Borussia Dortmund sign Adrián Ramos from Hertha Berlin

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/apr/09/borussia-dortmund-sign-adrian-ramos-hertha-berlin

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Borussia Dortmund have given themselves a filip following their Champions League exit to Real Madrid with the signing of the Hertha Berlin striker Adrián Ramos on a four-year deal to replace Robert Lewandowski, who is leaving to join Bayern Munich at the end of the season.

The 28-year-old from Colombia, who will join the club in the summer, has scored 32 goals in 89 Bundesliga appearances for Hertha, 16 of which have come this season. There were no financial details available on the transfer but German media reported the deal to be worth about €10m (£8.2m).

"It was my wish to take the next step in my career and play in the Champions League," said Ramos, who is expected to feature for his country in the World Cup.

Dortmund have struggled to keep up with Bayern's relentless pace in the Bundesliga and departed the Champions League on Tuesday after a 3-2 aggregate defeat against Real. But their manager Jürgen Klopp was delighted with his side's display at the Westfalenstadion, where a 2-0 win was not quite enough to topple the Spanish side.

"I could not be more proud of this team and the way they played," Klopp said after the match in Germany. "The players who came in – it was Milos Jojic's first game for Dortmund in the starting lineup – were extremely strong."

"The game today was so good that we just cannot say anything else about it or accuse anyone. We have not made it easy for our fans this season but we offered them the best in this match."

Much of the post-match focus fell on the former Liverpool target Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who missed several fine chances to add to Dortmund's tally. "He put in an outstanding performance," said Klopp in his defence. "He had two moments that every player has to go through in his career – especially in a phase where scoring goals doesn't come easily.

"It would be great if we could look at the game as a whole, and not only at the two missed chances. We had a few others – and five clear-cut opportunities in the first leg. Had we scored there, a 2-0 result would have seen us through. Out of a million possibilities to go out of the competition, this was still the best."

For Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti's 50th match in charge proved his most nerve-racking but after surviving the scare his side retain a chance of a rare treble. They are third in La Liga, three points behind the leaders Atlético Madrid with six games left, and also through to the Copa del Rey final, where they will face Barcelona. Barça are the only Spanish side to have won the Champions League, La Liga and the Copa del Rey in one season, in 2009 under Pep Guardiola.

A relieved Ancelotti said the match in Dortmund had turned when Angel Di María's 17th-minute penalty was saved by Roman Weidenfeller.

"We gifted them a lot, above all in the first half," said the Italian, who has 39 wins, six draws and five defeats in his first 50 Real games. "In the second we didn't lose our heads, we defended better and we had chances to score. I am pleased to get to the semi-finals, which was an important goal, but not with the way in which we did it."

Real's lethargic and error-strewn performance almost wrecked their chances of a fourth consecutive appearance in the semi-finals of Europe's elite club competition and they will have to improve if they are to reach the final in Lisbon.

"The key was the penalty, which gave Borussia a big lift, and at that moment an element of fear affected the team," Ancelotti admitted. "We didn't play after that moment and we only defended. We needed to have control of the game and possession and in the first half we just didn't manage it."

Cristiano Ronaldo, who sat out the game in Germany on the Real bench with a knee problem, should be fit for Saturday's game at home to Almeria.