Champions League Final 2013: Roman Weidenfeller Proved His Worth Despite Loss

In a way, it's good Borussia Dortmund lost to Bayern Munich in the 2013 Champions League final. There's something a little unsettling about a Roman conquering Europe.

Nobody can pin Dortmund's 2-1 loss on Roman Weidenfeller, though. Time and again, he made impressive save after impressive save. For much of the match, he and Manuel Neuer were putting on their own little game of Can You Top This?

The two easily stole the show and made it one of the most entertaining matches in recent memory. So many times big games have been heavily hyped only to turn out to be massive letdowns.

That didn't happen on Saturday, and a lot of it was due to Neuer and Weidenfeller. It was expected that Neuer would put on a show, if necessary. Weidenfeller was a much better surprise. You knew he'd be good, but you couldn't have expected him to be that good.

He laid it all on the line, even taking a point-blank shot from Arjen Robben right in the face.

Weidenfeller was helpless to stop Robben's winner in the 89th minute, but without him, Dortmund could have easily surrendered four goals.

The Daily Mirror's Martin Lipton was complimentary of Weidenfeller's performance:

With all of the talented players on Dortmund, it's easy to forget about the captain. When you're competing for attention and adulation with the likes of Mario Gotze, Marco Reus, Robert Lewandowski, Ilkay Gundogan and Sven Bender, you better be impressive at what you do.

As a result, Weidenfeller has been lost in the shuffle. After Saturday, though, there's no doubting his class. Fans who have been watching the Bundesliga will attest to his quality over the past few seasons. Those who have managed to only catch glimpses of Dortmund will finally have seen the 32-year-old's talent.

If he were any younger, Weidenfeller would be on the shortlist for top European clubs that are looking to upgrade at keeper this season.

ESPN's James Tyler has already penciled him in as a target for Bayern, to go along with every other player on Dortmund's squad:

He's not the best keeper in the world, but he more than held his own against Neuer and established himself in the goalkeeping hierarchy. From this point forward, any discussion of the top goalkeepers in the world must include Weidenfeller's name.

It was a deserved performance for a player who has managed to be so reliable for Dortmund, as the team has ascended to the elite of European football. He's not the most dazzling goalkeeper, but there's something impressive in the way Weidenfeller has remained so consistent.

He's made mistakes like any other player, but it's a testament to his quality that Jurgen Klopp has remained steadfast in his trust with Weidenfeller.

Some might argue that Mats Hummels and Neven Subotic would make any goalkeeper look good. But it goes beyond that.

Weidenfeller has appeared in 283 Bundesliga matches for Dortmund since joining the club in 2002. That league experience hasn't translated to the national team, as he's been stuck behind guys like Neuer, Tim Wiese, Jens Lehmann and Oliver Kahn. And now the future is firmly in the hands of Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Ron-Robert Zieler.

That's a bit of a shame because it robbed Weidenfeller of getting on a larger stage prior to Dortmund's rise, which would have given him the plaudits and praise he's richly deserved.

Weidenfeller will remain one of the few constants in a summer of questions and fraught nerves ahead for Dortmund.