The final minutes were a tense, nervous affair. Galatasaray threw everything forward, but Dortmund held firm. The final whistle blew, and the players collapsed in a heap of exhaustion and elation. They had been to hell and back, and they had emerged victorious.
As they walked off the pitch, the Galatasaray fans, who had been so hostile for 90 minutes, rose to their feet and applauded. It was a mark of respect, an acknowledgment of the quality and the character they had just witnessed. They had come to see a battle, and they had seen one. They had come to see a spectacle, and they had seen one. And they had come to see a star, and they had seen one born.
In the locker room, the celebration was wild. The players danced, they sang, they embraced. They had faced their biggest test of character yet, and they had passed with flying colors.
