Jerseys of German football clubs Bayern Munich (L) and Borussia Dortmund are pictured with an UEFA Champions League 2013 final official ball ahead of the UEFA Champions League 2013 final on May 25.
On Saturday evening Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, the two best teams in Germany, fight it out on the hallowed turf at Wembley for the right to be crowned the UEFA Champions League winners.
The first all-German final will kick off at Wembley at 19.45 (BST) and it will be the penultimate match of Jupp Heynckes’ third spell as Munich manager before he follows Sir Alex Ferguson and retires from the game.
That means the 68-year-old, who will be replaced by former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, could bow out of football as a European champion for the second time as a manager or in despair with a second successive final defeat after they lost on penalties to Chelsea in last season’s final.
It has been well documented that Munich coach Heynckes and his Dortmund counterpart Jurgen Klopp do not get on, so with a fiery contest expected on the Wembley pitch, it could also a tense affair between the two dugouts.
Dortmund on the other hand are aiming for their first Champions League title since 1997 and their fifth trophy under manager Klopp who has been at the club’s helm since 2008.
The Black Yellows, or Die Schwarzgelben as they are referred to in their native country, were crowned Bundesliga champions in 2011 and 2012 before finishing second to Saturday’s opponents Munich.
Distraught Bayern players following their loss in the 2012 Champions League final to Chelsea at the Allianz Arena
Four-time winners Munich reached the final, that is being held at Wembley for the second time in three seasons, after comfortably seeing off FC Barcelona over the two-legged semi-final.
Munich demolished Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg at the Allianz Arena before comfortably winning 3-0 at the Nou Camp two-weeks later.
Bayern are aiming to win their first European title since 2001 and just 12 months after the disappointment of missing out on the championship in their own back yard last season.
Arjen Robben, Philipp Lahm, Manuel Neuer, Franck Ribery, Mario Gomez and Bastian Schweinsteiger – all of whom played in last season’s penalty shoot-out loss to Chelsea will be looking to win their first European title with the German super club.
Dortmund, who have received in excess of 500,000 ticket applications for the final, also came up against Spanish opposition in their semi-final. They face nine-times champions Real Madrid and they scraped through to the final after winning 4-3 on aggregate.
Klopp’s side took a 4-1 lead from the first leg to the Santiago Bernabeu but Madrid made the German side sweat out the closing stages as a 3-0 home win would have seen Jose Mourinho’s side reach their first final since 2002.
However, Dortmund held on despite an injury time Madrid onslaught to reach the final despite losing the second leg 2-0.
Munich, the favourites to lift the prestigious trophy for the fifth time, will be without defender Holger Badstuber who has been ruled out for 10 months with a knee injury.
The 24-year-old tore the cruciate ligament in his right knee last week, a recurrence of the problem that he initially picked up in December.
Badstuber underwent surgery last Monday and was revealed that he will miss the majority of the 2013-14 season.
Munich’s attacking midfielder Toni Kroos will also miss the first all-German European Cup final at Wembley.
The Champions League final comes a week to early for the 23-year-old who is expected to make his first appearance for Munich in the DFB Pokal Final against Stuttgart in 1 June.
Kroos has been absent from the German champions’ side since he picked up a hip injury in the 2-0 win in the Champions League match against Juventus.
Dortmund’s Mario Gotze will miss the UEFA Champions League final through injury
Dortmund, who topped group D and in the process knocked out Manchester City, will be without star midfielder Mario Gotze. The 20-year-old, who has already signed a deal to join Bayern Munich next season, tore his hamstring in the second leg of the semi-final to Real Madrid.
Defender Mats Hummels is also a doubt for the first all-German European final as he is struggling with an ankle injury. However, he has told the German press that he is confident of being fit for Dortmund’s biggest match of the season.
If Hummels fails to recover in time for the final it is expected that Felipe Santana will come into the team.
Star striker Robert Lewandowski, who scored four times against Real Madrid in the semi-final, is expected to league the line for Dortmund and many pundits see him playing a key role if Dortmund are to condemn Munich to a second successive Champions League final defeat.
The 24-year-old has scored 36 times for Dortmund this season in all competitions.
Munich are odds-on at 8-11 to lift their fifth European title, whilst their fellow German side are ranked outsiders at 15-4 to be crowned UEFA Champions League winners for the first time in 16 years. The draw is priced at 3-1.
As seen in recent weeks it is still possible for ranked outsiders to win major titles as Wigan Athletic secured their place in the Europa League by beating Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final, just days before suffering relegation to the npower Championship.
Munich, who have won 24 of their last 26 matches in all competitions, have the upper hand over Dortmund heading into the final. The South German side head to Wembley with the superior form over their opponents.
Heynckes has led Munich to four wins from their last five matches, the only match that saw them drop points was a 1-1 draw with, you guessed it, Dortmund.
Klopp, however, heads to North London in the worst possible form with his side only winning one of their last five outings. A 2-1 victory away at Fortuna Dusseldorf is all that he has been able to shout about.
Dortmund, who finished 25 points behind Munich in the Bundesliga, salvaged a 3-3 draw with mid-tabled Wolfsburg two weeks ago after Marco Reus scored twice in the closing six minutes.
They then lost their first league home match in three months when they let a one goal lead slip at home to third bottom Hoffenheim.
Polish striker Lewandowski, whose signature is being chased by a host of top European clubs, scored the opener inside six minutes but the visitors scored two penalties in five second half minutes to win the match.
Of the four matches between the two sides this season Munich have won two, in the German Cup and German Super Cup, whilst both league matches have ended in stalemate.
The last time Dortmund got one over their superiors was in last season’s German Cup final which Klopp’s side won 5-2. Last season Dortmund also shocked the Heynckes’ team as they claimed three victories from as many matches.
Bayern Munich lifted the 2001 Champions League trophy after beating Valencia on penalties
Dortmund beat Munich 1-0 at the Allianz Arena in November 2011 before the reverse league match ended in the same score at the Westfalenstadion, which has a capacity of 80,000 – nine thousand more than Munich’s new ground, before they completed the season whitewash with that convincing victory in the cup final.
Out of the 95 competitive meetings between the two German sides Dortmund have accounted for 25 wins, just three of which have come in cup competitions, whilst Munich have 41 victories to their name.
The remaining 29 matches between the two sides have ended in draws.
Munich last won the Champions League in 2001 after they beat Spanish side Valencia on penalties. Gaizka Mendieta gave Valencia the lead inside three minutes from the penalty spot but Steffan Effenberg equalised for Munich six minutes following the restart.
There were no further goals in the rest of the match or in extra-time so the final went all the way to penalties. The two sides were level at three penalties each as the shoot-out went into sudden death but when Mauricio Pellegrino missed his decisive spot kick for Valencia that gave Munich their fourth European title, just two years after coming within touching distance of lifting the trophy only for Manchester United to score twice in stoppage time.
Dortmund last lifted the Champions League in 1997 following a 3-1 win over Juventus
Dortmund beat Juventus 3-1 in the 1997 final at the Olympic Stadium in Munich. The German side scored two first half goals through Karl-Heinz Riedle before Alessandro Del Piero pulled a goal back just before the hour mark.
However, Dortmund bounced back and restored their two goal advantage six minutes later when Lars Ricken found the back of the net.
Words: Adam Grice
Photo: Getty Images, khelnama.com, The Independent
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