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Ask anyone related to football, and they would tell you there is a certain way to play football. Everyone has their own philosophy about how to play it. The two German teams who were playing at Wembley, play the most beautiful kind of football. Both Bayern Munchen and Borussia Dortmund play a quick, counter-attacking, fluid style of play that is unrelenting and end-to-end.
Long before the final started, the German fans in Yellow and Red were at full volume. Wembley was shaking to the rafters, and the stage was set for a spectacle. And what a spectacle it was. 90 minutes of relentless, breathless football that is pleasing to any fan. For the neutrals, it was a treat and the purists, a high quality encounter. Not one fan would have begrudged such a high-quality match going into extra time. Robben scored a goal and set up another to take Bayern to the promised land of Champions League glory, while Gundogan’s equalizing penalty to Mandzukic’s opener went in vain.
Here are the talking points from the first all-German final in UEFA Champions League history-
Outstanding Goalkeeping
Both the goalkeepers were magnificent all through the game. Neuer made a couple of very good saves, especially the ones from Kuba and Lewandowski. He had to make two more saves before Weidenfeller had to push away Mandzukic’s header in a brilliant reaction save. Weidenfeller made two more excellent saves in the first half when he stood tall to Robben and showed excellent commitment, fortitude and intuition to smother clear chances. In the second half too, he saved a couple of missile-like shots from Alaba and Schweinsteiger. Neuer meanwhile was magnificent in the air and totally dominated his box.
Unappreciated Performers
Subotic and Boateng have throughout the season been under the shadow of their more illustrious central-defensive partners. But in the final, both shone brightly. Boateng was a colossus in defense, with 5 tackles, 5 clearances and he also won all 5 of his aerial duels. Subotic meanwhile was extremely strong in defense. His goal-line clearance to deny Robben was simply outstanding, and when Hummels wandered forward to attack, he single handedly kept Bayern at bay. And although it his Hummels who is known for his passing, Subotic was the most efficient distributor Dortmund had.
Midfield battle
A key reason for Munich’s dominance has been cited to be the pairing of Schweinsteiger and Martinez. But during the finals, it was the double-pivot of Bender and Gundogan that was dominating the midfield. Schweinsteiger was too deep in defense and Gundogan and Reus kept him closed down for most of the game. Martinez, who had more offensive duties than usual, was ably marshalled by Bender. As a result, Schweinsteiger’s deadly passes were absent and so were Martinez’s driving runs. After 60 minutes, Schweinsteiger was pushed up a bit further and this restored a bit of balance in Bayern’s favor. But still Gundogan and Bender were the better midfielders throughout the game.
Dante’s red
Dante was yellow-carded in the first half for a cynical foul that foiled a Dortmund counter attack. In the second half, Dante conceded a penalty. His leg was raised up to Reus’s waist and Dante’s boot crashed into Reus’ midrib. That, for me, in itself is a red-card offence. But the Brazilian was not even shown a yellow for the mis-demeanour. That he was on the field was a blessing for Bayern, but had he been shown the red card, it could have been a different result.
Tactics
Borussia went all out from the first whistle. The first twenty minutes were played at break-neck speed and Borussia looked to be steamrolling Bayern. Lewandowski was excellent with his link-up play and often dropped deep to overload the midfield against Bayern. At the start, Bayern were sitting too deep and Borussia, like always, were playing a high line. This meant that while Bayern did not have much space to play in, Borussia had plenty. Slowly though, Bayern started to shift up, and in the second half both teams were playing a high line. This pushed back Gundogan and increased the distance between the center backs. Add to this Hummels’ habit of making runs, and it is not a surprise that elementary long balls were the most productive attacking option for the Bavarians. Also, in the second half, Mueller and Robben were consistently changing position and the attack minded Schmelzer was often caught out.
The Flying Dutchman
Arjen Robben has a history of messing things up in finals. Exactly a year and six days ago, against his old club Chelsea, Robben had missed half a dozen chances to score and even missed a penalty in extra time. In the World Cup finals in 2010, he had gone clear twice and had twice missed. Here too, he had three chances and Weidenfeller saved all of them. It looked like it would be another of ‘ those’ nights for Robben. But he set up Mandzukic’s goal and finally scored on 88 minutes to give Bayern the lead. He got the better of the Dortmund captain only once, but that was enough.
