UEFA Champions League draw twinned the football styles

What if I put it to you, that Arsenal's Arsene Wenger will not resign any time soon unless he wins the FA Cup. Can we accept it as a fact that if, and only if that happens, he will resign immediately as he will not entertain an embarrassing exit from the club that he took to dizzy heights and was credited with revolutionising the English game after his arrival in London almost two decades ago. Her Majesty, the Queen of England has done enough to hold her horses in knighting a man who once deserved the accolade, but has been questioned by many after his extended success-drought spell. Statistically, Wenger's numbers surpass those of Sir Alex Ferguson, but SAF won what mattered the most in over 30 matches.

This is just to warm our appetite for the Gunners' lucky break if reaching yet another FA Cup final, a fluke if you ask me. Let us stop analysing the UEFA Champions League. First and foremost, Manchester United's elimination ends their season early. The Red Devils had just hit a purple patch in all competitions but that loss kills any fight in them. There is no incentive to go on as they will officially miss Europe's top competition, the biggest club competition in the world for the first time in decades. Anyway, that is an Old Trafford problem.

It is common knowledge that Barcelona hordes the ball, but of late, the wheels are coming off their wagon. They are third in the league after their elimination from the Champions League by Athletico Madrid. I wish to combine Athletico's win with the victory Chelsea enjoyed. This is due to the interesting fact of their similar styles. They rely on a grafting work ethic that proves toil never fails. More so, whenever possible their go direct and quickly. This has been the rise of German teams. Theirs can not be deemed route one football, but they duel and combat at every situation and grind the results. There is little nice about their display but then, if it pays, why not.

Many have taken Jose Mourinho's cry that he has no strikers. That is very untrue as he has, but his plans exclude them. In Samuel Eto'o, Demba Ba and Fernando Torres, he has men who come on the field and perform their duties and leave, mercenary style. They are at his disposal and they never fail, but The Special One does not want things that way. The indulgence of having the versatile Hazard and Oscar and the hard work of Willian makes Jose think that he can play and win matches with the three. The rest of his line-up become accessories to complement the trio. The interesting thing about him is that he is never afraid to cut and chop at anytime and for whatever reason. He may decide to stick with his plans no matter how fruitless. He has guts to stop a working scenario and try something new. Like him or not, he does not care about criticism. He is a risk taker, and usually a good one.

The Barcelona football has always delivered a cut high in terms of class. Somehow, when I told you that Barca are finished, I got ridicule. Their fall did not start yesterday. Their football is getting more square and sterile. They used to have penetrative pace longitudinally at their peak, but they are getting flatter and flatter. Their most influential players in Xavi and Iniesta have more passes to the side and back than forward. They now play the football that Arsenal played when the Gunners thought they played lie Barcelona. Despite the cutting edge of Messi and Neymar, the offensive dimension is stunted by the extra passes and more importantly, lack of space for the two to use. Both players thrive on running towards defenders with the ball at high pace. They dribble and leave defenders for dead like tornadoes. One can argue the quality of the coach. That type of football needs excessive concentration. That is why Bayern Munich can pull it off for now, because they are German.

For Munich, it is obvious that their players enjoy a small variation to what they did before Pep Guardiola arrived. He introduced a little more patience with the ball, but they were always a team that kept the ball well and took shots a pass or two earlier with each attack. This tactics works well if the attacking confidence is high and gets complimented by the calm finishing. As soon as goals dry, as in the Barca case, this can be fatal. The Spanish giants now need serious attention, an overhaul. Their attack is getting blunt, frustrated and unproductive.

In my assessment of Athletico and Chelsea, I mentioned some directness of their football. Real Madrid are extremely direct but their game is complimented by pace. As soon as Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale get on their bikes, no scooter can catch them. Their downfall is their careless defending. The chief culprit is Ramos. Pepe complements his antics well too. With a little cool heads at the back, they would play a sustainable type of game with ease. Real Madrid depend on sound absorbance of pressure and as their opponents push forward, they leave reasonable space between their last defenders and the goalkeeper. It is that space that the scampering Bale and Ronaldo will attack with the ball to great effect. This becomes the exact difference between Real and Barca. Real attacks the space by utilising it with excellent running with the ball technique while Barca. depend on running at the defenders with the ball in tight spaces.

