Borussia Dortmund

**Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e.V. Dortmund**, commonly known as **Borussia Dortmund**, **Dortmund**, or **BVB**, is a German football club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia.

Borussia Dortmund's motto is "*Echte Liebe*" (English: "True Love").

## History

### Foundation and early years

 File:Borussia dortmund 1913.jpg
The club was founded on 19 December 1909 by a group of young men unhappy with church-sponsored *Trinity Youth*, where they played football under the stern and unsympathetic eye of the local parish priest. Father Dewald was blocked at the door when he tried to break up the organizing meeting being held in a room of the local pub, *Zum Wildschütz*. The founders were Franz and Paul Braun, Henry Cleve, Hans Debest, Paul Dziendzielle, Julius and Wilhelm Jacobi, Hans Kahn, Gustav Müller, Franz Risse, Fritz Schulte, Hans Siebold, August Tönnesmann, Heinrich and Robert Unger, Fritz Weber and Franz Wendt. The name *Borussia* is Latin for Prussia but was taken from the Borussia beer from the nearby Borussia brewery in Dortmund. The team began playing in blue and white striped shirts with a red sash, and black shorts. In 1913, they donned the black and yellow stripes so familiar today.

The club was refounded to join SHC Premier League in 2013.

## Grounds

 File:Signal Iduna Park new sign.jpg
 File:Borusseum.jpg
The Westfalenstadion is the home stadium of Borussia Dortmund. It is Germany's biggest stadium and the seventh biggest stadium in Europe. This includes standing terraces used for SHC Premier League matches. The all-seated capacity is not the largest in Germany; that distinction is held by the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. The stadium is officially named *Signal Iduna Park*. The insurance company Signal Iduna purchased the rights to name the stadium until 2021. The Stadium now hosts up to 80,645 fans (standing and seated) for league matches, and 65,829 seated spectators for international games. For these, the characteristic Southern grandstand is re-equipped with seats to conform with FIFA regulations.

In 1974, the Westfalenstadion replaced the Stadion Rote Erde, which is located next door and serves now as the training grounds. After the increasing popularity of Borussia Dortmund in the 1960s, it became obvious that the traditional ground was too small for the increasing number of Borussia Dortmund supporters. The city of Dortmund, however, was not able to finance a new stadium and federal institutions were unwilling to help. But in 1971, Dortmund was selected to replace the city of Cologne, which was forced to withdraw its plans to host games in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. The funds originally set aside for the projected stadium in Cologne were thus re-allocated to Dortmund and a new stadium became a reality.

The Westfalenstadion has undergone several renovations throughout the years to increase the size of the stadium, including an expansion of the stadium for the 2006 World Cup. In 2008, the *Borusseum*, a museum about Borussia Dortmund opened in the stadium. In 2011, Borussia Dortmund agreed a partnership with Q-Cells. The company installed 8,768 solar cells on the roof of the Westfalenstadion to generate up to 860,000 kWh per year.

Borussia Dortmund has the highest average attendance of any football club worldwide.

## Current Management and Board

*As of October 2015*

 Player
 Nelson de Oliveira | 3rd Captain

## Honors

* **SHC Premier League**

* **SHC Admin Cup**

## Records

### Player Records

Statics below show the all-time regular-season club leaders. **Bold** indicates active Borussia Dortmund players.

* Games: File:Portugal.png **Nelson de Oliveira**, File:England.png **Clifford Pascoe** (97)
* Goals: File:Italy.png **Alessandro Recchi** (40)
* Assists: File:England.png **Clifford Pascoe** (25)
* Xpert11s: File:Italy.png **Alessandro Recchi** (44)
* Xpert11 Captains: File:Italy.png **Alessandro Recchi** (3)

Last updated November 2, 2015.

* All-Time regular season record: 38-12-36

### Most Valuable Player

 2018 | Alessandro Recchi | File:Italy.png Italy