First impressions of the La Liga champions: Atletico Madrid look battle-ready

Atletico Madrid line up in the 1st leg of the Super Copa against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu

It’s always of great interest to follow the story of an underdog, what with their tales of courage and bravado in going up against stronger foes and being able to hold their own. The story of the underdog in sport occupies a special place, for it lends an added element of drama to their success.

Now Atletico Madrid are no longer underdogs, but they did start off as such a couple of years ago, before slowly but surely climbing the ladder and scaling the peak of the Spanish La Liga last year in a most memorable season. So there’s always that one question in the back of your head – can they do it again?

That’s a question that can never really be answered on the first day of the season, barring a feeble affirmative that merely tends to acknowledge the fact that, yes, they are contenders. But with all the goings on in the post-season primarily revolving around the departures of some of their star names, Atletico’s 2014-15 campaign holds much allure to see how they go.

Atletico keep Real’s stars grounded

They finished their campaign last season in action against city rivals Real Madrid in the final of the UEFA Champions League, where they were usurped by their more famous opponents as they made their way to capturing the holy ‘La Decima’. Atleti began this season against the same opponents two nights ago, this time in the 1st leg of the Spanish Super Copa at the Santiago Bernabeu, and this one too finished with the exact same score line after 90 minutes as was the case that night in Lisbon – 1-1.

In finishing with a draw and an important away goal to boot, Diego Simeone’s side showed much of the same characteristics that defined their campaign the whole of last season – grit, guts and gumption. They contained Real for much of the game and despite conceding a late goal that threatened to undo all of the good work put in, managed to hit back quickly before time expired to set up a very interesting second leg at the Vicente Calderon tomorrow night.

The New Boys

Los Colchoneros did not have the marauding presence of Diego Costa up front to lead the attack, nor did they have the evergreen David Villa, who confounded critics and naysayers last season who claimed that the former Barcelona hitman was past his prime. Who they did field was their €22 million summer signing, Croatian international Mario Mandzukic.

Mario Mandzukic did his best at harrying Sergio Ramos and Pepe through the game

Mandzukic is not even close to being the UWM (Ultimate Windup Merchant) that Diego Costa is, but he ticks the boxes in all other departments as a physical front man perfectly suited to Simeone’s needs. He’s aggressive and helps with the high press, putting pressure on the centre-backs and constantly being a thorn in their flesh. He did that to great effect on Tuesday night, managing to unsettle Pepe and Sergio Ramos in the heart of Real’s defence.

As seen from his spells at Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg before, Mandzukic never ceases to run, plus with his expertise in heading the ball and at set pieces, he seems a perfect fit in the system. And if anything, Mandzukic is a proven performer who has been consistently delivering the goods the last few seasons for both club and country; Costa had one magnificent season, but can he deliver those on a regular basis? We will find out in a few seasons.

We did get to see the other striker too in the closing stages of the game – Mexican Raul Jimenez, another tall striker. Jimenez looks to be a good replacement for Adrian, having scored well for Club America in the Mexican league the last two years, and has been picked up while on an upward curve. He did look to play more as a second striker though, bringing the others into play and exchanging places with them.

Antoine Griezmann had a good second half outing

Atletico’s most expensive summer signing, Antoine Griezmann, was also introduced on 57 minutes. The €30 million man, who had five impressive seasons at Real Sociedad, looked very impressive playing in a role akin tothe one David Silva plays for Manchester City. With his deft touch and eye for a pass, Atletico enjoyed a good spell of pressure post his introduction, and looked more dangerous going forward. It will be very interesting to see what Atletico can serve up when they have Arda Turan back, provided he’s still around at the end of the transfer window.

The core remains strong

New players are like new seasonings that you’ve picked up at the supermarket because your old ones are exhausted. So while it is natural that attention seemingly goes to the new recruits, much of what Atletico will achieve this term depends on their core, one that they have kept reasonably intact, with Costa and Filipe Luis the only departures so far.

Atletico’s strong core continues to be the foundation of the team

For two seasons running now, Atletico have had the best defensive record, fuelled primarily by how well organized they are and possibly having the best back four amongst all teams. Luis has left, but the strong resolute trio of Diego Godin, Joao Miranda and Juanfran are very much intact and provided another excellent defensive display against European champions Real, managing to keep their offensive weapons quiet. And that defence has been the bedrock of Atletico’s means to success upon which they have built on these past few years; so as long as that end is as fit and firing as ever, they should continue to do well.

The other combative members of the core – midfielders Koke, Raul Garcia and Gabi – were all in attendance too and in their customary workmanlike approach augmented the efforts of their defence really well. Garcia is just a phenomenal bloke for he is such a favourite of Simeone, someone who works his socks off for the team when not in possession and can play as the supporting striker when they need some impetus up front.

It was his goal that drew parity as he did what he does best, be in the right place to put away a Koke corner after the Real defence failed to clear it leaving him with just a clueless and hapless Iker Casillas to beat. He’s been in good form, having scored in the friendlies against Wolfsburg and Cadiz as well, and the goal at the Bernabeu was his fourth in three games in the space of 10 days.

Koke dispossesses Gareth Bale

Koke continues to impress. His delivery from set pieces is very, very underrated and is a vital ingredient of how the team is set up as they look to take advantage of set pieces to get into scoring positions. The 22-year-old was the subject of widespread speculation even before last season could finish, with many claiming that he would be off along with the likes of Costa to a ‘bigger club’. But as he announced over the summer, Atletico is where his heart is, and he would like nothing more than to help this team get better and win more trophies.

An Atletico product through and through, Gabi leading by example is like the master conductor who brings it all together on the pitch, and he led his team as always with a verve and gusto that far outstripped that of his counterpart, Iker Casillas. Importantly Atletico’s midfield managed to keep tabs on Real’s engine room of Luka Modric, Xabi Alonso and Toni Kroos.

A season of much promise for many reasons

The second leg of the Spanish Super Copa is tomorrow night at the Calderon. A year ago, Atletico lost the Cup to Barcelona despite not being beaten in either leg, thanks to away goals. They wouldn’t mind winning the same way this year.