The Bayern Munich way would be classified as the Barca way with a tint of the Madrid football. Given that the Germans were drawn against Real Madrid, it makes it an interesting pairing that will give the Spanish some advantage somehow. With Bayern though, their attack is not as narrow as that of Barcelona. Ribery and Robben stretch the game wide and they come at high pace, Ribery going wide and sometimes to the by-line for the cross while the Dutchman will drift in from the right, drop a shoulder and curl the ball around the goalkeeper inside the far post. Still, they take an extra pass before an attempt at goal. There is likely to be more aggressive attack with entertaining outcome here that in the other semi-final where grit will outwit grit.

The best part of the draw is that we will be exposed to extreme types of football in the final. That is the solid game of either Chelsea or Athletico and the direct and clinical Real or Bayern approach. Either style has its own pros and cons but the interesting thing will be how useful the coaches use the tools at their disposal.

Bayern Munich - Viva the Champions.

Arjen Robben is one of the few players who have played at Wembley Stadium and the one with most experiences there and now, probably his last and best memories will always be his fluctuating and mesmerising performance. He had the last word after his exploits that confused the many young Borrusia Dortmund players. 

Bayern Munich won 2-1 the Champions League final which was in England's decorated and famous Wembely Stadium after that winner from the balding Dutchman. Bayern equalled Liverpool's five European titles. Not only did he perplex his opponents and draw the ire of his fans. He was selfish and ultimately lethal. He is one man I always admired for his knowledge of his own talent. There is no question of his pride in his trade, if one follows where he has been, from his days at PSV Eindhoven, Chelsea, Real Madrid and now Bayern Munich.

The speedy Robben thrived on speed and dribbling wizardry few can match, especially when he is happy. After a fruitful season in which they wrested the Bundesliga in ruthless fashion from Dortmund and are still on track for the treble, he must be a very relied man after that missed penalty kick in extra-time in the 1-1 draw against Chelsea in the Champions League final in Munich before Bayern  lost on penalties to the Didier Drogba power master stroke.

Now leading a two-men movement affectionately known as Robbery, a wing-pronged attack involving Frenchman, Frank Ribery, he set up one goal and scored a softy in the dying minutes of the biggest match ever between these two German teams.  

What can one ask for with a man-of-the-match performance? He had Bayern's best two chances but somehow too eager to get things his way, fluffed both. Chasing a through ball, he wasted precious time attempting to switch the ball to his favourite left foot, dinking his effort poorly for goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller to turn away.

Moments later, it was a gilt-edged chance from the ball rebounding off a defender, but he shot straight at the goalkeeper. His second half shift to the left saw that Robbery effect when his interplay with Franck Ribery culminated in the dribble past Weidenfeller to set up Mario Mandzukic for a tap in into goal. He controlled the ball facing the advancing keeper and rolled the ball past a bemused Weidenfeller, Ribery assisting with a deft backheel.

Bayern's fans went into a frenzy as they screamed and shouted as their club entered the record books, chasing the Real Madrid and AC Milan title records with nine and seven championships respectively. By the time they conceded the winner, Dortmund were feeling the relentless pressure of Bayern pushing forward.

They reacted by doubling men charging towards the ball and ran extremely hard to neutralise the attacking force force that even Bayern never knew they had. Dortmund had two clear goal-scoring opportunities in the opening of the half, creating a total of seven of them. 

Solid Bayern defender Dante, had a clumsily kick on Marco Reus in the stomach, being lucky to stay on the pitch to see thew end of the match. Ilkay Guendogan sent Manuel Neuer the wrong way from the penalty spot.

