# 1997–98 Borussia Dortmund season

During the 1997–98 German football season, Borussia Dortmund competed in the German Bundesliga, finishing 10th.

## Season summary

Manager Ottmar Hitzfeld was promoted to sporting director, and Nevio Scala was appointed as his replacement. Under Scala, Dortmund made a strong showing in the Champions League: although they failed to defend the title, there was no shame in their semi-final defeat to eventual winners Real Madrid. Of more concern was their league form, coming 10th (their lowest finish since 1991). This prompted his departure; replacing him was his assistant Michael Skibbe, making him (until 2016) the youngest Bundesliga head coach of all time.

## First-team squad

    Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | GER | Stefan Klos |
| 2 | MF | GER | Knut Reinhardt |
| 3 | DF | GER | René Schneider |
| 4 | MF | GER | Steffen Freund |
| 5 | DF | BRA | Júlio César |
| 6 | MF | GER | Matthias Sammer |
| 7 | DF | GER | Stefan Reuter |
| 8 | MF | GER | Michael Zorc |
| 9 | FW | SUI | Stéphane Chapuisat |
| 10 | MF | GER | Andreas Möller |
| 11 | FW | GER | Heiko Herrlich |
| 12 | GK | GER | Wolfgang de Beer |
| 13 | FW | GHA | Bashiru Gambo |
| 15 | DF | GER | Jürgen Kohler |
| 16 | DF | GER | Martin Kree |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | MF | GER | Jörg Heinrich |
| 18 | MF | GER | Lars Ricken |
| 21 | FW | GER | Christian Timm |
| 22 | FW | GHA | Ibrahim Tanko |
| 23 | DF | GER | Jörg Sauerland |
| 24 | FW | NED | Harry Decheiver |
| 26 | MF | GER | Frank Riethmann |
| 27 | DF | AUT | Wolfgang Feiersinger |
| 28 | DF | GER | Benjamin Knoche |
| 29 | MF | RUS | Vladimir But |
| 30 | FW | USA | Jovan Kirovski |
| 31 | DF | NOR | Steinar Pedersen |
| 32 | DF | GER | Manfred Binz |
| 33 | DF | GER | Deniz Sahin |
| 34 | DF | GER | Björn Mehnert |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 14 | MF | SCO | Paul Lambert (to Celtic) |
| 19 | MF | POR | Paulo Sousa (to Internazionale) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 20 | FW | SCO | Scott Booth (to Utrecht) |

## Competitions
### Bundesliga
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 8 | MSV Duisburg | 34 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 43 | 44 | −1 | 44 | Qualification to Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 9 | Hamburger SV | 34 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 38 | 46 | −8 | 44 | |
| 10 | Borussia Dortmund | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 57 | 55 | +2 | 43 | |
| 11 | Hertha BSC | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | 41 | 53 | −12 | 43 | |
| 12 | VfL Bochum | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 41 | 49 | −8 | 41 | |
* ↑ As domestic cup winners Bayern Munich had qualified for UEFA Champions League, their place in the Cup Winners' Cup was transferred to finalists Duisburg.

### Champions League
#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Borussia Dortmund | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 3 | +11 | 15 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Parma | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 9 | |
| 3 | Sparta Prague | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 5 | |
| 4 | Galatasaray | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 4 | |