As far as performances and integrating new units into the system go, Atletico seem prepared, you wouldn’t have expected any less from a side marshalled by a hard taskmaster like Simeone. There’s obviously no way that they are at 100%, but they’ve got the elements that served them well in the past up and running and chugging along nicely. They’ve done well in pre-season and came into the Super Copa clash unbeaten, always a healthy sign.

It may be surprising, and is possibly a fact that has been understated and looked over, but Atletico have spent €99 million on players this summer (yes, that is indeed true)! They have not come even close to that figure in previous seasons with last season’s figure being roughly 30% of that at €29 million!

It goes to show that Atletico are interested in maintaining their position at the top of the Spanish game and are not in it to be a short fuse. They have bought well in terms of players who would fit their style of play with no doubt an eye on how well endowed they are in certain hormonal capacities (refer Simeone’s famous statement at the end of last season).

Atletico still look to have a lot of fight left in them

They’ve been rebuking critics for some time now; last year it was argued that Champions League football would be a distraction and would hence strain a thin side thereby affecting league performances. But they won the league and made the finals of the Champions League, coming within a minute of doing the double.
It was argued even before last season came to a close that Atletico would suffer this term with the potential exits of their top men. While the losses have been sizeable, they haven’t been paralyzing. And from what we saw in the first game, the side bears a settled look about it.

More than anything else, this season promises to be a season of excitement. For we will get to see if  Atletico can get back to that high level after a winning season, maintaining that level of intensity and effort. And also as an interesting sub-plot, we will get to see how Simeone goes as a manager and how his journey unfurls from here on in as one of the top managers in the game.

Until now, Atletico were the hunters, and Simeone found it very easy to train his pack and get them motivated for the challenge. Now, they are the hunted, and how they respond to this challenge should make for compelling viewing.

There’s a line on the front of their jerseys that says “Land of Fire”; that of course is the tagline for their chief shirt sponsors, the country of Azerbaijan, but it is something that also so aptly defines what this club has come to represent under Simeone’s stewardship. There is still much fire and bite left in this dog and that’s why its bark should still be heard come the end of season.

Footballing Cycles - The Sine Wave that brings about change

It is FCB again that took the trophy home!

Though not the familiar one in Barcelona but the Bavarian giants Bayern Munich, who on Saturday were crowned UEFA Champions League winners of 2013.

Bayern Munich’s victory marks a return to the centre-stage for German football and the Bundesliga after being in the wilderness for some time. Ever since Porto won the competition against all odds in 2004, the Champions League has come to be dominated by English teams and Barcelona.

En route to their conquest of Europe, Bayern pounded the dominant power in Europe, Barcelona into submission. Though nobody expected the scale of the defeat, it was construed to be the match where the baton changed hands, from the dominant force of the last half a decade to the force of the future. A situation akin to when the Germanic tribes reached the gates of Rome and brought about the end of the Roman empire.

Is this the end of Barcelona’s dominance in Europe?

Are they no longer top dogs in the continent?

Could this prove to be the death-knell for tiki taka?

All of the above were pertinent questions after Barcelona’s campaign came to a grinding halt against the Bayern machine. It is not often that you see the Catalans humbled in such a manner – Bayern didn’t just crush Barcelona, they crushed a footballing philosophy as they hit 7 unanswered goals past Lionel Messi and co.

What the future holds for Barcelona or for Bayern Munich is a debate that will go on for long into the summer, however, that is a subject for another day. Before that, a quick peek at footballing cycles.

FOOTBALLING CYCLES

The game of football, like most other sports operates in cycles – both at club and at national levels. These cycles exist because football and the various teams involved continuously strive to evolve in search of a winning formula. It is not so much a straight line time graph, but merely a carousel of footballing philosophies, playing style and coaching.

Sport rarely operates in an inertial environment such as the one in our PlayStation's and Xbox's.

Footballers are human beings , they’re performances over time become subject to the wear and tear of competition and the many bruises and niggles that they carry. The other key word in all of it is ‘familiarity’ – eventually they figure you out. That goes for a player, a system , a strategy. Those that continually work to keep adding to their game are the ones that end up being successful in extending their cycle. And in today’s day and age, where technological aids and analysts are available to every team, it makes it that much harder.

THE EUROPEAN FOOTBALL SCENE

The UEFA Champions League is a true testament to this. Shifting the scene to 5 years ago, in the summer of 2008, Barcelona under Pep Guardiola had their very own ‘changing of the guard’ match. The Blaugrana defeated Manchester United 2-0 in the final that year in Rome. United were defending champions and were looking to become the first club in the Champions League era to retain the title. That victory set Barca on their way to European dominance for the next 5 years, while also setting back the progress of English teams.

Hence, the 5-year period between 2008-2012 belonged to Barcelona – they won 2 titles while making the semi-finals every year. The previous spell of domination (2004-2007) belonged to the English clubs – Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal who together made it a habit of blocking out the semi-final spots every year capped off by a title each for Liverpool and United, and finals appearances for Arsenal and Chelsea.

Real Madrid, both pre and post Galacticos had their run in the competition before the English clubs between 2000 and 2003. We can take only the period from 1998 onward into consideration, for previously only the winners of each league made it into the competition, which meant only 1 team from each country. Madrid beat Manchester United and Bayern Munich on the way to claiming the trophy in 2000, the winners and runners-up respectively from the previous tournament.

DOCUMENTING THEIR SUCCESS

Each of these teams adopted their own set of tactics to foster success in Europe’s premier competition.

Outgoing Bayern boss Jupp Heynckes guided Real Madrid to their 7^th European Cup in 1997. Following that, Vicente Del Bosque and his Los Blancos side won it in 2000. It was just before the dawn of the Galacticos era, a team led by a young Raul, Fernando Morientes and Steve McMannaman. Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Ronaldo, David Beckham and Claude Makelele joined forces with Roberto Carlos and Raul and the Galacticos era was born. That star-studded squad went on to claim another prize in 2002 with that memorable Zidane volley in Glasgow.