The champions' triumph were a personal record for the manager leaving the club for Pep Guardiola to take over. The 68-year-old Heynckes became only the fourth manager to win the European Cup with two different clubs following his earlier success with Real Madrid in 1998. That elite club consists of Ernst Happel, Ottmar Hitzfeld and Jose Mourinho. 

Both goalkeepers had to summon their super-powers to ensure the spectacle lasted the entire 90 minutes. Given the rapid fast and furious tempo of the match, extra time could have spoilt the otherwise good show. It was Dortmund who began at blistering pace maintained entirely for almost 30 minutes. Reus and Polish Robert Lewandowski pestered and probed relentlessly the Bayern defence.

The Bayern attack was not to be outdone as Arjen Robben had an opportunity of a half-time hat trick, which did not matter eventually as the Bavarians lifted the famous Cup with big ears. Love them or hate them, Viva the Champions. Congratulations to Bayern Munich of Germany. 

Was UEFA semi-final Draw fixed?

Let's rely on my not-so-genius memory, as many will attest. I have not much time to research but save for the cases you know, my memory has not betrayed me fatally but do not make life-decisions made here.

Bayern Munich played Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League around 20 years ago, give or take 2 years. The draw pitting Barcelona and Bayern in a semi-final whose first leg is to be played at the Allianz Arena is not suggesting that it is deja vu.

Last year's runners-up Bayern will have to navigate past Barca, an easier feat now than it can ever be as it has been proved that the Spanish are breakable, especially without Lionel Messi. Messi may be fully fit by then, changing the dynamics.

In that very bad twist of fortune, Real Madrid also travel to Germany to face Dortmund before the return legs in Spain. The prospects of either an all-Spanish or all-German final at Wembley Stadium on May 25 will be the talking point for many pundits.

In my every day song, the chorus is that Barca are fading and by the end of the semi-final, I may have to reconsider and conclude that they are faded. They were bullied by AC Milan, only going past just. They beat Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals, again, just, on away goals.

Bayern are newly-crowned Bundesliga champions and appear the most solid team so far. Despite all this, I do not fancy them, but I am not sure how long the brittleness of the Catalans will last.

On the other hand, Madrid, who eliminated Galatasaray this week, are playing their best football under Jose Mourinho, or for the first time since the dominance of La Liga by Barcelona. It will be the two sides’ fourth pairing overall in the Champions League.

Dortmund have a young and energetic squad compared to the Spaniards, but their gods had to more than smile at them to see off a determined Malaga who felt robbed. One could be tempted Real will revenge for the Spanish.

The truth is that The Only One is caught in two minds. Rumours of him going back to England and his personal ambitions to be The Only Special One make this one interesting. It's not rocket science that Jose will head elsewhere if he wins the Champions League, and his team has the capacity to do it. Sentimentally and tactically, they are favourites at this point.

Realistically though, a minimum of 180 minutes of the 2012/13 Champions League football must elapse with two victories for them. This means beating a dynamic and versatile Borussia and then seeing off cultured Barca or Bayern. It would be nice to have the Spaniard against the Germans in England but time will tell.

Talking of England, I wondered if failure to have representation at this point meant the Barclays English Premier League has lost some shine. This is prompted by the lost of Newcastle and Tottenham Spurs in the Europa League last night.

It could be small technical faults and Chelsea may win the second tier Cup anyways. If these events are a measure to go by, it places Spain and Germany as the kings of league football. As relative as that may be, there may be some truth depending on how much football you talk about.

England has the money to attract the best players. I am not sure the same can be said by the coaches/managers. That translates to excellent technical levels that are void of tactical football in the league. My personal opinion is that the world outside England strikes a good balance of cash, talent and tactics. Anyway, that's a topic for another day.

For now, we await the first legs to be played on April 23 and 24, with the second legs to take place on April 30 and May 1. At least you have the liberty to forget reason and think by heart and you dream your team will kick bottom. For us, we start scrutinising details that range from possible line-ups to personalities that make the squad.

