Free Borussia Dortmund trivia questions with explained answers.
Borussia Dortmund are German football's great romantics — a black-and-yellow institution built on 80,000 roaring fans, breakneck attacking football and a knack for producing the next superstar before anyone else spots him. This free Borussia Dortmund quiz spans the whole story, from the club's post-war German championships of the 1950s and 60s to the modern BVB of pressing and counter-attacks, all played out in front of the Südtribüne, the 'Yellow Wall' that is the largest standing terrace in European club football.
You'll be quizzed on the moments that made the club. Ottmar Hitzfeld's side beating Juventus 3-1 in the 1997 Champions League final in Munich, 20-year-old substitute Lars Ricken chipping the keeper seconds after coming on. Jürgen Klopp's thunderous team winning back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012, then the heartbreak of the 2013 all-German final against Bayern at Wembley. And the return to that same stadium in 2024, beaten 2-0 by Real Madrid. Legends run through it: Michael Zorc, Karl-Heinz Riedle, Roman Weidenfeller, Marco Reus and the talent-factory line of Mario Götze, Ousmane Dembélé, Jadon Sancho, Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham.
Questions cover league titles and cup runs, record transfers and cult heroes, the great managers and the famous nights under the lights. Expect to be asked how many Bundesliga titles BVB have won, who they beat in 1997, which players the club sold to Real Madrid and Manchester City, and who has patrolled the touchline from Hitzfeld to Klopp to Niko Kovač. Difficulty climbs from gentle openers about famous finals to genuinely hard deep cuts on squad numbers, transfer fees and specific matchdays.
As with every Ball IQ quiz, each answer carries a short explanation, so a question you miss still teaches you the fact behind it. Play the sample set below for free in your browser with no sign-up, then open the Ball IQ app for the full Borussia Dortmund quiz, plus daily challenges and head-to-head multiplayer.
Ball IQ has 18 Borussia Dortmund questions — 3 easy, 11 medium and 4 hard.
15 sample questions. Tap “Show answer” to reveal the answer and the story behind it.
In the 1997 Champions League final, 20-year-old local boy Lars Ricken came off the bench and scored an audacious chip just 16 seconds after stepping on the pitch. Which giants did Dortmund beat 3-1 that night in Munich?
Answer: Juventus
Dortmund toppled the reigning champions and their star Alessandro Del Piero; Karl-Heinz Riedle's brace and Ricken's instant chip sealed BVB's first and only European Cup.
On 18 January 2020, a teenager came off the bench on his Dortmund debut against Augsburg and scored a hat-trick inside 23 minutes. Who announced himself so spectacularly?
Answer: Erling Haaland
It was the first substitute debut hat-trick in Bundesliga history. The Norwegian striker would go on to score 86 goals in 89 games for BVB before joining Manchester City.
In 2024 Borussia Dortmund reached the Champions League final at Wembley but lost 2-0. Which club denied them, lifting a record-extending 15th title?
Answer: Real Madrid
It was Dortmund's third CL final and second Wembley heartbreak; manager Edin Terzic stepped down less than two weeks later.
As of 2026, who is the manager that engineered Borussia Dortmund's dramatic 2024-25 turnaround — taking over with the club 11th and dragging them to a final-day fourth place and Champions League qualification?
Answer: Niko Kovac
Kovac, a former Bayern and Frankfurt boss, replaced Nuri Sahin mid-season in early 2025 and later extended his BVB contract into 2027.
Borussia Dortmund have won eight German championships in total. Counting both the pre-Bundesliga and Bundesliga eras, how many of those titles came in the Bundesliga era specifically?
Answer: 5
Three titles (1956, 1957, 1963) predate the Bundesliga; five Bundesliga-era crowns followed in 1995, 1996, 2002, 2011 and 2012.
Borussia Dortmund's official motto is two German words capturing the bond between club and fans. What are they?
Answer: Echte Liebe
'Echte Liebe' (literally 'Real Love') came from a 2009 brand campaign built on loyalty, intensity and unconditional devotion — embodied by the Yellow Wall.
In 1966, Borussia Dortmund achieved a German first by beating Liverpool 2-1 after extra time at Hampden Park. What did this victory make them?
Answer: The first German club to win a European trophy
The 1966 European Cup Winners' Cup, won with goals from Sigfried Held and Reinhard Libuda, was the first European silverware brought to Germany.
Klopp's first Bundesliga title with Dortmund in 2010-11 was built on a remarkably young squad. Which midfielder, a Dortmund academy product, did Klopp infamously 'lose' to rivals Bayern in 2013?
Answer: Mario Götze
Götze's €37m release clause was triggered in April 2013, weeks before the all-German Champions League final between the two clubs — which he then missed through injury. The move stunned BVB fans.
In the early 2000s Borussia Dortmund came perilously close to bankruptcy, with reported debts of around €200 million. According to Uli Hoeness, which arch-rival quietly lent them €2 million to make payroll?
Answer: Bayern Munich
Hoeness said Bayern gave the loan without collateral; BVB's Hans-Joachim Watzke later insisted he never asked Bayern for 'a single Euro'.
On 11 April 2017, Dortmund's team bus was rocked by three roadside bombs on the way to a Champions League quarter-final. Which player was injured by flying glass?
Answer: Marc Bartra
Bartra needed wrist surgery; the bomber, motivated by a scheme to crash BVB's share price, was later jailed for 14 years for attempted murder.
Which one-club legend holds Borussia Dortmund's record for most competitive appearances, turning out 572 times between 1981 and 1998?
Answer: Michael Zorc
Dortmund-born Zorc, a reliable penalty taker and long-time captain, later became the club's sporting director and a key architect of the Klopp era.
Dortmund's Westfalenstadion was built for the 1974 World Cup only because another city pulled out, freeing up the funds. Which city's withdrawal handed Dortmund its stadium?
Answer: Cologne
This cathedral city's planned World Cup stadium ran nearly four times over budget, so it dropped out in 1971 — and Dortmund, using a cheap prefabricated-pallet design, scooped up the money instead.
Dortmund's famous Südtribüne earns its nickname 'Die Gelbe Wand' (The Yellow Wall) for a specific reason. What record does this terrace hold?
Answer: Largest standing terrace in European football
Holding around 25,000 standing fans, it's the biggest standing terrace in Europe and a key reason Signal Iduna Park is so intimidating.
Borussia Dortmund got their name not from the Latin word for Prussia directly, but from a sign hanging in the pub where they were founded in 1909. What was that sign advertising?
Answer: A brewery's beer
The founders met at the pub 'Zum Wildschütz' near Borsigplatz in December 1909 and took the name from a Borussia-Brauerei beer advertisement still hanging on the wall — even though that brewery had already gone bankrupt years earlier.
Dortmund's first two German championships were won by a forward line nicknamed the 'three Alfredos' — Preißler, Kelbassa and Niepieklo. In which decade did BVB claim those back-to-back national titles?
Answer: 1950s
All three strikers really were named Alfred. They led Dortmund to consecutive titles in 1956 and 1957 — the club's first major national silverware, a decade after losing the 1949 final.
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