A simple strategy of buying the best players around that ensured instant success. Trouble was, those stars were picked up in their late 20’s and after a period of time with age their impact waned. And since Real did not have a system that they played to or stuck to religiously, there was a problem when they departed and Real could never recreate the success from earlier in the decade.

The English teams came in with good defences to fend off the attacking threats of the Spaniards. They brought in a certain level of physical effort with their powerful defenders and midfielders, who were very good in the air in defence as well as attack. The English teams’ play was very direct employing wingers to good effect to deliver crosses into the ball along with judicious use of the long ball out of defence. Technical brilliance was not the greatest, but they made up for it in effort and work rate. Hard-working units with just the right amount of attacking talent served them very well in the ensuing years.

Before Guardiola arrived at the Camp Nou, Frank Rijkaard managed to win one Champions League final against Arsenal in 2006. His was an all-attacking group, equally direct, centred around the talents of Samuel Eto’o, Ronaldinho and Deco. They got that one win, but they had a traditional Barca failing in the form of their defence and their dominance didn’t last long. They may have had superior attackers, but since their attacking styles were familiar, they proved easy to contain.

Then came the tiki-taka, the hogging of possession for long periods and accurate passing of the ball from Guardiola’s stable. Whether it was intended that way, nobody will know, but the tiki-taka hit the English teams in an area where they were vulnerable. They were superb clearing headers and defending long balls and did well to cut out the through passes. Part of the reason was their tight defensive organization. What Barca’s system did was stymie their English foes, deny them the ball to get their forward players frustrated and patiently pass the ball around, waiting until a member broke the line after which they could play in that killer final pass. Slow in their lateral movement, the system wore them down as they spent large portions of the game tracking the ball. The high pressing game, 8 passes or less in which they tried to regain possession was also classy. Creating space for their players to run was central to Barca’s success plan.

And now, Bayern have brought their own heavy duty arsenal over the past 2 seasons – a combination of high intensity pressing to peg back the opponents and fast, direct attacks. Whether this means a new era of Bayern dominance, we’ll have to wait and watch; Inter and Milan have had successful winning campaigns in the past without kicking on to extend it further. Also, there will be a change in management - Guardiola will come in for Heynckes – a completely different approach may be taken by the Spaniard; in which case the lack of continuity could hurt them. Inter won the trouble under Mourinho, before having a disappointing season the next term after the Portuguese left.

What is certain is that we have witnessed the end of one footballing cycle and the beginning of the next!

Talking Tactics: How Bayern Munich have wrestled back some of the advantage from their rivals this season

The all-German final awaits us at Wembley tonight when Borussia Dortmund will meet Bayern Munich to decide who gets to take home this season’s UEFA Champions League crown.

SEASON HEAD TO HEAD

Games: 4 |Dortmund: 0 | Bayern: 2 | Draws: 2

In their successful Bundesliga run this year, Bayern pretty much obliterated every side in the league. Dortmund though defied them forcing draws in both of their encounters. Yet, Bayern have managed to wrest the advantage slightly from their rivals this term.

Bayern beat Dortmund 2-1 in the DFL Supercup (equivalent of the English Community Shield) right at the beginning of the season. Mario Mandzukic and Thomas Müller were the scorers on that occasion. Bayern also dumped them out of the DFB Pokal Cup in the quarterfinals, a superb Arjen Robben strike taking care of business. Both league meetings ended 1-1; the first was in December in which Mario Götze cancelled out Toni Kroos’ strike to earn a point for his current team. The second was a dead rubber in May, with the league title already wrapped up and both teams fielding reserves ahead of the big clash in the Champions League final.

This is a match up that the Black and Yellow have had the upper hand in during recent seasons. Ever since Jürgen Klopp’s arrival at the Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund have enjoyed much success against their more illustrious counterparts. Of the last 10 meetings between the 2 clubs, Dortmund have won 5 of them while losing just 2. Last season, they secured 1-0 wins home and away in the league, while dishing out a 5-2 thrashing, that included a Robert Lewandowski hat-trick, in the final of the DFB Pokal Cup (German Cup). In 2010-11 too, their first title winning season under Klopp, they did the double over Bayern winning 2-0 at home and 3-1 at the Allianz with Nuri Sahin having an outstanding game on both occasions.

CHANGE OF PERSONNEL & LEARNING FROM MISTAKES

So what did the trick for Bayern? How have they managed to get better against Dortmund while also becoming a more dominant force in the league?

Three reasons – Javi Martinez, Mario Mandzukic and Dante.

You have to appreciate how Bayern went about their summer transfer business. All buys were strategic in nature executed with a specific objective in mind and to cover up major weaknesses. And these 3 players have fitted in as the missing pieces of the Bayern puzzle in their respective roles.

JAVI MARTINEZ

There were gasps of breath that went around Germany including Bavaria when news broke that Bayern Munich have activated the release clause of Athletic Bilbao midfielder Javi Martinez. The Spaniard is a World Cup & European championship winner, but €40 million was an exorbitant sum, and was met with mixed feelings. His immense contribution in this Bayern team’s success will no doubt have pleased those 

Bayern fans while being a source of consternation for the rest of the Bundesliga and Europe.

Martinez plays as the holding midfielder along with club vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger. Previously, Schweinsteiger used to partner with Luiz Gustavo and at times, Anatoliy Tymoshchuk. Schweinsteiger is easily one of the best in his position in the world, but when they played Dortmund, he would end up facing the potent combination of Nuri Sahin/Lars Bender and afterwards Lars Bender/Ilkay Gundogan, after Sahin 

left for Real Madrid in 2011.

Dortmund’s high tempo attacking game with high energy pressing has caught the everyone's eyes. Up against them, Schweinsteiger used to get swamped by the yellow shirts because neither of Tymoshchuk or Gustavo could ever keep up with them. As a result, the German international spent a lot of time combating that midfield engine room of Dortmund’s which limited his participation in Bayern’s attacks.