The margins of error in the execution of each pass or ball reception, as well as the speed of decisions and time spent on the ball will influence and be influenced by what happens away from the ball. The possible politics surrounding the refereeing is inevitable but one hopes that the true champions will win it by themselves and for themselves.

There has been enough cry about UEFA deciding the fate of the title by the 'disenfranchised' side like Malaga, and while I disagree with their racism issue against them, it is high time cases that saw Didier Drogba sanctioned a few years back, become extinct. I think this is a quality semi-final line-up and while it could have been fixed, I do not think so.

Semi-final draw
Bayern Munich v Barcelona
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid

Chelsea - The darkest hour is before dawn

The fundis have bombarded the cyber space with their educated opinions about how the European champions vanquished their foes on the way to an incredulous and obviously palatable throne.

Chelsea have since been basking in that glory and courting scrutiny on their next moves concerning one Didier Drogba, a man mountain who will never be replaced, should his imminent departure materialise, as well as the much anticipated replacement of Andreas Villas-Boas.

Stand-in manager in Roberto Di Matteo seemed to seal his fate with the FA Cup accolade just collected before the big one, the UEFA Cup. Having amassed that much weaponry to win his case, ascension to the hottest seat in football is still to be ascertained.

Instead of looking at how the Blues conquered Bavaria, given the history and stereo-type of German football mentality of Bayern Munich, all there is to savour are the lessons that can be gleaned from, not only that duel and the run to the Allianz Arena, but also from the surprise prowess Manchester City in the Barclays Premier League.

Football is played by toddlers by heart who genuinely see themselves as Ronaldos, Messis, Rooneys and Drogbas. That wishful thinking last as long as dew and they begin to act their age, their self. They will play and play-act that way. They believe they are just as lethal or better.

The professionals play at a way different level, the tactical and technical game. More tactic than technique increasingly influences the pattern and outcome of matches. As much as planning and management are crucial, the pivot hinges on the brilliance on a key individual massively gifted.

Chelsea had been very average throughout the past few years. There was never a question of their talent. Actually, there was; as to whether there was any team with as much individual technical ability.

With all the playing with the heart when they were psychologically superior to their peers, (their salaries played a huge part) they could only be rivalled by Manchester City, who, at one point, seemed too over-rated.

It may not be as obvious that Chelsea did not win because they are more talented than their semi-final victims, Barcelona or slaughtered Bayern Munich.

This distinguishing point was the championship mentality and a good footballing side. For many years, the world witnessed how much the beautiful football of the Catalans won matches and trophies. It was a new age of the game, after years of the dull finals always experienced the world over.

That phase came after the Brazilians and the Dutch introduced 'the beautiful game' and 'total football'. It was well while it lasted. The Germans introduced the dull straight forward game that the Italians solidified by the basketball defending tactics of Arrigo Sacchi.

Football was never the same until Barca successfully brought back the tiki-taka, historically known in South Africa as 'shoe-shine' piano, though in Africa it was more individual than a collective effort.

The Blues made a bold statement to our astonishment of what we all knew already. It does not matter how you play. No one remember those who came second.

The Londoners were neither too technical or tactical. They played not with their feet nor their hearts, but with their heads. That is the difference between a champion and a runner-up. It was not a game any more.

Now, the European champions did not require good fortune as many may want to to believe that they made their own luck with their hard work, confidence in their abilities and team spirit. All this, they had over the duration of the English Premier League.

All they did was dish out free lessons of how much one's life can change overnight regardless of their background. Where one is, where they were before, counts for nothing in dealing with life battles. Anyone person, have a Didier Drogba in themselves and getting him on there when you need him is key.

Whether you keep him after that success is another story. It may not be a guarantee that you contract your Di Matteo, but if you want to champion your own life and cause, impossible is nothing.

As much as this is about Chelsea, Manchester City proved the point that in life one can never give up. It is hardest just a moment from glory. They say it is darkest before dawn.

As a team,they were down and out, without any hope for silverware and qualification of Europe. They looked desperate and downtrodden, proof that you can be head and not the tail. 

