Paul Lambert's Euro glory with Borussia Dortmund

The Villa boss will be at Wembley tonight to see his old club bid to become champions of Europe for a second time, writes Nick Mashiter.

It's an all-German affair against Bayern Munich on English soil with Dortmund the underdogs – just like they were in 1997. Lambert lifted the trophy in his one season at the Westfalenstadion and was catapulted into the club's folklore when they beat Juventus 3-1 in Munich.

He joined Celtic that summer a European Cup winner and credits his time in Germany for making him the player he was and the manager he is.

And he insists nothing can compare to winning the Champions League, with Dortmund within touching distance again.

"My view is, and people might beg to differ, it's alright competing in the tournament but you have to win it to know what it's like and the feeling of lifting it," he said.

"I saw a programme where it said the Champions League trophy cost the least amount of money to make and teams spend the most amount of money trying to win it. That is so true.

"I'd have hated to have played in it and lost. The one chance you get, you have to take it.

"You have to win it because I wouldn't like to get there and lose it – the feeling that must be."

Dortmund beat Manchester United 2-0 on aggregate in the 1997 semi-final after finishing second in their group behind Atletico Madrid.

Their march to the final also included a quarter-final victory over Auxerre before they faced the might of the Old Lady.

Zinedine Zidane, Alessandro Del Piero, Didier Deschamps and Chrisitan Vieri all played for the Italian side that night. They were all left second best. Lambert nullified Zidane's threat with a masterful display where he also set up Karl-Heinze Riedle's opening goal. Riedle netted a second before Del Piero pulled one back but substitute Lars Ricken sealed the game with his first touch.

But Lambert, who guided Villa to 15th in the Premier League after a season-long battle against the drop, admitted he never felt comfortable until Ricken's clincher.

"We played against a team who, if you look at their players, were top class," recalled Lambert.

"Del Piero scored an unbelievable goal just after half-time and you're thinking 'maybe they are going to come back into it'. But then Lars scores with his first touch of the ball, one of the best goals in the Champions League ever. Once that went in, you knew that was it."

Lambert was lauded for his role in victory as Zidane was stifled.

"Myself and Paulo (Sousa) were in the midfield and you knew your job – you had to nullify Zidane, he was arguably the best player in the world at that time," he said.

"I had great belief in the lads I played with. They had won World Cups, titles and they were used to big games. It had to be a special team to beat the Dortmund side at that time."

Lambert's Wembley trip will evoke memories of 16 years ago as he sees his former team-mates for the first time in years.

The legendary team – the only side in the club's history to win the European Cup – will get together, something Lambert is relishing.

He said: "Dortmund have invited us all to the game – that's something special. I haven't been to Dortmund for two years, haven't seen some of these guys since I don't know when.

"That team was a special team and special years. It was a phenomenal football side."