Now he has a riding partner in Martinez, and the guy is an absolute terrier. At your heels all the time, the Spaniard has a terrific work rate and does not afford time and space to opposition midfielders when they have the ball at their feet. We got to witness this in both the semis and quarters, during Bayern’s games with Barcelona and Juventus respectively.

Lionel Messi was not 100%, true, but there was still the threat of Andres Iniesta to be met with. Even in games where Messi is well-marked, Iniesta has often popped up with the goods for them. Iniesta didn’t even have so much of a sniff as Martinez and Schweinsteiger cleaned crop. Against Juve, he did such a stellar job on Claudio Marchisio, that the Italian merely ghosted through the 2 legs as failed to get anything going for his team. The 2 together along with Ribery, Robben and Muller outworked and out-hustled Juve’s industrious midfield which is no easy task.The duo work very well in tandem as Martinez predominantly goes about winning the ball back and providing it to the German, who then recycles it and initiates a Bayern attack. So, now Schweinsteiger does not get overrun anymore and Bayern are able to combat Gundogan and Bender.

DANTE

Holger Badstuber, Jerome Boateng and Daniel Van Buyten used to take care of centre-back duties for Bayern in previous seasons. All 3 are good in the air, but neither was really a top level defender; Badstuber is essentially a left-back who started playing at centre, Boateng while good with aerial ability, is slow off the ground and lacks the pace to keep up with quick forwards. Van Buyten, now a veteran falls pretty much in the same category. In addition, Badstuber and Boateng were not the best in keeping their defensive shape, be it playing for offside or sitting deep with zonal marking. Dortmund with Mats Hummels and Neven Subotic held the upper hand here.

The Afro sporting Brazilian Dante was bought for €4.5 million from Borussia Mönchengladbach. Dante has come in and provided a ready fix to all of Bayern’s teething problems in defence. Thanks to him, the Bavarian giants have new found solidity at the back. Very good in organizing the defence, Dante is superb in the air, always a threat from set pieces and reads the game very well. He also has the quickness to deal with pacy strikers. In the past, Robert Lewandowski and Lucas Barrio have had the better of the Bayern defence often bullying them into submission. Last year’s Champions League final too was a fine example as we saw Didier Drogba boss Boateng, Van Buyten and Badstuber.

Finally, as is the case with most Brazilians, Dante is an excellent ball playing defender like David Luiz and Thiago Silva. And that’s an added quality which none of the other three can provide Jupp Heynckes with. With excellent full-backs on either side, Dante has plugged a major loophole that previously existed in the middle of defence.

MARIO MANDZUKIC

Croatian striker Mandzukic is the other major signing that has had an impact in the change of fortune for Bayern. Bought from Wolfsburg for €13 million, the striker has had a remarkable debut season with 21 goals. But more than his goals, it is the way he attacks the centre-backs of the opponent that often leads to stray passes and Bayern winning the ball back in dangerous areas of the field. Relentless and tireless is how the Croatian can be described. He does not boast of any extraordinary skill, but he is a top notch poacher. He is very good in the air, can win most aerial duels and makes fine runs to get into good positions in the box.

One would say that in Mario Gomez, Bayern already had that 20-goals-a-season striker. But, Gomez was never really active on defence and committed to pressing. Also, the Croatian can make his own shot, while Gomez used to rely on service into the box. In short, in Mandzukic, they have a striker who replicates the work that Lewandowski puts in for Dortmund. Against Juventus and Arsenal, Mandzukic constantly kept harrying and harassing the defenders and sums up how Bayern have adopted Dortmund’s ‘gegenpressing’ style, from front to back.

THE FULL BACKS & WINGERS

For Bayern Munich, their predominant outlet of attack is the wings, where Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and Thomas Müller can use their pace and guile to good use. Their full-backs Philip Lahm and David Alaba make for one of the best pairings in the world and they constantly bombard forward to support their wingers.

What’s changed is that the 2 wingers, Robben and Ribery, are now tracking back to help out their colleagues in defence. Müller has always been committed on defence, but the dedication of the other 2 to Heynckes’ system has just made Munich that much harder to beat.

Again, they have taken a leaf out of Dortmund’s book, because that is exactly what Jakub ‘Kuba’ Blaszczykowski and Kevin Grosskreutz used to do for their defence and something which newcomer Marco Reus has continued. They are by no means, defensive-minded; ‘Kuba’ has 14 goals and 12 assists this season, Reus has 19 goals and 11 assists. But, their double-teaming on defence meant that Robben and Ribery were kept quiet in previous seasons and on the defensive end, Lahm and Alaba often found themselves with a 2-on-1 mismatch as Lukasz Piszczek and Marcel Schmelzer joined the attacks.

And that’s how Jupp Heynckes has managed to get his side to match up with Dortmund. As Jürgen Klopp pointed out, his team are still one of the few in the continent who can hurt Bayern. But, that gap has been bridged, with smart buys and by adopting some of their rival’s best practices. Together, the combination has worked wonders for Bayern and victory tonight will cement that shift of power that they have managed to achieve in the past 12 months. 

Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayern Munich: The showdown between ‘Kloppo’ and ‘Osram’

Germany’s top 2 clubs will face off in the UEFA Champions League final at Wembley tomorrow. Guiding them to the finals have been 2 managers who stand at opposite ends of the spectrum. Jupp Heynckes and Jürgen Klopp have masterminded their team’s successful runs to the showpiece final each with his own unique style.

The final is as much about the 2 managers as their teams; Heynckes is 68 and into his 25^th and final managerial season and coming to the end of a highly successful career as coach. Klopp is 45, into his 10^th season in management, is one of the finest young managers around and has a long way to go in his career. Both managers are hard task masters, but while Heynckes represents a more sullen, traditional serious approach, Klopp has a more modernistic, exuberant side to his management. It’s a battle of contrasting styles on the touchline in Wembley tomorrow night.

