It’s shaping up to be a few weeks for German football.
The country is preparing to host the European Championship in June and July, with the German national team enjoying a timely surge in form.
Before then, Germany could still celebrate having a European champion again, with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund making up half the squad for the Champions League semi-finals which begin this week .
The last time Bayern and Dortmund reached the Champions League semi-finals was in 2013 and they then met in the title match at Wembley Stadium, with Bayern winning 2-1 . As fate would have it, Wembley will also host the final this year.
Organizing a repeat of this 2013 final would mean upsetting the predictions.
Bayern faces another European heavyweight, Real Madrid, 14-time champion and king of the competition.
Dortmund face Paris Saint-Germain, whose star striker Kylian Mbappe is looking to lead the French team to their first-ever Champions League title in his final season there before a likely move to Madrid.
Germany has not had a single semi-finalist in each of the last three seasons. In the 2019-20 competition, there were two – Bayern and Leipzig – and Bayern were the eventual champions.
This season, Bayern and Dortmund have had impressive European campaigns while underperforming domestically.
Bayern surrendered their Bundesliga title to Bayer Leverkusen after 11 years of holding German football’s biggest prize, and must win the Champions League to avoid a first trophyless season since 2012.
Dortmund, meanwhile, is in fifth place in the championship, so its journey in Europe is a surprise.
Here’s a closer look at both games:
BAYERN MUNICH v REAL MADRID (TUESDAY)
Madrid should arrive well-rested after the Spanish league moved their match against Real Sociedad to Friday. Madrid won 1-0.
With Madrid on the verge of winning the Spanish national title, coach Carlo Ancelotti kept Jude Bellingham, Vinícius Júnior, Eduardo Camavinga, Toni Kroos, Federico Valverde, Antonio Rudiger and goalkeeper Andriy Lunin on the bench at the start of the match championship in San Sebastian. Forward Rodrygo did not travel with the team due to the flu.
It all started against Manchester City in the quarter-final second leg and is expected to be back in the starting XI against Bayern.
Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel is leaving at the end of the season and the Champions League – which he won with Chelsea in 2021 – offers him the opportunity to leave with a bang.
Two months after Bayern announced Tuchel’s departure, he seems more popular than ever among Bayern fans. This was partly due to the calm and controlled manner in which Bayern eliminated Arsenal in the second leg of their quarter-final. This is partly a reaction to Bayern’s failure to sign top coaches like Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso or Germany’s Julian Nagelsmann.
As Tuchel nears the end of a difficult tenure at Bayern, he often seems more optimistic than ever.
“If people want me to stay, that’s still a low priority issue,” Tuchel said on Friday, when asked about a fan petition begging the club to keep him. “Although in this case it’s a pleasant question for me.”
The injuries that have plagued Bayern this season are also easing. Tuchel predicted on Friday that Serge Gnabry would recover from his latest problem in time to play – and score – against Madrid on Tuesday, while his compatriot Leroy Sané could also return.
BORUSSIA DORTMUND vs PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN (WEDNESDAY)
PSG won another French league title on Sunday – following Monaco’s defeat in Lyon – but the Champions League is the trophy the Qatar-backed club are desperate to finally get their hands on.
And there would be no better way for Kylian Mbappé to sign his contract at the end of the season than by leading PSG to victory in European club football’s elite competition.
The club is already contemplating life without its superstar striker, who is expected to leave as a free agent, with players like Randal Kolo Muani, Ousmane Dembele and Goncalo Ramos expected to help fill the void in his absence. But Mbappe could still have a say in the Champions League and he scored twice in PSG’s 4-1 win over Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
PSG drew 3-3 at home to Le Havre on Saturday after coming back from 3-1 down and needing an equalizer from Ramos in the fifth minute of added time.
It’s been a strange season for Dortmund and that was highlighted by Saturday’s 4-1 defeat to top-four rivals RB Leipzig.
Dortmund have certainly saved their best performances for the Champions League, none better than their victory against Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals.
Striker Sebastien Haller scored in the first leg against Atletico but injured his ankle in Dortmund’s next match and has not played since. Forward Donyell Malen is also suffering from pain.
A lot could depend on the version of Jadon Sancho who presents himself against PSG.
Sancho, who scored against Leipzig, has shown glimpses of his obvious talent since returning to Dortmund in January on loan from Manchester United. The question is whether the former England striker can still play at his best.
“Me and Jadon have noticed that he’s not at his peak yet, but that’s totally OK. It’s something we were aware of when we decided to bring him back, but we know he is capable of reaching that maximum very quickly,” Dormund coach Edin Terzic said on Friday. “Every time practice session, Jadon has a moment that shows off his incredible talent and we see how hard he works with the team.”
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