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Another nerve-racking year of Champions League came to an end on Saturday when Bayern Munich lifted the famous trophy for a fifth time in their history. There were amazing scenes at the Wembley Stadium in London as veterans like Anatoliy Tymoschuk and youngsters like Javi Martinez and Thomas Muller completed their long wait to lay hands on the trophy after winning the most decorated continental club football tournament in the world. Did the build-up of Bayern take place this season or did the preparations begin years ago? How did they evolve into “a team to beat” with the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid in the same tournament?
The Bayern Munich team poses with the trophy after winning the UEFA Champions League final match against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium on May 25, 2013 in London, United Kingdom. (Getty Images)
A look back into the last 4 to 5 years lucidly shows that Bayern is a team that has evolved through years of hard work and struggle. The retirement of the German legend Oliver Kahn coupled with the departure of some big names like Luca Toni, Mark van Bommel, Michael Ballack and Miroslav Klose over the years made life harder for Bayern as the team. The time had come to reassess the situation and rethink the strategy. It was in 2009 when the resurrection of Bayern began.
Bayern then had a new look with the development of younger players like Muller. Before the start of the following season Bayern secured the signature of Arjen Robben, which boosted the flanks as he and Franck Ribery together terrorized opposition defences to coin the term “Robbery.” Bayern showed their first spark in 2010 when they reached the final of the same tournament when went down fighting against Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan.
In the following season, they played good football but could not go past Round of 16 as their journey was stopped by a strong Inter Milan side.
Bayern continued their augmentation with the signing of star goalkeeper Manuel Neuer from Schalke 04. He along with the development of Holger Badstuber and David Alaba stabilized the defence. Yet again they reached the final of the Champions League starting the tournament as favourites. But the pressure on them was too much in their own backyard and Chelsea, as many Munich fans said, “stole” the trophy away.
Frustration began as fans knew Bayern had to end this trophy drought. In came Martinez, Dante and Mario Mandzukic, who in fact proved to be the last missing piece of a hungry Bayern Munich. They began the season as one of the favourites again and overcame a host of strong opponents including Barcelona and defeated Dortmund in the final to realize their long lost dream.
The consistency Bayern Munich has shown over the years is tremendous. Playing well is one thing but to continue playing well at the top level is a totally different aspect altogether. 3 Champions League finals in 4 years speaks for itself.
This team can easily remind anyone of Alfredo Di Stefano’s Real Madrid of the 50’s or Kenny Dalglish’s Liverpool in the late 70’s. The scintillating display of precision passing with penetration, movement on and off the ball and the world class finishing of Muller and Mandzukic, gelled well and found no match anywhere.
Bayern Munich rose from its own ashes to fly sky high with belief and confidence.