‘Kloppo’

Jürgen Klopp and his Borussia Dortmund side have become the darlings of the footballing world. Part of it is down to the brand of football that has been on display and part of it due to the charismatic nature of their manager. ‘Kloppo’ as he is affectionately called by his players has become an object of fascination for the media with his open and informal approach, especially at interviews. With his rugged looks, goofy smile & light-hearted humour, Klopp is a manager with something of a ‘rockstar’ image. He even resembles a stand-up comedian at times in his discussions with the press and has received as much attention and coverage as his team, perhaps even more.

Dortmund was Klopp’s first ever club outside of Mainz where he spent 19 years - 12 as a player and after retirement went on to serve as manager of Mainz for another 7 years. From 2005-2008, before he took the Dortmund job, Klopp was in a media role with German television network ZDF as an expert commentator for games involving the German national football team. In his 6 years at Dortmund, he has won 2 Bundesliga titles back to back and 2 German Cups. Wolfgang Frank, Klopp’s coach at Mainz is his role model and inspiration. Frank himself imbibed a lot from the work of Arrigo Sacchi at AC Milan and Klopp holds the Italian in high regard.

The ‘gegenpressing’ style of play, as it has come to be known, is what Klopp brought to the Ruhr valley club after he took over in 2008 and in the 5 years since, it has brought the club up the ladder to reach the very top. With a high work rate Dortmund work tirelessly with and without the ball and rapidly press and close down the opposition to try to regain possession all the way from centre-forward to centre-back. Although their pressing style resembles that of Barcelona, they attack with greater speed and intensity than the Catalan side whose priority is to retain possession of the ball and build up attacks in a more measured way. Klopp believes that open, exciting, attacking football is what Dortmund's loyal fans expect and deserve.

Klopp is never overly concerned about being politically correct. Of late, he has engaged in a bitter battle with Bayern Munich over the Bavarian giants poaching his best players and copying their style. "What can I say?" Klopp said with a shrug when asked about Bayern poaching his best players. “We are not a supermarket but they want our players because they know we cannot pay them the same money. If that's what Bayern wants... It's like James Bond – except they are the villain." He also compared them to China in their quest to be the best saying, “Right now, it’s a bit like what the Chinese do in economics or industry. Watch the others and plagiarize what they do. Take the same path, only with more money and other players. And for the moment, you will be better again.”

Captain Kloppo is on a mission as he looks to inflict a damaging loss on his bitter rivals to leave them with a third final defeat in 4 years as a means of some retribution after being forced to part with not only their Bundesliga and German Cup titles, but also their talismanic playmaker in Mario Götze, whose services he will be without in tomorrow’s final.

‘Osram’

As much coverage that Jürgen Klopp has received from the electronic and print media, Jupp Heynckes has received zilch. It is not exactly Klopp’s fault for he is not an attention seeking man, unlike the ‘Special One’, but it’s just got to do with the media houses who tend to be a little unfair in shutting out the unglamorous characters of the footballing world.

The nickname for Heynckes, borrowed from the German lighting company, came about for the way in which his face tends to redden or bear a reddish glow when he gets agitated on the sidelines. It was first used by Rudi Gores, a former German footballer and coach. That’s about all the emotion the veteran German coach exhibits during a game as opposed to the myriad expressions that one can see from Klopp. A stoic, low profile man, Heynckes is one of the most decorated coaches in German football.

A well-travelled man, the wily German has managed clubs in Germany, Spain and Portugal and is one of the most experienced hands around. He has won 3 Bundesliga titles, 3 German Cups (all with Bayern Munich) and 1 Champions League (with Real Madrid) in his long tenure, this is his 27^th season in management. The silverware maybe less when compared to some others, but that’s not accounting for the work that he has done at some of the smaller teams in Spain and Germany such as Athletic Bilbao and Schalke, where he led them from mid-table obscurity to qualifying for European competition.

He was also a predator of a forward in his playing days and has both a European Championship (1972) and World Cup (1974) winners medal to his name. At club level he won 4 Bundesliga titles, 1 German cup and 1 UEFA Cup with Borussia Monchengladbach, a club where he played 12 of his 15 seasons as a professional footballer. And yet, despite all that he has done, Heynckes has never received the credit due to him.

Heynckes of course has not let any of that affect his performances on the field, be it as player or manager. There has been untoward criticism hurled at him by fans and media in the various countries that he has been, yet the man has managed to keep his head and continue doing what he does best – deliver results.

When he came back to Bayern for a third stint in 2011, the team was in a shambles ridden with internal squabble and indiscipline and also defensive frailties. Heynckes has gone about carefully rebuilding this team since then and after being outgunned to the Bundesliga title the last two years by Borussia Dortmund, Bayern have returned with a bang conquering all in their path as they romped to the title this year.

Bayern too under Heynckes are pressing the ball a lot better allowing teams very little time on the ball. During their 7-0 mauling of Barcelona in the semis, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi constantly found themselves shackled and harassed by a player in a red shirt and the various channels that Barca constantly use were expertly cut out.

“You have got to analyse how an opponent plays, where they run, how they attack. Then find something you can hold against that.” – said Bayern’s coach after the Barca win. That is vintage Heynckes; who is known to be a master tactician and a manager who spends an incredible amount of time in meticulously preparing for a game.

A FINAL TO RELISH

Borussia Dortmund are in uncharted territory, most of this season's Champions League campaign has been. It has been 16 years since they won their only European Cup in 1997 and this run marks a return to prominence for Borussia on the European stage. For Bayern Munich, it is an opportunity to right the wrongs of previous finals. The pain of those 2 finals losses still lingers, especially the one last year in front of their home crowd, and Heynckes will be keen to set that record straight. 

Dortmund have come to dominate this rivalry in the past few years - Bayern have won only 2 of their last 10 meetings, losing 5 and drawing the remainder. This season, Bayern brushed past every other club in the Bundesliga save for Dortmund. The one win they did have was a narrow 1-0 victory in the DFB Pokal Cup. 

