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In Europe’s biggest night, German football sang the last song that set a new pedigree for the world to witness with awe. The Red and Yellow brigade cashed upon their vintage display throughout the Champions League season, which in the end was showcased with a magical spell of intent. The Bavarian giants, ‘Bayern Munich’, made sure in the end their reputation of losing in Europe’s most coveted final came to an end. For their opponents, Borussia Dortmund, who seemed hungry throughout, it serves a lethal warning to all other big European clubs, that they aren’t going to fade away.
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England has been a fairytale destination for Germany. Starting with the Euro 96 triumph where the slogan read, “Football’s coming home”, Germany took not only the trophy but gave an insight to the slogan that they deservedly took away with them. Since then, the Germans have stamped their authority in London, beating England in the 2010 World Cup round of 16 and now their prime clubs took the center stage in governing dominance once again at the same place. It all seemed like an old English class act done in the German way.
The yellow and red flags set the stadium at Wembley aside and it gave a feeling of a match being played on German soil instead; such was the way they adopted to English conditions. It was a magnificent display of football that sent the message outright – a message of dominance. Much has been said earlier by many football pundits about a major shift of footballing paradigm taking place in Europe’s domestic balance of power, and it rightly made sense by what everyone witnessed. Both Bayern and Dortmund compile Germany’s playing XI in world football and it marks a beginning to the fact that they will be threatening in the days to come.
In Europe’s domestic circuit, Germany was mainly voiced by their top brass, Bayern Munich, over the years. Their last Champions League success came in 2001. It took them a span of 12 years to get their hands on the cup once again. Dortmund, for whom European success was seen way back in 1997, finally managed to reach the new footballing heights, before falling short to their rivals. Bayern has been terrific this season and is on way to win a major treble this season after pocketing the League and Champions league.
There are several factors that governed this year’s Champions League final. Some of them being:
Jurgen Klopp’s presence
Dortmund’s manager Jurgen Klopp has been tremendous in grooming his youth brigade. The platform for success was laid with their 4-3 aggregate victory over Real Madrid in the semifinals. Klopp was quick to note the emphasis of the grand finale against Bayern and how much it meant to be there, fighting for the prized asset. “It’s a perfect moment, perfect place, perfect opponent,” said Klopp before the match. For a man who has been expressive on every aspect of the game, he proved to be just a fitting leader for the ‘Yellow and Black’ outfit.
Mario Goetze’s blues
The 20-year old Germany International has been a major impact player for Dortmund and most clubs with better financial resources looked to get his signature in the summer. But an early revelation of his 24 million euros signing by Bayern days before the final, followed by his hamstring injury, made him miss the Wembley showdown. Sitting in the stands, Mario Goetze looked torn apart, with his new club having the last laugh over his current one in the end. Klopp recently pointed out that other clubs are all looking to get into the yellow territory to target their players and lure them away.
Arjen Robben‘s redemption
The former Chelsea and Real Madrid sensation faced the agony of two final losses in the Champions League in the past three years. He missed a penalty shot in last season’s final against Chelsea that proved the deciding factor with the trophy heading to London rather than staying in Berlin. But this time, he made amends for the two previous losses to seek redemption for Bayern and himself by scoring the last gasp winner. The nightmare for him seemed over after he was seen in tears.
Jupp Heynckes farewell:
Bayern’s manager Jupp Heynckes marked his managerial end with the Bavarian giants in a big manner with this win. It doesn’t end though here, and with the German Cup next weekend, he will seek a satisfied exit, paving the way for Pep Guardiola. Having lost the League title last season to Dortmund and the Champions League final at home to Chelsea, Heynckes lived up to his reputation and fulfilled the dream he had dared to see all this while.
Finally, the Germans did manage to showcase their rise in domestic football and now rather just one (Bayern), Europe is set to witness a fierce contender in Dortmund in the years to come. In the end, German football fans can take more than just the cup from Wembley back to Berlin and the love story that sets everything aside.
