it’s impossible to fight the feeling. That’s what Echte Liebe is,” defined Klopp.  Who else can encapsulate the emotion better than the man who brought in a renaissance at the club, building from its ruins?

Those special moments. Moments that last seconds in real time that live on forever through memories with those who share it with. And that, when it’s all said and done, is truly what  Echte Liebe is all about.