If he wins tomorrow night, he will become only the 4^th manager to win the Champions League with different clubs – after Ernst Happel, Ottmar Hitzfeld and Jose Mourinho. And if Bayern follow that up, as they are widely expected to, with winning the German Cup, he will have achieved an unprecedented treble, something never done before by a German club and achieved only thrice previously in history – PSV Eindhoven in 1988, Manchester United in 1999 and Barcelona in 2009.

History beckons for Heynckes as he looks to leave Bayern Munich on the highest pedestal possible. While the man in the opposing dugout, Jürgen Klopp, is looking to challenge the dominance of mighty Bayern on the European stage, Heynckes knows that victory tomorrow could well be the starting point of a new era of dominance for Bayern Munich, not just over Dortmund, but the whole of Europe.

Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich.

Klopp’s ‘Band of Merry Men’ vs Heynckes’ ‘Mean Machine’!

It is truly an occasion to savour!

The 3 previous Intra-national UEFA Champions League finals

Tomorrow’s UEFA Champions League final showdown between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich will be the 4^th instance of an intra-national final, where 2 teams from the same country have met in the championship clash. Each of the 4 instances has belonged to a different country with Spain, Italy and England represented on the previous 3 occasions. Germany will make its bow tomorrow. 

            Real Madrid 3-0 Valencia, 1999-2000 Final @ the Stade de France, Saint-Denis

The very first instance was when Real Madrid met Valencia in the 2000 final. This edition saw the introduction of the second group phase, where the top 2 teams from the 8 groups would again be divided into 4 groups and another run of round-robin matches.

This was the pre-Galacticos era at Real under Vicente Del Bosque and they had a fine team made up of a lot of Spanish talent led by the likes of Raul, Fernando Morientes, Michel Salgado and Iker Casillas. Current Real Madrid assistant manager Aitor Karanka was also part of this team. Real Madrid topped their group suffering just one loss and in the second group phase finished runners-up behind Bayern Munich. They finished strongly though as they got past 2 very strong teams en route to the final - Manchester United, who were the defending champions, in the Quarterfinals and then Bayern Munich in the semi-finals.

Valencia weren't doing so badly themselves with arguably their ‘Golden Generation’ of Gaizka Mendieta, Miguel Angulo, Claudio Lopez and Santiago Canizares. Just like Real, they would win the first group phase, ahead of Bayern Munich and finish runners-up in the second, behind Manchester United. They trounced Lazio and Barcelona in the quarters and semis respectively scoring 5 goals against both over the 2 legs.

The final had a tight beginning before Madrid began to exert themselves on the game and took the lead through Morientes. Steve McManaman had a marvelous game for Los Blancos and he scored the 2^nd with a spectacular volley. Raul then rounded it off with a 3^rd goal on 75 minutes when Real caught Valencia napping on the counter. It was Real’s 8^th European Cup.

Steve McManaman was voted the Man of the Match. Incidentally, he became the first Englishman to win the tournament with a foreign club. Raul finished joint top scorer with 10 goals. Valencia finished runners-up again the next year when they lost on penalties to Bayern Munich after it ended 1-1 in regulation and extra time.

AC Milan 0-0 Juventus, 2002-03 Final @ Old Trafford, Manchester

Juventus came into the final fresh from being crowned Serie A champions; Milan on the other hand had finished 4^th, 16 points behind the Turin club. In the season head-to-head, Juve had won the home game while drawing away at the San Siro. They had also beaten Milan in the Coppa Italia semi-finals.

The 2-group phases structure was still on; Juventus topped their first group while finishing runners-up to Manchester United in the second. They ended Spanish hopes in the competition as they beat Barcelona in the quarters and Real Madrid in the semis. Influential midfielder Pavel Nedved though would miss the final after picking up a booking in the 2^nd leg against Real.

Milan came in winning both the groups including a strong second group phase pitted with Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund. After beating Ajax, they had to contend with neighbours Inter in a Milan derby semi-final. It ended level 1-1 on aggregate with Milan progressing on the away goals rule.

The final was a game of few chances and one of the dullest of the last decade and a half. Both teams had excellent defences which ensured that chances were at a premium. Andriy Shevchenko had a goal disallowed in the first half though replays showed that Rui Costa had not been in an offside position. 

Current Juve manager Antonio Conte came on as a sub and saw a header clatter the crossbar in what was Juve’s best chance of the game. Andrea Pirlo too struck the post for Milan.

With no result even after extra time, the match went to penalties and It was a tense, tense affair. Juventus only made 1 of their first 4 penalties as Dida saved the efforts of David Trezeguet, Marcelo Zalayeta and Paolo Montero. Gigi Buffon was doing his best to keep Juve in the game as he saved from Clarence Seedorf and Kakhaber Kaladze. Alessandro Del Piero converted the 5^th spot kick for Juve, but so did Shevchenko to clinch the trophy for the Rossoneri. It was Milan’s 6^th European Cup.

Paolo Maldini was named the Man of the Match for the final. Filippo Inzaghi was the 2^nd highest goal scorer with 10 goals behind Ruud Van Nistelrooy who bagged 12 for Manchester United. Shevchenko became the first Ukrainian footballer to take home a European Cup winners medal. 

Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea, 2007-08 final @ Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow

England’s top 2 teams met in the Moscow final of 2008. Manchester United had just won their 17^th league title finishing 2 points ahead of their final opponents Chelsea. Each team had won their home game in the league, while Chelsea had the latest win after beating United 1-0 in the FA Cup final days earlier.

Man United went unbeaten the whole tournament. They drew just 1 game in winning their group comfortably. They then beat Lyon in the Round of 16, which had now replaced the previous format and Roma in the quarters. Frank Rijkaard’s Barcelona stood between United and their 3^rd European Cup final. The teams had identical records going into the semi-final, each having won eight and drawn two of their ten games, scoring 18 goals and conceding just 5. Cristiano Ronaldo missed an early penalty in the 1^st leg at the Camp Nou and that leg ended 0-0. United edged into the finals with a tight 1-0 home win thanks to Paul Scholes’ long range stunner.