I told you Chelsea will win it

Chelsea Football Club of the Barclays Premier League of England made a historic capture of the UEFA Champions League title with a chess end game of the highest order. It was not magic that they did so and we told you they were going to do it. (Get yourself a copy of The Anatomy of Football)

The Londoners stunned a confident and wasteful Bayern Munich to win a maiden European championship at the Allianz Arena in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw of full-time and a stalemated extra-time. 

It was the man Drogba who had equalised for Chelsea in the 88th minute who became the man of the show, as he tucked in the winning kick to send the English wild.

Thomas Mueller's 83rd minute header past Petr Cech had 'Champions' written all over it until the African from Ivory Coast sang.

The Cup with the Big Ears was last in the Bayern cabinet, who had it four times in their history, in 2001. They had the luxury of having Arjen Robben miss a spot-kick given away by Didier Drogba, as Cech heroically saved it during open play.

It was a sweet victory for Chelsea, who lost to Manchester United in the 2008 final on penalties, and were also undone in 2009's semi-final against Barcelona. Those dark moments were forgotten as the fans cried tears of joy.

Far from being value for money for many, the unpredictability of events made up for wow-factor. The hosts dominated the whole 90 minutes and were quite flat in extra time. The visitors' ultimate plan was not to lose it at any point of the match, which they executed very well.

Manager Rorbeto Di Matteo ensured they defended well against fierce attacks and potential heartbreaking wing-play from the Germans. It was a psychological game which built confidence on each player with each passing moment. 

Chelsea were always going to be a better team as the match wore on, not much as to the manager's prudence, but based on the work ethic of men at work digging for gold.

Without a few of their influential players, it sounded like a suicide mission to enter Germany with a 'rooky' stand-in manager of little experience in Europe.

Tucked away nicely were spot-kicks by David Luiz, captain of the day, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and of course, D Drog. 

Olic had replaced the regulation time scorer and his penalty-kick one-handedly stopped by Cech. It turned out that the usually dependable Bastien Schweinsteiger had no nerves to face the masked Cech as his spot-kick crashed the post. 

Drogba closed the meeting in the only way he knows how. The result became a bitter-sweet victory for Roman Abramovich who began to ponder as to how not to give a full contract to the 'out of contract' 33 year-old Drogba and care-taker manager Di Matteo.

It is a preferred headache than to play second fiddle to every one in everything to the billionaire who pumped in cool cash to his vetaran footballers.

Champions League final - Is this the day Chelsea have been waiting for?

The power of Bayern Munich lies on their hurricane attacking force of the bulldozing Gomez and ingenious of Frank Ribery and Arjen Robin. That they are German is a bonus.

The strong and rigid mentality and world renowned defensive discipline is another factor, but this one is a misplaced match given that only the philosophy will be whole German an the team is universally versatile.

Their ace in the sleeve is the home ground and their secret weapon will be the crowd. That is as far as their advantage goes, not withstanding that they are the second most attacking team in their league after the champions, Borussia Dortmund.

In their quest to conquer Europe tonight, an average English side that underperformed in the league and have no substantial leader in both senses of the word, they face a tricky assignment.

Chelsea are without John Terry, their influential skipper, and they are guided by stand-in manager in Roberto Di Matteo. They have a few issues about injuries and suspensions that rendered Ramirez 'unplayable' after his telling semi-final performance at the Camp Nou in Barcelona.

Now, what is the Londoners' hope? Chelsea, as we have mentioned before, were the kings of English football in terms of talent and money for a long time in the advent preceding the arrival of the petro-dollar bankrolled Manchester City.

These players were spoilt and called the shorts and threw tantrums at will. This was made conducive by the choice of managers that Roman Abramovic hired.

At this stage of the campaign, the players understand that they are at the twilight of their careers without much to show for it. They do not own the 'town' anymore as their salaries have just been turned into peanuts by new Barclays Premier League champions, Manchester City.

The players have no one to attend to their tantrums or to change their nappies. Basically, the gloves are out and for the first time in three seasons or so, Chelsea seem to have decided to play football.

