ESPN Soccernet - Correspondents - FC Bayern Munich
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FC Bayern Munich
Posted by Susie Schaaf on 05/21/2010

Madrid. I am here. I still can't believe I'm here, but I am.

And this is it. The Champions League final. Bayern Muenchen gegen Inter Milan. Wow.

I'm in a hazy frame of mind, due to a lack of horizontal sleep... and the utter incredulousness of it all. To say I'm astonished would be a gross understatement.

I've got two blogs left here this season: This one, and one in the near future. You know, the one that hopefully contains tears of joy and confetti, posted in bier-fueled ecstasy... from Munich.

But for now, the intriguing match-ups...

Much has been said about van Gaal and his student, Jose Mourinho, when they coached together at Barcelona. I've got to say I'm pleasantly surprised that the pre-match press has been relatively drama-free. Well, except for the fact that the Special One will probably be coaching Real Madrid next season; which had LVG joking that if he wins this match, he has to quit Bayern as there is nothing left to accomplish.

The two Argentines, Milito and Demichelis, will be battling for supremacy in the box. And, while I've handed it to Martin this season, he's been amazing when he has to. I'm looking for the man, unmasked (!), to hold it down at center-back; for Diego can hurt us in a variety of ways.

While Zanetti has corralled Messi and Drogba this Champions League season, he faces a new challenge in Arjen Robben. Can Arjen's patented cut-in move fool him? Zanetti will be playing with a chip on his shoulder; as he was not picked by Maradona for the Argentinian national squad.

And, an internal battle... van Gaal is almost certain to pick Badstuber as a starting wing-back over Contento. Personally, I think this is a mistake. Badstuber is a much more natural center, and his presence on the wing has been fully exploited this season; most notably by Manchester United. Barring injuries, look for Badstuber to be the first man deputised.

It comes to this. Now. Who knows how it will play out? Whatever the result, it's been a magical season. For me, the Estadio Bernabeu calls...

As always, auf geht's Bayern!


Comments
Posted by Anish on 05/22/2010

Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo BAYERN !!!..

You know you are the best... You know they're afraid of us... You know what it's to be the Ultimate... Play them off the park... Give them no space to breathe... Tear them aparttttttt....


MIA SAN MIA....

F.C.Bayern Munchën 2010 UEFA UCL Champions...
Europe-Miester !!!

Posted by scott on 05/22/2010

LVG:

Please name Contento at LB! I know you won't, but...sigh. We tried, Susie.

Posted by frankendoodle on 05/22/2010

This is my first post ever in soccernet but I'm a frequent reader of Susie's articles. I'm also a Bayern fan for years now. I'm sure you've all heard and seen. I guess no one posted any comments because they're left at home or in the bar, distraught. I'm sorry guys. This emotion may hang on for days on end. But now, all we can do is pick ourselves up and do our best in the next season. This vicious cycle that the team let its fans experience is exhilirating but unfortunately, it led us to the wrond end. It may not be a golden season guys, but we and the team certainly deserved a pat on the back for the double.

Posted by Dan on 05/23/2010

I am disappointed we lost but when you look at it, this is van Gaal's first season. Mourinho needed 2 years to get Inter to go to the Champions League final. Van Gaal did it in his very first year. Let's take stock shall we? We have a world class coach. Check. Ribery extended his contract and we are keeping our best players. Check. Bayern has declared they want to improve defensively over the summer. Check. We have many young players who are far from finished developing and will improve every season. Bayern's future is rosy.

Posted by Vina on 01/19/2012

I wanted to spend a mniute to thank you for this.

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