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

Borussia Dortmund are back

They used to be the benchmark of football the world over. They dominated Germany football and Europe for a while and then faded like stone washed jeans, but Borussia are back.

The end of the great AC Milan era of Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten and Frank Rikjaard in the late 1980s, brought a sharp but brief craze of complete football dominance that differed from the pressing Arigo Sacchi philosophy obtained from basketball tactics. It was neither the Ducth total football born of the Johan Cryuff generation.

Borussia Durtmund strangulated opponents by totally subduing them the entire 90 minutes. They became a standard that was immediately emulated by neighbours, Bayern Munich, which saw the two teams reach one UEFA Champions' League final at one point. Their tactics and prowess was always accredited to massive mental strength enabling them to concentrate the entire match.

It was during those days, that even for one to be considered a coach, they needed a German qualification. However, the German and European giants went into hibernation, being a shadow of Bayern Munich, Leverkusern, Shalke 04, Kaiseslautern, Eintrancht Frankfurt, Werder Bremen and others.

Now, Borussia are back, and with a bang. They are 11 points clear at the top of Bundesliga, and with a goal difference of 31, they mean business. Having played 19 matches, they lost twice and drew as much. If they reach their potential as we know it, Barcelona and Manchester United have something to deal with. It could be the end of their dominance in Europe.

It will soon be seen if they can restrict teams outside the Bundesliga to the same psychological wrestling only they can win. It took teams to be well polished in their play to implement a strategy that could afford them a sniff the goal. On their part, Borussia needed a single shot at goal. The luxury of the second would be just that, excess.