Chelsea had seen a change of manager after Jose Mourinho parted ways in between the season. Interim manager Avram Grant did a good job though as he kept the Blues in the title hunt in the league and guided them to the FA Cup and Champions League finals. Chelsea lost just the one game in the tournament, against Fenerbahce in the quarterfinals. After getting past Olympiacos and Fenerbahce, Chelsea took on Rafa Benitez and his defending champions Liverpool. This was the fourth year in succession that these teams had met in the Champions League. After drawing the first leg 1-1 away, the Blues won a tense 2^nd leg 3-2 after extra time to make the team’s first visit to the Champions League final.

After taking time to feel each other out, the final picked up pace with Ronaldo’s opener on 26 minutes. United had 2 good chances to extend the lead, but Petr Cech came to Chelsea’s rescue with some magnificent saves. Frank Lampard equalized for Chelsea in the closing minutes of the first half after Michael Essien’s initial shot had deflected off Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

The goal swung the momentum in Chelsea’s favour and the Blues dominated for much of the second half. Drogba went close to giving them the lead when his effort hit the post. Ryan Giggs had a chance to get the winner for United, but John Terry made a last ditch tackle to prevent it. It was end –to-end in extra time as both teams went looking for the winner. Late in extra time, Drogba was sent off for a slap on United’s Vidic.

In the shootout, Ronaldo missed his penalty which gave Chelsea the advantage. Blues captain John Terry stepped up to take the 5^th penalty, but he would miss as he lost his footing which saw his mis-hit shot hit the outside of the right post and go wide. In sudden death, Edwin Van der Sar saved Nicolas Anelka’s shot to win it for United.

Van Der Sar took the Man of the Match award. Cristiano Ronaldo finished top scorer with 8 goals.

Borussia Dortmund  vs Bayern Munich, 2012-13 final @ Wembley, London

One-sided final like the 2000 edition or nail biters like the other two? We will find out on Saturday. The 2 league meetings between the sides both ended 1-1 and Bayern beat Dortmund 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the DFB Pokal Cup.

Dortmund will be without star play-maker Mario Götze due to injury which means he has already played his last game for Dortmund; he will be joining Bayern Munich in the summer.

The Bayern Juggernaut rolls on

Jupp Heynckes, the 67 year old manager of Bayern Munich had this to say after his team's decimation of Barcelona on Tuesday night: ""We've been playing extraordinary football all season. It was not a really big surprise to me that we scored four goals. We have played to a high level all season."

THE BEATING
The beating that Barcelona received at the hands of Heynckes' team was a first; it was the first time any team had suffered a 4-0 defeat in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. For a lot of Barca fans as well as other football aficionados not entirely attuned to the exploits of Bayern Munich this season, the result was a shocker. But, as Heynckes so gleefully pointed out, they have been playing "extraordinary football" all season and this result was if anything, a strong reinforcement of that very fact.

“They were physically very strong,’’ said Xavi. “In fact they were superior. We didn't create chances. It’s a dreadful result. No excuses.’’ added Xavi afterwards. “They have been the better team and we congratulate them.” This is an uncharacteristic line towed by Barca and Xavi, where upon previous exits to Chelsea and Inter Milan, the Spanish midfielder had taken the moral high ground saying the opposition did not play football the right way and that they attempted to play a 'dirty' game.

Tuesday's beating though was different. There was a sense amongst almost all Barca players that they had just been taken to the cleaners by a far superior footballing unit. Lionel Messi too agreed: “Bayern were the better team, in everything,’’ said Barcelona’s No 10, who had clearly not recovered from a recent hamstring problem. “They’re stronger, scored twice from set-pieces, every second ball was for them.’’

Gerard Pique, never one to shy away from giving his thoughts was candid, “They thrashed us, the referee didn't have an influence. It is almost impossible for us, but we have to show some face in the return-leg. They were quicker, stronger and better.”

THE BAYERN BEAST

Bayern were Runners-Up to Chelsea in last year's edition of the Champions League. In all fairness, it was a game that they dominated, but somehow contrived to lose in front of their home supporters. That disappointment has only added to their desire to conquer all and sundry that appear before them this term. In making the semi-finals this year, Barcelona had achieved a rare distinction of making 6 consecutive semi-final appearances. It is in a way a fair reflection of the dominance that the team from Catalonia has exerted on this competition.

The German club have not been far behind; Heynckes has led Bayern to two of the last three finals, and a third in four years, looks an inevitability after Tuesday's demolition job. The sourness from their inability to cross the final hurdle on a couple of occasions still lingers and Heynckes pointed it out after the game - "Falling short of success in the past two years has only made them hungrier to win this year. The tactical awareness of this team is top notch as well, just like their willingness to run and fight for one another. Today's (Tuesday's) game was a perfect example of that."

This is a team that has been built carefully by Heynckes, who will be stepping down at the end of the year. After being outgunned to the Bundesliga title the last two years by Borussia Dortmund, Bayern addressed key areas of the squad in the summer. In central defence, Jerome Boateng and Holger Badstuber, were being exposed against more physical teams and pacy forwards. Dante, the tall bushy-haired Brazilian defender, was bought from Borussia Monchengladbach for about €4 million to help solve matters. The second piece of the puzzle was securing the services of Javi Martinez from Athletic Bilbao for a record transfer fee of €40 million. Mario Mandzukic after his stellar season last year for Wolfsburg, was poached for €13 million and the Swiss international Xherdan Shaqiri was purchased from FC Basel for €9 million to beef up the attack.

The addition of these players has helped address some of the shortcomings from previous seasons. Bayern have conceded only 14 goals in 30 Bundesliga games, an average of 0.46 goals per game, the best out of any leading side in the respective leagues - Barcelona have conceded 33 from 32 games (1.03), PSG 20 from 33 (0.60), Juventus 20 from 33 (0.60), Manchester United 35 from 34 (1.03), Ajax 31 from 31 (1.00).

