Borussia Dortmund certainly earned the respect of the soccer world with their convincing 4-1 victory over perennial power Real Madrid during the first leg of the Champions League semi-final series.
With the second leg scoreless and the Germans getting closer to the final with every passing second, Dortmund knew they just needed to hang on against a powerful Madrid offense and the always passionate Madrid fanbase.
"It was unbelievably loud here which made things hard," Dortmund defender Mats Hummels said to UEFA reporters following the clubs victory. "We showed everyone that this is not all about luck; we are respected as a team now."
They are indeed respected as a club, heading to their first final since they won the tournament way back in 1997.
The second leg certainly lived up to the excitement that was built coming out of Dortmund's victory in the first contest. In that match, Robert Lewandowski paced Dortmund with an unprecedented four-goal performance, leading his club to the early advantage.
Knowing Madrid would come back firing in the second match, the Dortmund defense held their own for most of the way but two late goals from Madrid's Karim Benzema and Sergio Ramos made things extremely interesting.
Now leading 4-3 on a goal aggregate following the Madrid scores, Dortmund defender Felipe Santana never lost focus of the ultimate goal.
"Even after conceding twice tonight we were only thinking of the final," Santana said to reporters. "The important thing was the result. There was a lot of joy in our dressing room. We wanted to get to the showpiece and we did it."
Dortmund will now wait to see who comes out of the second semi-final match-up between Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Munich took the opening leg of that series 4-0.
One step away from claiming their first title since they defeated Juventus 3-1 at the end of the 1996-1997 season, Dortmund and star forward Robert Lewandowski know preparation will be key if they want to finish the job.
"For me and my team it is the first time in such a final but we will have to wait to find out who we are up against," he said. "We have three weeks until the game and have to prepare well for it."
The way Borussia Dortmund played against a Real Madrid club that holds the record for most UEFA Titles with 9 certainly shows how dangerous this club can be.
With tremendous capability on offense and incredible strength and balance on defense, it will not come as a shock if Dortmund rules supreme following the May 25th final at Wembley Stadium.
Watch Dortmund Coach Jurgen Klopp's post-match interview:
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