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On Wednesday evening in the first semifinal of the Champions League, Dortmund's "Borussia" defeated Madrid's "Real" 4:1. Football analysts rushed to calculate how much more valuable the royal club is compared to the German team. It turns out, no significant mathematical calculations were needed - one Kaka is worth more than the entire "Borussia."
A decade ago, the Dortmund team was on the brink of bankruptcy, and today they are already opening the doors to the Champions League with their feet. And all this - by their own hard work. The German club had neither billionaire sponsors nor a coach admired by all, so many doubted that Jurgen Klopp could create a team of champions out of nothing.
Today's "Borussia" is built on the power of youth. In 2011, the Dortmund team was led to the Bundesliga champions by Nuris Sahin, representing Turkey, who is a local boy who went through the entire club's academy. He spent his whole career in Dortmund, until finally (ironically) moving to Madrid's "Real."
The next season, they acquired Shinji Kagawa and Robert Lewandowski for 5.1 million euros. The reinforcement helped win the second consecutive title. Of course, while "Borussia" reigned in Germany, Madrid's "Real" did not lag behind in Spain. Led by the 94 million euro Cristiano Ronaldo, they surpassed the "Barcelona" team and won the "La Liga" title.
You might think that the clash of equally successful clubs promises an equal fight, but Wednesday night certainly did not prove that. The most interesting thing is that the Brazilian Kaka, who started just 10 games this season, is worth more than the entire Dortmund "Borussia" team.
Despite the numbers, the Germans have what the rich "Real" lacks: spirit, passion, and unity. And that inspires hope for any other football club.
The starting line-ups of the Champions League semifinal based on player value (in euros):
"Real": goalkeeper - Diego Lopez (3.5 million); defenders - R.Varane (10 million), S.Ramos (27 million), Pepe (30 million), F.Coentrao (30 million); midfielders - X.Alonso (35.4 million), S.Khedira (14 million), L.Modric (30 million); forwards - M.Ozil (18 million), C.Ronaldo (94 million), G.Higuain (12 million). Total: 303.9 million euros.
"Borussia": keeper - Roman Weidenfeller (acquired for free); defenders - Lukasz Piszczek (acquired for free), Neven Subotic (4.5 million), Mats Hummels (4.2 million), M.Schmelzer (acquired for free); midfielders - S.Bender (1.5 million), I.Gundogan (5.5 million), M.Gotze (acquired for free), M.Reus (17.1 million), J.Blaszczykowski (3.05 million); forward - R.Lewandowski (4.75 million). Total: 40.6 million euros.
