Every great club has its period of darkness. Bayern recovered from this period in 2010; the darkness was such that many suspected they would not recover.
2009 is remembered by many for the triumph of one of the most complete Barcelona sides in living memory in the Champions League. En route to the final, Barcelona took out Bayern in the quarter-finals. Before Bayern even knew what was going on, Barca had knocked in four past them in the first leg in Camp Nou. That night, Bayern officials, players and fans truly bowed their heads in shame. The defeat came just a year after an embarrassing 4-0 defeat at the hands of Zenit in the UEFA Cup semi-finals.
Stefan Effenberg lifted the coveted Champions League trophy in 2001 following some great saves by Oliver Kahn in a penalty shoot-out. That turned out to be Bayern’s last final or even semi-final in the Champions League for nine long years. While domestic trophies continued to come, Bayern became a lesser power in the Champions League. They weren’t even regarded a serious threat by teams which dominated between 2002 and 2010.
Some members of the Bayern team torn apart by Barca are still there in the side today including Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Hans-Jörg Butt and Thomas Müller. Juergen Klinsmann was the head coach. He was dismissed shortly afterwards. In 2009-2010, Bayern took Germany and Europe by storm.
In Europe, their story was looked at as a ‘fairy tale’. Bayern had officially returned. With a combination of a large number of home-grown players and some exceptional talents on the wings, they head for the Champions League final. They knocked out a nemesis who denied them the European Cup in 1999.
Old Trafford is famously known as ‘the Theatre of Dreams’.
Those words rang true for Bayern on a night when they lost 3-2 and head to their first semi-final in nine years thanks to the away goals rule. They handily beat Lyon but sadly fell at the final hurdle. Bayern had come to display their football in Madrid in the 2010 final while Inter had truly come to take the trophy home. Despite controlling possession, Van Gaal’s team’s failure to defend saw them leave empty-handed.
This season, Bayern has done the job of progressing to the final much more smoothly. In the group stages, they topped their group and needed no escape on the last match-day as they did in 2009 against Juventus (1-4). They lost in Basel but set a record in the second leg. The ride to the quarters was smooth unlike in 2010, when they beat Fiorentina on away goals.
More drama in 2010 saw Bayern as mentioned before require away goals to progress past United. This time around, Marseille was swatted away. Bayern in 2010 had demolished Lyon in the semi-finals. This time around, they had to fight for their ticket against Madrid. Eventually, Bayern kept their cool in the shoot-out and made the final.
Unlike in 2010, Bayern is considered a slight favourite due to home advantage and because Chelsea has four players suspended compared to their three. The team is not much different from the one in 2010. Toni Kroos, who was loaned out to Leverkusen for 2009-2010 is now a vital part of the side while Manuel Neuer and Jerome Boateng have been purchased and become very important players.
In Bayern’s period of darkness, the number of youth players in the team had substantially fallen. The quality of the Bundesliga had fallen making it easy for Bayern to win the league. Since 2010, Bayern has been pushed hard, first by Schalke and now by Borussia Dortmund. Bayern has to keep improving to compete with Germany’s best now.
Many pundits continue to feel that had the El Classico been scheduled for a different weekend, the final would not have been an Anglo-German one. However, one cannot forget that both teams won the first leg. Bayern was the better side in both the games against Real and had more possession. Their inability to convert chances saw them have to go to penalties in the first place.
Regardless of whether Bayern wins the game at the Allianz Arena on May 19th, they truly deserve their status as a power house on the European stage. Only United and Barca have made two finals in the past four seasons. They proved that 2010 was no fluke. If Bayern does win the Champions League this year, their victory will be no ‘fairytale’; it will be well deserved.
A club of Bayern’s stature deserves to be applauded any day. Their ninth European Cup will truly be a special one. Can Bayern lift the trophy? Oliver Kahn and Stefan Effenberg will certainly be applauding if they do.
Stefan Effenberg lifted the coveted Champions League trophy in 2001 following some great saves by Oliver Kahn in a penalty shoot-out. That turned out to be Bayern’s last final or even semi-final in the Champions League for nine long years. While domestic trophies continued to come, Bayern became a lesser power in the Champions League. They weren’t even regarded a serious threat by teams which dominated between 2002 and 2010.
Some members of the Bayern team torn apart by Barca are still there in the side today including Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Hans-Jörg Butt and Thomas Müller. Juergen Klinsmann was the head coach. He was dismissed shortly afterwards. In 2009-2010, Bayern took Germany and Europe by storm.
In Europe, their story was looked at as a ‘fairy tale’. Bayern had officially returned. With a combination of a large number of home-grown players and some exceptional talents on the wings, they head for the Champions League final. They knocked out a nemesis who denied them the European Cup in 1999.
Old Trafford is famously known as ‘the Theatre of Dreams’.
Those words rang true for Bayern on a night when they lost 3-2 and head to their first semi-final in nine years thanks to the away goals rule. They handily beat Lyon but sadly fell at the final hurdle. Bayern had come to display their football in Madrid in the 2010 final while Inter had truly come to take the trophy home. Despite controlling possession, Van Gaal’s team’s failure to defend saw them leave empty-handed.
This season, Bayern has done the job of progressing to the final much more smoothly. In the group stages, they topped their group and needed no escape on the last match-day as they did in 2009 against Juventus (1-4). They lost in Basel but set a record in the second leg. The ride to the quarters was smooth unlike in 2010, when they beat Fiorentina on away goals.
More drama in 2010 saw Bayern as mentioned before require away goals to progress past United. This time around, Marseille was swatted away. Bayern in 2010 had demolished Lyon in the semi-finals. This time around, they had to fight for their ticket against Madrid. Eventually, Bayern kept their cool in the shoot-out and made the final.
Unlike in 2010, Bayern is considered a slight favourite due to home advantage and because Chelsea has four players suspended compared to their three. The team is not much different from the one in 2010. Toni Kroos, who was loaned out to Leverkusen for 2009-2010 is now a vital part of the side while Manuel Neuer and Jerome Boateng have been purchased and become very important players.
In Bayern’s period of darkness, the number of youth players in the team had substantially fallen. The quality of the Bundesliga had fallen making it easy for Bayern to win the league. Since 2010, Bayern has been pushed hard, first by Schalke and now by Borussia Dortmund. Bayern has to keep improving to compete with Germany’s best now.
Many pundits continue to feel that had the El Classico been scheduled for a different weekend, the final would not have been an Anglo-German one. However, one cannot forget that both teams won the first leg. Bayern was the better side in both the games against Real and had more possession. Their inability to convert chances saw them have to go to penalties in the first place.
Regardless of whether Bayern wins the game at the Allianz Arena on May 19th, they truly deserve their status as a power house on the European stage. Only United and Barca have made two finals in the past four seasons. They proved that 2010 was no fluke. If Bayern does win the Champions League this year, their victory will be no ‘fairytale’; it will be well deserved.
A club of Bayern’s stature deserves to be applauded any day. Their ninth European Cup will truly be a special one. Can Bayern lift the trophy? Oliver Kahn and Stefan Effenberg will certainly be applauding if they do.
