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Champions League Final Borussia Dortmund v Bayern Munich

Champions League Final Borussia Dortmund v Bayern Munich

May 23, 2013

The Champions League final is this coming Saturday May 25th in Wembley Stadium London, England, where the Germans will finally accomplish what they could not do back in 1940 and invade London with more than 150,000 jovial football fans ascending on the English capital for which is the biggest sporting event of the year.

Yes that is right as the Champions League final eclipses all those people who tune in for the Super bowl by over 190 million viewers, making it the most watched television event in the world.

Last year an estimated 300 million people watched as Chelsea beat one of this year’s finalist Bayern Munich on penalties to be crowned the best football club in Europe.

Still stinging from last year’s loss Bayern Munich will be going all out to make sure that they do not lose again especially to a side that they know so well playing alongside them in the German Bundesliga.

This season Bayern Munich were run away winners of the German league finishing 25 points ahead of this weekend’s opponents Borussia Dortmund who finished in second place.

Judging from that,  you would expect the boys from Bavaria to win easily and while they are the bookmaker’s favorite at 5/6  you must remember that out of their last two meetings in the league they have only managed to come away with two 1-1 draws, yet Bayern did win in their meetings in German Cup competitions.

This is the last hurrah for 68-year-old coach Jupp Heynckes who retires at the end of this season paving the way for former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola to take over what is without doubt one of the greatest German club side ever.

The men to watch for Bayern are the Croatian hitman Mario Mandzukic who has scored 20 goals for Bayern this season, and his strike partner Mario Gomez who singlehandedly can win a game when on form.

Expect Bayern to take the ball forward on the wings with Dutch international Arjen Robben, and Frenchman Frank Ribery using their pace to take on the Dortmund defense.

Here is what Ribery had to say to the German press in the buildup to this all-German affair:

“We know Borussia Dortmund inside-out. It will be crucial not to put too much pressure on ourselves. BVB are a difficult side to play against. First and foremost they’re physically strong and defend very well, but if we perform in the manner we did against Juventus in the quarter-finals and in the semi-finals against Barcelona, then we’ll win the encounter. I don’t know whether we’ll make it to the final of the Champions League ever again, which is why we want to give it everything we’ve got to finally hold the trophy. It will also be important from a mentality standpoint. If we’re all ready and willing to give 100 per cent then we’ll emerge victorious.”

As for the Westphalia side Dortmund almost everyone except their fans thinks that this young team will not be able to stand up to the big spending Bayern who Dortmund coach  Jürgen Klopp has referred to as a villain from a James Bond film after they poached Dortmund’s star midfield player Mario Goetze to play for them starting next season.

Goetze picked up a hamstring injury in Dortmund’s last match against Hoffenheim along with defender Matts Hummels who is nursing a swollen ankle, both are expected to be fit to play on Saturday and will be crucial if Dortmund are to win.

Dortmund are extremely dangerous on the counter attack and there is no one better at punishing a sloppy defence than their star striker 24-year-old Polish international Robert Lewandowski who put four goals past Real Madrid on Dortmund’s way to the final.

After talking to reporters following Dortmund’s 2-1 loss to Hoffenheim Lewandowski said:

“It’s no use talking about [the Hoffenheim] game. What matters now is the final and that’s what we’re concentrating on,” added Lewandowski, adamant that the result will bear no relevance to the clash with Bayern.

“Neither this game, nor the draw against Wolfsburg will be in our heads when we take to the pitch. What’s done is done. The final will be a totally different game, you can be sure of that.

Even if you are not yet a fan of soccer you must tune in to watch the Champions League final with 90,000 screaming fans in Wembley Stadium cheering on their team.

As far as predictions go it should be a close match quite possibly going to extra time and even penalties. If Dortmund can score first I believe that Klopp’s young team could cause an upset, yet very much depends on if key players are fit enough to contain what will be a relentless attack from Bayern.

So far in the competition everything has gone Dortmund’s way, and even though my head says bet on Bayern, in my heart I will be rooting for the underdog Dortmund.

 

Kickoff off is at 2:45 ET with live coverage of the match starting at 2:00pm ET on Fox.

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