Ultimate Borussia Dortmund dream team - Lewandowski and Reus in, no room for Moller

One of Borussia Dortmund's finest goalkeepers, Roman Weidenfeller made 453 appearances in all competitions during his 16-year stint at the club from 2002 to 2018.

He initially joined Dortmund as a replacement for Jens Lehmann who eventually left for Arsenal in 2003. Weidenfeller made his debut for Dortmund on 17 December 2003.

During his time at the Signal Iduna Park, Weidenfeller won two Bundesliga titles, two DFB Pokal trophies, one DFL Super Cup and was part of the team that ended runners-up in the Champions League in 2012-13.

Polish full-back Lukasz Piszczek spent 11 years at Borussia Dortmund between 2010 and 2021, making 363 appearances, primarily as a right-back.

The versatile defender also featured at centre-back when the team required him, making him quite the utility player in his prime.

With Dortmund, Piszczek won two consecutive Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012, three DFB-Pokal Cups, and three DFL-Supercups as well as featured in the team that reached the 2013 Uefa Champions League final.

Centre-back Jurgen Kohler earned the nickname of "Football God" among Borussia Dortmund fans after his incredible game-saving tackle in the 1997 Champions League semi-final against Manchester United. Dortmund went on to become European champions later that season.

Kohler, who also won the World Cup with Germany in 1990, also played for clubs like Bayern Munich and Juventus in his career.

The centre-back made 191 appearances for Dortmund in his career, also winning two Bundesliga titles, two Super Cups and an Intercontinental Cup to go with the 1997 Champions League winners medal.

The pillar of Borussia Dortmund's Champions League glory in 1997, Julio Cesar etched his name in the club's folklore with his incredible performances throughout the tournament.

Cesar actually missed the final of the Champions League in 1997, but his contribution to Dortmund goes beyond that.

Picking him ahead of players like Nevin Subotic, Mats Hummels and Christian Worns was a task, but Cesar deserves to be here courtesy of his role in the greatest season in Dortmund's history.

Brazilian left-back Leonardo de Deus Santos, more commonly known as Dede, featured for Borussia Dortmund between 1998 and 2011.

The defender made 322 appearances for the club in his 13-year spell.

Dede joined the club in 1998 at the age of 20 and went on to create an impressive partnership on the wings with his compatriot Evanilson.

He won two league titles with Dortmund, in 2001-02 and 2010-11.

If not for injuries, Dede would have achieved a lot more success at the club.

Many might think Marcel Schmelzer deserves a mention here. We think so too!

However, Dede was just too tough a choice to ignore.

German central midfielder Matthias Sammer was playing for Borussia Dortmund when he won the coveted Ballon d'Or in 1996, making him the first defender to win the Ballon d'Or since Franz Beckenbauer in 1976.

Sammer won the Bundesliga and DFL-Supercup in 1995 followed by the Bundesliga and DFL Supercup in 1996, a year in which he also won the European Footballer of the Year award. That same year, he also shone for Germany and led them to Euro '96 glory.

The legendary midfielder followed that up by leading Borussia Dortmund to Champions League and Intercontinental Cup wins in 1997.

Sammer played for five years at BVB, making 115 appearances for the club. He retired from the game at the age of 31 due to a serious knee injury in 1998.

If there was ever a player who embodies everything Borussia Dortmund stand for, it's Michael Zorc.

A one-club-man throughout his career, Zorc ran BVB's midfield, making 463 appearances for the club and scoring 131 goals, a great return for a player featuring in the middle of the park.

At one time in his career, Zorc was also the greatest goalscorer in Dortmund's history.

Primarily featuring for them as a left-sided central midfielder, Zorc won seven trophies at Borussia Dortmund, two league titles, two DFL Supercups, a DFB Pokal, an Intercontinental Cup and a coveted Champions League, the club's only major European trophy in their history along with the 1965-66 European Cup Winners' Cup.

Since his retirement in 1998, right up until 2022, Zorc was Borussia Dortmund's sporting director, a role during which he led the club's vision of building a core youth academy and scouting system.

One of Borussia Dortmund's greatest players in the decade between 2012 and 2022, Marco Reus graduated from their academy initially before being handed his first pro contract by Borussia Monchengladbach in 2009.

Dortmund realised what they missed out on and signed him in 2012.

Reus went on to become a leader and legend in German football, playing as an attacking midfielder, scoring over a 150 goals and providing over 100 assists in 368 senior games for the club.

In his prime, Reus had many offers to join other big clubs in Europe, but the fact that he chose to stay at Borussia Dortmund during an era where club loyalty is an issue in football, deserves huge credit.

If there was anyone more deserving to feature in a Borussia Dortmund all-time best XI, it would be Manfred Burgsmuller.

The forward joined the club in 1976 and played there for seven years, scoring 135 goals in 224 games.

A unique fact about Burgsmuller's stint at Dortmund was that he never scored less than 15 goals in each of the seven years he stayed at the club, which is quite an incredible record!

His goalscoring prowess deserves his entry into one of Dortmund's greatest-ever players list and in this greatest XI.

The most disappointing part of Burgsmuller's Dortmund stint was that he never won a trophy at the club.

There may be many-a-great strikers that have played and succeeded at Borussia Dortmund, but most of those will be overshadowed by Robert Lewandowski.

The Polish forward joined the club in 2010 and in his four years there, he led them to newer heights, both domestically and in Europe.

Lewandowski's peak at Dortmund was when he scored four goals against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final in the 2012-13 season, which set up an all-German European final against Bayern Munich.

Despite him later joining Bayern and going on to achieve footballing greatness, there is no doubt Lewandowski is still one of Dortmund's greatest-ever strikers.

With 148 goals in 249 games for Borussia Dortmund, Lothar Emmerich completes our greatest XI.

Emmerich featured for Dortmund for nine years between 1960 and 1969 primarily as a versatile forward and was a key component in the club's European Cup Winners' Cup glory in the 1965-66 season.

He also won the league with Dortmund in 1963 followed by the DFB Pokal in the 1964-65 season.