DORTMUND, Germany, May 29, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Saturday's clash with Real
Madrid will not be coach Edin Terzic's first Champions League final
experience with Borussia Dortmund -- but this time around he will be closer
to the action.

Jurgen Klopp was in the dugout the last time Dortmund made a Champions League
final, which they lost 2-1 to rivals Bayern Munich at Wembley -- the same
venue as Saturday's showpiece.

Born just outside Dortmund, Terzic -- the lifelong BVB fan who rose through
the ranks to take over as manager -- said Tuesday being in the crowd for the
2013 final was part of his "personal story as to why I'm sitting here today".

While veterans Mats Hummels and Marco Reus took the pitch alongside current
assistant coaches Nuri Sahin and Sven Bender 11 years ago, Terzic, then an
assistant coach for Dortmund's U-17s, made the pilgrimage in an unofficial
capacity.

"My trip in 2013 was as a fan. Mats Hummels, Marco Reus, Nuri Sahin, Sven
Bender, they were on the team bus. I was on the fan bus.

"We all have a personal story and I don't really want to put mine in the
foreground. It's just about us going on a journey together."

- 'Not only a fan' -

Terzic's tale is a rarity in international football but has at times counted
against him, giving rise to a perception he is in the job on the weight of
the romance of his story rather than his skill with the clipboard.

Speaking with DAZN on Tuesday, he said "it's not like I was sitting in the
stands and someone said 'we'll take him'."

"I wasn't only a fan -- I worked here, as a junior coach, a scout, an
assistant coach and then a manager if the professional side."

The doubters remain despite Terzic's record in charge of Dortmund.

As an interim coach, Terzic took Dortmund to the German Cup in 2021 just a
few months after taking over.

In his first full season he had Dortmund on course for the Bundesliga title
until a last-day 2-2 draw with Mainz saw Bayern win for the 11th straight
season.

At the end of his second full season, Terzic has Dortmund in the Champions
League final -- something that only Klopp and Ottmar Hitzfeld have done
before.

Speaking with journalists on Tuesday, Terzic said that fateful day against
Mainz was "a part of the path to success" which continued on Saturday.

"It was not the nicest day, but what I experienced I will not forget.

"It's part of us, of me."

- 'The final boss' -

Bayern's narrow loss in the other semi-final this season, defeated 4-3 over
two legs, deprived Dortmund of a chance at revenge.

Terzic's men will instead line-up against Real, one of the few teams more
decorated than Bayern in Europe.

Champions League winners in 1997 when they beat a highly fancied Juventus 3-1
in Munich, Dortmund have overcome the odds as underdogs before.

The statistics however show just how up against it Dortmund will be on
Saturday.

Real have won the competition 14 times -- six of which have come since
Dortmund's last appearance.

Los Blancos have not lost any of their past eight finals dating back to 1981,
when Terzic was not yet born.

The 41-year-old joked it was about time Real lost a final.

"Our goal is to win the Champions League. And if you want to win the
Champions League, you have to beat the champions.

"And now, the absolute champion in the history of football and especially in
this competition awaits us.

"To use a bit of modern language, they're the final boss.

"Statistically they're on track to win it again this year -- but none of that
counts."