Among the other reasons, the biggest is that in their playing for their footballing lives now, they have only each other to rely on. They toyed around and the show audience have shifted focus to the Etihad Stadium and they need something special to catch the attention once more.

That something, is the UEFA Champions League Cup.

Where did Madrid really lose it?

For starters, they were a sentimental choice, either for having lived in the shadow of Barcelona for too long or for the efforts Jose Mourinho, who had suffered a few injustices and unwarranted criticisms, had put in them or both. Little had anything to do with their victory over Barca in the El Classico as many had made their choice by then.

Let us talk football. Real Madrid were dumped out by the Frank Ribery strike last week, offside as it was. Their status remained thus until the Ozil goal which did not count them in either. Gomez strike left them in the doldrums to the point Cristiano Ronaldo banged in the spot kick at the Santiago Bernebeu. As precarious as that condition was, Real were in it given the 2-2 draw and Madrid's away goal.

Another goal from Ronaldo was far from cementing the finals. Any strike by Bayern Munich would nullify everything, as it did, and that is what gave the Spanish team the gitters.

Of interest to me was to observe how Real Madrid lived a life without defenders. Many think their arch-rivals, Barcelona, have no defenders, but in Pique and Puyol, that is all you would need. Real only have Pepe, who I would make a midfielder any day and that is all.

Facing the Piranha-fish-teeth-sharp attack of Frank Ribery and Arjen Robben spearheaded by Gomez, one needs supernatural intervention and higher powers. It was always a bet against the sun rising in the east to expect special tactics to suffice in thwarting the marauding German attack.

After the pathetic soft butter tried to block the red-hot knife, questions of how they survived Barcelona and other teams before them left me perplexed and shuttered.

The obvious truth was that Jose Mourinho believed in an outdated and wrong claim that the best way to defend is to attack. If your team passes the ball a shade too late, the ball reception gets awkward and much time is lost trying to kill the ball and initiate the thought process for the next step. With that, Madrid  were a step behind in their operation, from marking, passing, shooting and even creating space for each other.

At the moment they needed some steel in midfield, one wondered where Lassy Diarra was. He may not the Claude Makelele, but that is what that Real lacked, in the absence of true central defenders. The fluency and appetising trickery of Ronaldo fooled the club and the coach, that they were sufficiently efficient.

The beauty of football is that the wrong elements of a concept, as well as mismanaged principles of either attack or defence, may give comfort to the team if the results are coming. The same goes for unqualified and ignorant coaches. They go on with the game because they get the results and go on to command high positions, killing the game.
 
The early goals of the match in question showed the high tactical and technical level of Madrid, given the very difficult El Classico in preceding days. Bayern had the luxury of resting key players for the clash.

Fatigue crept in after the unfortunate Pepe penalty as the hosts needed to raise the bar. The tempo remained fairly flat for the entire second half and things picked up in extra time as Mourinho realised they would reach the shootouts.

The goals failed to come at the peak periods, supping the little energy the players had. That energy was just enough to take the clock to 120 minutes. Optional times were excessively too much. The best thing would have been Real Madrid getting the results doing as little as possible. Failing that, they laid bare for a massacre which somehow did not happen.

Not that Bayern played underpar. They were more disciplined and purposeful, looking like the home side for most of the time. Despite their commitment being drowned by the home crowd, they were more comfortable on the ball and fluid in attack.

With a little more patience and level headedness, they would have made light work of Madrid with composure in front of goal. Gustavo was the solid link that Real needed. There is more technical and tactical work that could be looked at in that game, but it is so depressing to pursue, unless you are a fan of Munich.

Bayern dump Real to reach final

Home advantage counted for nothing as Bayern Munich dumped host, Real Madrid out of the UEFA Champions League at the Santiago Bernebeu on penalties. The gruelling semi-final started with Khedira getting an early shot on target after being fed by Di Maria who went to the by-line and pushing a cut-back.

