364 days after their elimination at the hands of Atlético Madrid (1-0), Borussia Dortmund’s U19s have another chance to reach the UEFA Youth League semi-finals – and this time on the very big stage. SIGNAL IDUNA PARK will be the venue for the quarter-final clash with Hajduk Split on Wednesday (15 March). Kick-off is at 18:30 CET. Standing tickets cost €2, with seated tickets priced at €4.

“The opportunity to be among the best four teams in Europe is extraordinary,” emphasised Lars Ricken, the Director of the Youth Performance Centre. “The fact that we’re playing at Signal Iduna Park is also a sign of great recognition for the boys’ performance.” The venue befits the objective: “We want to reach the Final Four.”

“After reaching the last eight in Europe last year and unfortunately being eliminated against Atlético, it is a unique opportunity to be get into the last four only one year later,” said Ricken, adding: “That would be another outstanding achievement for the team.”

Following a last-minute victory in Copenhagen on the final day of the group stages, the Borussia Dortmund U19s (eight points) finished behind Manchester City (14) and qualified for the next round as group runners-up. They then beat Scottish champions Hibernian 2-1 in the play-offs, before eliminating heavy favourites Paris St. Germain following a penalty shootout in the round of 16.

Croatia’s U19 champions Hajduk Split qualified for the competition via the “Domestic Champions Path” and beat Qarabağ (Azerbaijan), Fier (Albania) and Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) to reach the round of 16, where they surprisingly beat Manchester City by a 2-1 scoreline.

“We’re taking Hajduk Split extremely seriously,” said Lars Ricken, as he looked ahead to the quarter-final. “The team knocked out Manchester City, against whom we also played two matches – one defeat and one draw. With that in mind, we know what is in store for us.” In addition, Hajduk will bring a lot of fans with them. “We know that very many fans from Croatia and people with Croatian roots living in Germany will come to the match and we hope that as many spectators as possible from our ranks will come to the stadium to support us too.”

With prices set at €2 for standing tickets and €4 for seated tickets, the U19s can once again hope for a big turnout. The attendance stood at 19,300 for the unfortunate 1-0 loss to Atlético Madrid a year ago. The advance sale of tickets will start this coming Monday (13 March). Info on this will follow shortly on bvb.de. (br)

UEFA Youth League 

Quarter-finals
QF 1: Sporting vs. Liverpool
QF 2: AZ Alkmaar vs. Real Madrid
QF 3: Borussia Dortmund vs. Hajduk Split
QF 4: AC Milan vs. Atlético Madrid

Final Four in Nyon (Switzerland)

Semi-final (21 April)
SF 1: Winner of QF 1 vs. Winner of QF 2
SF 2: Winner of QF 3 vs. Winner of QF 4

Final (24 April)
Winner SF 1 vs. Winner SF 2