Hallo alle. 

Yes, that's right, it's time for Sachin to type a greeting into Google Translate and copy and paste the German version into these episode notes as a way of introducing his chat with the award-winning author and journalist Uli Hesse about being a Borussia Dortmund fan.

Uli is a hugely respected and revered voice on German football and from his kitchen in Berlin he speaks with great authority and passion about Dortmund, the club he was pretty much destined to support. Location played a significant role in that, as did family. Speaking of which, Uli tells a very amusing story regarding what happened when his sister took him to his first ever Dortmund game.

That game, against Karlsruhe in January 1977, was held at the Westfalenstadion, Dortmund's home ground and one of the most spectacular stadiums in Europe. Uli speaks about how it has changed over the years and why it's such a brilliant place to watch live football, which leads to a discussion about the 'Yellow Wall', the Westfalenstadion’s stunning terrace. Uli is a long-standing season-ticket holder there so knows it well. In speaking about it he also talks about German fan culture in general and why English fans are right to be envious of it. 

It's then onto memories of Dortmund's most notable games during Uli's time supporting the club, with few sticking in the mind quite like the 1997 Champions League final. Dortmund ripped up the script by beating Juventus in Munich and Uli was there. He shares his memories of that incredible night, which included being the designated driver for a group of oddly-underwhelmed teenagers.

There then follows a discussion about a man Uli and Sachin adore in equal measure - Jürgen Klopp. The former speaks about his seismic impact at Dortmund before the latter does the same in regards to his time at Liverpool. Warning listeners: this part of the podcast gets very emotional. 

Finally, there is a chat about Erling Haaland and just how impactful he could be for Manchester City before Uli talks through his all-time Dortmund XI. It contains a Scottish midfielder NOT called Paul Lambert. 

So download, listen and love. And after you have, please Rate and Review. It would mean a lot.

Cheers!