Showdown at the Bernabeu

The moment we've been waiting for since the group stages commenced in in mid-September is now upon us. Tomorrow two teams will fight for their own trebles. In Germany, Bayern Munich has already captured the Bundesliga and the DFB Pokal, while their Italian opponents Internazionale Milan have seized their Serie A scudetto and the Copa Italia.

Saturday's premier European final has more plot lines than The Lord of Rings. The Bavarian's coach, Louis Van Gaal, was mentor to the Italian's self-proclaimed Special One--Jose Mourinho. (Mourinho has yet to claim his crown yet.)

Both finalists knocked out one of last year's finalists. Bayern came from behind at Old Trafford to knock out Manchester United in the quarterfinals; Inter parked the bus at Camp Nou and staved off attack after attack from holders Barcelona in the semifinals.

Both teams are extremely disciplined when it comes to getting men behind the ball on defense. Between them they boast experienced defenders, loads of talent in the midfield, and tricky, pacey strikers, all to be expected for finalists of the world's most elite club tournament.

Many people expect Bayern to be unable to break down Inter's stalwart defending, the reasoning being that if Barca couldn't with their delectable passing, no one could. However, Bayern posses a threat that Barcelona's front line of Pedro, Bojan, and Messi doesn't have: aerial ability. So if Inter is willing to give up the flanks in order to protect the middle, Lahm, Altintop, and Robben will be ready and willing to whip balls into the middle for Olic, Schweinsteiger or Mueller to head on to goal. If Inter tries to take away the wings, they expose themselves and the Bavarian midfield trio is more than capable of creating chances.

Ribery may be out with red card suspension and busy looking for underage hookers, but Inter always must be wary of Robben doing this or this.

At the other end of the pitch, Baryern will need to limit the defensive mistakes such as against Man United, and will need Van Bommel to keep tabs on his Dutch counterpart Sneijder and limit his influence on the game.

All said and done, this should be a close one, and I say Bayern wins 2-1.

And if they go to penalties, we know who will win that. Those typical Germans.

Kickoff is at 11.45 PST on FOX. That's right, mainstream FOX is showing the Champions League. And who said soccer would never become popular in the states.

Germans beat the French (again)

Bayern Munich beat Lyon 3-0 with a convincing performance. All three goals came from the Croation Ivica Olic, whose clinical finishing in Manchester and Lyon earned Bayern a CL final berth for the first time since winning it in 2001.

Van Gaal finally has his team playing the way he wants; getting numbers back for solid defense and quick counter attacks without wasting possession when the opportunities aren't there. They also put on a clinic once Lyon went down to 10 men, showing how to completely control a game against a disadvantaged side.
The game could be characterized by Bayern's dominance in the midfield. Schweinsteiger and Van Bommel forced Lyon to play on the wings, and Mueller dropped in to fill the hole under Olic, constantly finding himself unmarked when the Bavarians won back possession. When Mueller dropped in, it freed up the ever-dangerous Robben to streak up the right flank. While the Dutchman didn't score, he was a constant threat to Lloris in goal and often drew two/three defenders when on the ball.
Robben likes to cut inside, giving Lahm enough open field to keep a California cow happy. Lahm took the opportunity to bombard forward and supply balls for Olic and the bunch.
On the left side was Altintop; I don't rate the Turkish international too highly because although he is versatile, he often tries to do too much. However, today he was fantastic on offense and defense, epitomized when in the first half he won the ball, rouletted one assailant (a la Zidane) and poked the ball through the legs of another. He deserved a goal and nearly had one in the 90th. One-on-one with Lloris, instead of slotting home like an experienced striker would he cut the oncoming defender and then curled over the bar from eight yards.
As for Les Gones, there were few positives. Lloris lacked protection the entire game, being constantly called upon to make saves. To make matters worse, centerback and captain Cris was booked for a tackle that looked hard but clean; he then received a red for sarcastically applauding the referee. Apparently Cris didnt watch the Milan derby and learn from Sneijder.
It was an extremely DUMB move from the one-named Brasilian captain-- it seemed like the move of a man more frustrated with his own team's incompetence than the ref's.
A bright spot for Lyon was Sidney Govou as a constant threat up the right side. Like Robben for Bayern, Govou stretched the defense and unleashed many a powerful shot to test Butt. He made intelligent runs and dribbled at defenders in addition to providing good service to Bastos, Makoun and Lopez, none of whom could capitalize. Govou was the yin to the yang of Delgado, who tried his hardest to give away the ball cheaply every time he got it.
For the last 20 minutes or so, Bayern showed one of their greatest assets: the ability to kill off a game. Knocking the ball around the back four, the sucked Lyon in before dishing it wide and long to their open wingers. If the wide guys found themselves without acres of space, they passed to their supporting fullback and started over again. By the end, Lyon's spirits and legs were run ragged enough that Bayern were practically untroubled.
Bayern Munich can now book their plane tickets to Madrid. While many would not have put money on Bayern a month ago, they now look like they can go toe to toe with the likes of Barcelona or Internazionale. If they run out winners in the Bundesliga and emerge victorious at the Bernabeu, Louis Van Gaal will have put an exclamation point on Bayern's season turnaround.