A breakdown in the Champions League: things were anything but royal on April 1, 1998 at the Santiago Bernabeu. Borussia Dortmund became the innocent victim of one of the biggest mishaps in any European match involving a German side. Before the semifinal against Real Madrid had even kicked off, Real ultras tore down one of the goals.\n\nAt first the 85,000 spectators and millions watching on TV thought it was an April Fool's joke.
It was not. The goal in front of the north stand had in fact buckled under the weight of the ultras.\n\nIt took 76 minutes to bring a replacement from Real's training ground. The absurdity of the scene inspired RTL host Guenther Jauch and commentator Marcel Reif to one-liners that later won a Grimme Award.
Dortmund, however, failed to seize the moment.\n\nInstead of lodging a protest and refusing to play, they played nicely and lost 2:0, too big a burden to overturn in the 0:0 second leg.