6 days ago
Juventus beat Dortmund in friendly, spoil Hummels' farewell party
dpa
Berlin
Juventus were the inconvenient guests as they defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-1 and spoiled Mats Hummels' farewell party on Sunday.
The friendly match was the last one for Dortmund ahead of the start of the new football season in Germany and the club used the occasion to officially say goodbye to their former defender Hummels.
Andrea Cambiaso hit the net in the 16th minute and then again in the 53rd before Maximilian Beier pulled one back for the hosts in the 89th.
Hummels captained Dortmund and when he was subbed off in the 19th minute, he received a standing ovation from the stadium and a guard of honour from both teams.
'I'm feeling great, it was perfect. I couldn't have imagined something better, to play football seriously again. I had a lot of fun playing here,' Hummels said.
Asked whether he was nervous ahead of the match, he said: 'I was as nervous as before many other games because I didn't know where I stood (in terms of fitness). But it went well. I had so much fun.' The defender ended his career after a difficult final season at Roma following his Dortmund exit last year.
Hummels was a Bayern Munich academy product and spent two terms each at Bayern and Dortmund, winning five Bundesliga titles and three German Cups with them. He earned 78 Germany caps highlighted by the 2014 World Cup title.
Hummels said he could list '100 favourite moments' during his Dortmund career, but he eventually named the first Bundesliga title with the club in 2011 as the top one.
'There are so many great moments and this is beautiful,' he said.
He will remain in the sport as a Prime Video Champions League pundit but he also told broadcasters ZDF that he plans no real immediate full return to the pro football scene over the next year or two.
Dortmund start the new season with a German Cup match against Rot-Weiss Essen on August 18. Their Bundesliga opener is on August 23 against St Pauli.
Coach Niko Kovac will have concerns about defender Niklas Süle, who replaced Hummels but left the pitch with a calf injury shortly before half-time.
