Immortalised in Anastasia’s sketch book, Erling Haaland
9 March 2021 - Dortmund

Drawing on Dortmund’s passion

Borussia Dortmund
Anastasia Gradl

Champions Journalist fan reporter Anastasia Gradl was in her sick bed for yesterday’s game. However, she felt better after a combination of sketchpad and striker… 

I was in hospital after a small operation for our second leg against Sevilla. Nevertheless, I was looking forward to watching the match at all costs.

But if you have ever had to stay in hospital for a couple of days, you know how boring it can get; time was crawling along while I was waiting for kick-off. So I thought it might be a good idea to draw some of my favourite Dortmund players, seeing as drawing is one of my favourite hobbies. It also seemed like a nice way to support my team indirectly.

However, Erling Haaland was my first and last attempt at drawing Dortmund players; all I could do was pray that his football skills that night would be better than my art skills. I am blaming the pain killers.

Haaland celebrates his second against Sevilla

Luckily, Haaland was on form. The match was great; I love to see those guys fighting. They are finally expressing their will to win again. That said, I couldn’t see everything that was going on due to the bad internet connection in my room; sometimes I had to rely on my imagination to guess who the yellow and white dots were playing the ball.

Fortunately the picture quality was good when it counted, so I didn’t miss Haaland’s first goal. Though it was nothing compared to his second one, which had all sorts of ups and downs within a couple of minutes. First I was glad that he’d scored a second, then I was disappointed that it didn’t count. But then he was given a penalty – which was saved by Sevilla goalkeeper Bono. I was disappointed again. But then – final surprise – the penalty had to be retaken and Haaland finally scored again!

The match wasn’t boring for a minute and you could tell that Sevilla wouldn’t give up until the end. After they scored their second goal in the sixth minute of injury time, I was nervously hoping that the internet would keep working. My neighbour in the next bed had no idea what I was going through. Why wouldn’t the referee blow the final whistle? Then there it was! Finally.

I am relieved and looking forward to watching the quarter-finals in more familiar surroundings: at home with good internet, and with people who love football just like I do.

Our Champions Journalist fan reporter:
Anastasia Gradl
Anastasia got into football during the 2014 World Cup – and hasn’t looked back since. Her favourite Dortmund player is Marco Reus (she appreciates his loyalty and down-to-earth nature) and her standout memory as a supporter is the time she met a group of British football fans in a Cologne pub, found out they had a spare ticket to Dortmund v Dusseldorf and joined them at the match the next day.
About Champions Journalist fan reporters: These blogs have been written by winners of our annual Champions Journalist competition as well as a selection of editors from various fan page accounts. Together they offer their unique insights from the group stages all the way to the final.
Champions Journalist
With thanks to our Champions Journalist winner
Anastasia Gradl
Champions Journalist is an annual competition that gives fans a chance to write about their club for Champions Journal.