Emre Can makes Liverpool feelings clear after reaching Champions League final with Dortmund
Former Liverpool midfielder Emre Can was left speechless and “emotional” after captaining Borussia Dortmund to the Champions League final.
A second-half strike from Mats Hummels saw Dortmund beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the semi-final second-leg on Tuesday and 2-0 on aggregate to book their place in the final. Edin Terzic’s side will face Bayern Munich or Real Madrid in the showpiece event at Wembley next month.
It’s the first time Dortmund have reached this stage of the competition since 2013 when they lost against Bayern in London and they could end up facing the same opponent at the same venue on June 1. After progressing through the ‘Group of Death’, Dortmund have done a remarkably to reach the final.
Can captained Dortmund to victory over PSG and played the full game at the Parc des Princes. He will now prepare for his third Champions League final of his career and his first since leaving Liverpool. His final game for the Reds came as a substitute in the 2018 Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid.
After Dortmund’s win over PSG, Can struggled to contain his emotions and went on to make an admission about his time at Liverpool and his difficulties with a various amount of injuries. During his four-year stay at Anfield, Can made 166 appearances and scored 14 goals.
“It’s very different, I would say, because when I was with Bayern in the final I didn’t play, I was a young guy,” Can told CBS Sports. “I was in the squad but I didn’t play. With Liverpool I was a long time injured, I didn’t play the quarter-final or semi-final.
“Now I am playing all the games and when you play it’s different and it feels different. I am [the] captain of this team and I am very proud. If I talk too much I get emotional.”
Emre Can celebrates with his team-mates after Borussia Dortmund progressed to the Champions League final
Can joined Juventus after leaving the Reds and ended up spending less than two years in Italy, making just 45 appearances before moving to Dortmund on loan for the second half of the 2019/20. After impressing on loan, Can made the move permanent in the summer and has been at the club ever since.
As for Dortmund’s success against PSG, boss Terzic said: “The belief was there. We spoke about the game against Eindhoven (Dortmund’s last-16 tie) how short the road to London is. It’ll take us a bit of time to realise that, but we’re looking forward to it very much.”
Hummels added: “We will face a very strong opponent. We all believe in it. We have believed since the second game in the group phase at the latest that we can survive in the Champions League.”
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