‘‘Feyenoord are very compact and have some incredible individuals,’’ said the former German international.

‘‘Strikers Pierre Van Hooijdonk and Jon Dahl Tomasson are two in particular. They should be beatable, however, despite their quality and home advantage.’’

Dortmund go into the game as slight favourites following their domestic success and could crown their campaign with two trophies inside four days.

And victory inside the Rotterdammers’ lion’s den would hand the club a full set of European titles following their 1966 Cup Winners’ Cup success and 1997 Champions League victory.

Only fellow Germans Bayern Munich, Dutch masters Ajax, Spaniards Barcelona and Juventus in Italy have achieved the feat.

It is a fact not lost on Germany midfielder Lars Ricken, who inspired his side to glory five years ago as Juve were disposed of 3-1.

‘‘This could be the most successful year in the club’s history and this motivates us a lot,’’ he said.

‘‘If we had blown the Bundesliga, going to Rotterdam would have been very hard.

‘‘Now we have the momentum and we will take that with us.’’

Feyenoord defender Kees van Wonderen admits his side face a daunting task if they are to snatch the prize and avoid an upset on their own patch.

After beating the odds to dump Inter Milan out of the semi-finals, and seeing off Freiburg, Rangers and rivals PSV Eindhoven before them, van Wonderen is upbeat.

‘‘Feyenoord has to rise above itself once again,’’ he said.

‘‘We have shown many different faces this season in the Dutch league and in Europe.

‘‘We know we can make life hard for many top European clubs.’’

‘‘We are all very motivated for the game,’’ added Feyenoord coach Bert Van Marwijk.

‘‘We have had a relaxing time with the team and we are ready.’’

There were fears at one point, however, that the game may be postponed after the assassination of far-right politician Pim Fortuyn.

Security concerns were raised following Monday’s killing of Fortuyn, who recently polled 35% in the city’s council elections.

Because of the extreme nature of Fortuyn’s anti-Muslim views and the history of fan trouble involving Dutch-German clashes, there were worries that one of UEFA’s showpiece occasions would be tainted by violence.

But Rotterdam’s mayor Ivo Opstelten told a news conference yesterday he had decided the match would not be postponed. UEFA had already given the match the go-ahead.