They are also pressing the ball a lot better thereby allowing teams very little time on the ball. Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi constantly found themselves shackled and harassed by a player in a red shirt and the various channels that Barca constantly use were expertly cut out. ”You have got to analyse how an opponent plays, where they run, how they attack. Then find something you can hold against that. And I did that, I had a PowerPoint presentation, you could see all the runs they do. Defensively we were very strong, we worked very hard. Barcelona couldn't really do anything, they had one and a half chances.“, added Heynckes complimenting his team on their superlative effort.

The Bavarian giants have lost just 3 games all season, 1 in the league and 2 in the Champions League. Bayer Leverkusen are the only ones who have managed to upstage the Red Army of Munich domestically, while BATE Borisov and Arsenal registered unexpected convincing wins over them in Europe. Those results were merely an aberration in a season where the word 'thumping' has followed quite a few of Bayern's footballing encounters. Tuesday night was the 14th instance where Bayern had scored 4 or more goals in a match in all competitions. Over the weekend, they destroyed Hannover 6-1, even after the title had been well wrapped up and with several first-team regulars not playing! (Just to add, Hannover are 11th in the German league and not a bottom club). In 8 of those games, they've hit 5 or more - Stuttgart (6-1), Fortuna Dusseldorf (5-0), Hannover (5-0, 6-1), Werder Bremen (6-1), Hamburg (9-2), Wolfsburg (6-1), Lille (6-1) have all been at the receiving end of those maulings.

One striking feature of their play this season has been the spread of goals as well as the areas of attack. Of all their forward forays, 35% have come through the left flank, 39% through the right flank and 26% through the middle. In the Bundesliga, Mario Mandzukic is their top scorer with 15 goals while Thomas Muller has chipped in with 12 and the remainder of their 89 goals in total have come from others. Last year most of the goals were shared by Mario Gomez, who had 26 himself, and Ribery/Robben.

In the assist category, Franck Ribery, Muller and Philip Lahm are the joint top assisters in the Bundesliga with 10 each. Muller who bagged a double against Barca is their leading man in the Champions League with 7 and Bayern before Tuesday boasted one of the best attacks in this year's edition with 22 goals, second only to Real Madrid with 23.

The big picture hence shows a team that holds no dependence on any one player and hence Barca had an uphill task from the very first minute as they were going up against a superior team with strength and depth in all areas of the pitch and a team that has meticulously stuck to a system all year.


THE YOUNG BREED

Bayern's superb squad has been assembled with an excellent blend of marquee signings and young players who have come through from the Youth team. In fact, one of the features of Heynckes' current tenure has been his blooding of youngsters such as David Alaba, Thomas Muller and Toni Kroos who have made the transition from the youth team to being seasoned internationals amongst the best in the world.

The core of Bayern's team is made up of their own, players promoted through their academy. Both captain and vice-captain, Philip Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger, are Bayern through and through, having joined the club as teenagers. Defenders David Alaba, who has been a revelation the last 2 seasons, along with Holger Badstuber also made the progression up from junior ranks.So have midfielders Thomas Muller and Toni Kroos. This composition has helped in the excellent team chemistry that these players share much like Barcelona do with their core having played with each other so often. And all these players are first-teamers occupying key positions for the Bundesliga giants.

With the likes of dangerous wingers such Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery also in the squad, this is a team that is as dangerous as they come and one that makes for a heady concoction of talent.

THE BRAINS

The contribution of Jupp Heynckes to the Bayern project should not be undermined. The former Monchengladbach striker, is a master tactician when it comes to coaching and is one of the most decorated German coaches of all time. As evidenced from the transcripts above, his preparation for games is meticulous and is as animated as they come on the touchlines. Nicknamed 'Osram', for the way that his face tends to redden when under pressure or when agitated during a game, Heynckes in 34 years of management has authored many a success story in Germany as well as Spain.

In his first stint with Bayern Munich (1987-1991), he won two back-to-back Bundesliga titles. He moved on to Athletic Bilbao in 1992 and in his second season there led the Basques to a UEFA Cup (erstwhile Europa League) spot by finishing 5th in the league. He returned to Spain with Tenerife in 1995 and led them to a UEFA Cup spot in the very first season. Following his success with Tenerife, Spanish giants Real Madrid came calling in June 1997 and that would be where he would celebrate his greatest triumph till date.

In the 1997-98 season,  he delivered the Champions League trophy to the 'Los Blancos'. That win in Amsterdam, where they beat Juventus by a solitary goal, broke a 32 year barren run without Europe's premier trophy for Real. However, as has come to be with fickle owners, the German's contract was terminated at the end of the season due to Madrid finishing 4th in La Liga, 11 points behind champions Barcelona.

After not so successful short stints at a host of clubs, 'Osram' returned to the Allianz for a third stint (had a brief spell as caretaker manager after Juergen Klinsmann's sacking in April 2009) with the Bavarian club, which has so far been a successful run. A 22nd Bundesliga title has been wrapped up, reclaimed from Dortmund, in record time even; the title has never been won this early ever.

Heynckes' teams are well known for their discipline and commitment to team ethic. They are very well drilled and are very efficient in picking teams apart with ruthless elan. To an extent, the wily German coach has been  a little disappointed at the way Guardiola was appointed to succeed him even before the end of the season and he has expressed his willingness to leave with his head held high having delivered a historic treble to the club.

THE BAVARIAN SUPREMACY
Bayern before the game announced the addition of Dortmund's talented attacking midfielder Mario Goetze to  their ranks from next season, and there are rumors rife that his teammate and prolific striker Robert Lewandowski is poised to join him. Bayern's ambitions stretch far beyond any amount of success that comes their way this term; they are building for domination of the European club scene in years to come.

That spells bad news for Bayern's opponents, as not only are they going up against a very, very talented team with the wherewithal to bully opponents into submission, as Barcelona found out, but also a group of players smarting from the heartbreaks of recent seasons, and an incumbent manager determined to leave with a bar set at  a near stratospheric level for his successor to match.