The very dramatic and fast paced opening saw a long ball from the left across the penalty box, and Alaba handled the ball to give away a penalty but was unfairly yellow carded as he was already going down with that hand. Cristiano Ronaldo calmly converted the penalty in the 5th minute.

Ronaldo was left unattended outside the penalty area and fired a low shot past the goalkeeper in the 14th minute to take control of the matters over the visitors who came in with a 2-1 lead from Germany last week.
Bayern Munich themselves created and wasted very clear-cut opportunities with Arjen Robin and Frank Ribery being chief culprits.

Lead striker, Gomez and a 19-year-old Alaba tried from a long distance in desperate attempts and with 23 minutes played, all  Bayern players looked too desperate and careless. They were not punished by the inept Madrid side that lacked a cutting edge that saw them win the El Classico 2-1 a few days ago.

Pepe, who played a blinder, brought down Gomez inside the box and Robin beat Ike Cassillas to level the aggregate 3-3 in the 26th minute. Madrid started piling up pressure and creating more chances with Benzema and Ronaldo.

It was however Marcelo who was pushing forward well on the left being complemented by Mezuit Ozil. At crucial points of the match, Gomez proved too wasteful as the Real defence was being continuously curved open in the middle.

After the half-time break, Bayern took control of the match with goalkeeper Neuer making brilliant saves including one from Benzema. Real Madrid sought in vain to stamp their authority in midfield as Ribery and Schweinsteiger probed the left wing assisted by Badstuber while Lahm contributed more to the offensive cause than the defensive collective of Bayern on the right.

Xavi Alonso provided a solid link in winning the ball and initiating attacks while the aggressive Gustavo did the same for Bayern. Gustavo rode his luck with numerous fouls committed against Ronaldo, Marcelo and Ozil. The resultant free-kicks were quite direct by Ronaldo, causing minimum threat to Neuer.

The Special One introduced Kaka for Di Maria in the 75th minute. The visitors threw caution to the wind and effectively controlled the midfield as if they were the home team, pushing Real on the back foot and causing them to rely on counter attacks.

Munich was far more accurate in passing and a little patient compared to Madrid who grew impatient. With 5 minutes regulation time remaining, Gomez lost the best opportunity of the match after being set-up by Robben, who himself had wasted a glorious chance in the first half.

Extra time started well for Madrid, with a promising corner-kick and they increased the pace of the match, taking the initiative to open the Munich defence. Pepe surged forward several times until he attracted fouls from Gustavo who finally earned himself a yellow card.

Kaka had chances to wrap it up with 8 minutes of play remaining but was too hesitant. He overdid things and lost possession at crucial times and taking too long to release the ball.

Marcelo's performance was however outstanding with his interception, dribbling and passing. His contribution in defence and attack play was so crucial and he tirelessly toiled consistently the entire match until the penalty shoot-out.

Youthful Alaba drove a hard and low shot past Cassillas to open the shoot-out account while the revered Ronaldo missed his spot kick as Neuer dived low to save a hesitantly taken kick. Gomez slotted the second one while Kaka missed exactly the same way Ronaldo did - same shot, same spot and same save.

Cassillas saved Kroos's attempt to give Madrid some hope as Xavi Alonso followed up with a cool conversion. Captain, Phillip Lahm had his penalty saved by Cassillas and Madrid were in it again. It did not last that long as Sergio Ramos took his to the rafters, ballooning it way over the bar.

Schweinsteiger faced Casillas to complete an unlikely rout to embarrass Jose Mourinho. The final kick rubbed salt into the La Liga campaign that saw Barcelona bow out to Chelsea 24 hours earlier and of course, setting up a potential thriller between the Blues and Bayern who will be hosts. Both finalist will play their respective FA Cup final matches before the Champions League final.

Bayern will face Borussia Dortmund while Chelsea will date Liverpool a week before their 19th May 2012 date. For neutrals, it will be a final of the underdogs, and probably the best thing to happen as the usual suspects will be watching the finals like the rest of us, on TV.