Less than 24 hours after a bomb attack on their team bus, Borussia Dortmund took to the field Wednesday in a poignant Champions League quarterfinal encounter with Monaco.
Dortmund were understandably subdued in the first half and despite Iman Shumpert Authentic Jersey improving after the break they suffered a 3-2 first-leg loss -- their first home defeat in 21 matches.
German media had questioned rearranging the match so quickly after three explosives had shattered windows and injured Dortmund defender Marc Bartra en route to the Westfalenstadion for a tie which was originally to be played Tuesday.
The team, said Watzke, would "play for everyone," though Dortmund initially struggled to contain one of the most potent frontlines on the continent, falling two goals behind before the break -- one of them an own goal -- with Monaco also missing a penalty.
Dortmund regrouped after the break -- scoring through Ousmane Dembele and Shinji Kagawa -- in an entertaining encounter in which French teenager Kylian Mbappe shone, finding the net twice to become, aged 18 and 113 days, the youngest Earlier in the day, German authorities said they suspected "terrorist involvement" and were investigating a possible radical Islamist link to the attack which happened 90 minutes before Tuesday's scheduled kickoff and about six miles from Dortmund's stadium.
Fans were told to expect longer waiting times to enter the Westfalenstadion and were not allowed to take backpacks into the arena, while state interior minister for North Rhine-Westphalia, Ralf Jaeger, said police numbers had been increased significantly in the city.
German Football Association (DFB) president, Reinhard Grindel -- who had planned to attend Wednesday's game [url=http://www.authentictigershop.com/authentic-17-denny-mclain-jersey.html" target="_blank">Den... McLain Authentic Jersey between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid -- was said to be in attendance.
Goalkeeper Roman Burki, who was sitting next to Bartra at the time of the attack, wore his teammate's No.5 shirt before kickoff, while fans had placed banners in the stands wishing the Spaniard a speedy recovery.
Undeterred by the previous night's bomb attack, 65,849 fans filled the Westfalenstadion. The rendition of the club's anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone" was more moving than usual before kickoff and, by wearing coordinated colored ponchos, the home fans in the Kop end of the stadium displayed the club badge.
Dortmund fans are renowned for creating a raucous atmosphere in their [url=http://www.cavaliersproshop.com/Jr_Smith_Jersey]http://www.cavaliersproshop... home ground and the famed 'Yellow Wall' -- Europe's largest free standing terrace which holds 25,000 fans -- was its usual colorful self on a drizzly night, albeit perhaps more somber that it has previously been on more celebratory European nights.
Admittedly, the home fans had little cheer in the first half as their team was forced onto their heels by the visitors, who illustrated how and why they have scored 88 goals in 31 Ligue 1
Two minutes after Fabinho had missed an early penalty, sweeping wide without testing the goalkeeper to ruin his 100% record from the spot this season, Mbappe bundled home from [url=http://www.authenticnikeredskinshop.com/bashaud-breeland-jersey-for-sale-c-... close range, though the teenager was arguably offside.
Dortmund fell further behind when Sven Bender, with perhaps an eye on Radamel Falcao lurking behind, headed Andrea Raggi's superb cross into his own net.