Tonight marks the return to our
screens of Europe’s premier club competition, the UEFA Champions League. We are
now at the round of 16 knock out stage as we edge ever closer to that May final
in Munich at the Allianz Arena. Much as The
Dug Out would very much wish to make predictions on the various ties, this
piece is all about reminiscing past finals in the hope that this years’ edition
will trump all the others. So here goes The
Dug Out’s past Champions League final experiences.
2000 – Paris (Stade de France)
Yes, yes I know you would have
wanted The Dug Out to mention the
1999 final, but sadly, he was too young to know what was going on. So, on to
the final at the Stade de France in Paris. Three Spanish teams, Real Madrid,
Valencia and Barcelona made it to the semis with Bundesliga powerhouse Bayern
Munich completing the quartet. Real beat Bayern while Valencia dazzled
Barcelona to set up an all-Spanish final. For the night, The Dug Out was for Valencia and it duly turned sour as Real Madrid
pulled off a vintage display to crush Los Che 3-0 in a disappointingly
one-sided final. Fernando Morientes, Steve McManaman and Raul got the goals to
secure the Los Merengues their eighth European triumph. And that’s the sour
tale of The Dug Out’s maiden Champions
League experience.
2001 – Milan (San Siro)
One year later and The Dug Out was now battle-hardened by
the previous year’s disappointment and all the more hooked to the riveting saga
that is European football. Once again Real Madrid, Valencia and Bayern Munich
had made it to the semis, to be joined by the surprise package representing
English interests, Leeds. This time round, the Germans would get the better of
Madrid, while Valencia edged past Leeds to make a second successive appearance
at the finals.The Dug Out though,
would not risk tagging along with the Spaniards again and joined the Bayern
bandwagon in what would be a bond that would prove to last the test of time.
The final itself at one of Europe’s foremost cauldrons proved to be an all-time
classic.
Valencia took the lead through
the penalty spot only for Bayern to spurn one of their own, courtesy of Mehmet
Scholl. The Germans though showed their resilience and in the second half were
rewarded when Captain Stefan Effenberg converted another penalty. The game went
on from end to end but no defense could be breached. It went to post match
penalties past midnight and still the young The
Dug Out would not catch sleep. The great Oliver Kahn made the saves to hand
Bayern their fourth title and grant The
Dug Out his maiden final joy, though he felt pity for the second-time
unlucky Valencia.
2002 – Glasgow (Hampden Park)
That Zidane goal. Yes, this is
the final in which the great French playmaker Zinedine Zidane etched his name
in our hearts and his image in future Champions League highlight reels with
that sublime left-footed volley past Hans Joerg Butt in the Leverkusen goal. At
this point, The Dug Out had already
developed a liking for German teams and duly sided with Bayer Leverkusen in
this one, with the Germans having impressively claimed the scalps of Liverpool
and Manchester United en route the final. It was to prove another bitter pill
for The Dug Out to swallow though as
Raul and Zidane cancelled out Lucio’s goal to ensure Real Madrid clinched their
ninth title. Great final though, the result notwithstanding.
2003 – Manchester (Old Trafford)
Who would have thought it? A
final staged in England yet the trophy contested by two Italian giants! It was
the season when the Serie A teams awoke from their slumber to take their place
among Europe’s elite with Milan, Inter and Juventus making it to the semis
alongside perennial contenders Real Madrid. In the semis, AC Milan bizarrely came
tops courtesy of the away goals rule in their two legged derby while Juventus
clinically dispatched the champions with sheer class and brilliance.
So there it was, an all-Italian
final pitting The Rossoneri against The Old Lady of Turin. Somehow The Dug Out had done his best to hype
this final, wildly rooting for Milan. The match itself strangely was an
anti-climax, a typical tactical Italian display which sent The Dug Out to sleep in the first half only for him to wake up to
its drab continuation in extra time. Inevitably it went to penalties and AC
Milan managed to hold their nerves to win the title. A second win for The Dug Out.
2004 – Gelsenkirchen (Veltins Arena)
For the first time since the turn
of the century, The Dug Out failed to
watch a Champions League final. By some twist of fate, the power company disconnected
their house’s meter and since The Dug Out
was in his final year in primary
school, the dad wouldn’t fix the electricity just so he could focus on the
exams and so the final was missed. That aside, it was a final of the dark
horses as FC Porto came up against AS Monaco. The Dug Out badly wanted a fairytale triumph for the Principality
side but as it turned out Porto cruised to a 3-0 victory with Jose Mourinho
announcing his grand installation to the big stage.
2005 – Istanbul
This was possibly the greatest
European final of all time and funny enough (or maybe not), The Dug Out missed this one too, making
it two in a row. Hewas just a first former at this top high school which
strangely enough did not allow for watching of midweek games. The match was
between AC Milan and Liverpool, who were having a rather wretched domestic run
and only very few fancied them to pull off an upset. So after night preps, The Dug Out and a few friends gathered
round a radio for the live commentary of the game and yeah, with Milan cruising
3-0 at half time, everybody duly went to sleep as it was a ‘done deal’. Let’s
just say we woke up the next morning to news of the then British Prime Minister
Gordon Brown congratulating Liverpool on their unbelievable effort in winning
their fifth European title. They had turned it round by equalizing in dramatic
fashion then finished the job in the post-match penalties. The Dug Out has perpetually cursed those who were responsible for
him missing that great final. At times he thinks that it might be the sole
reason for him missing a place in heaven when the time comes. Oh, and for the
record, he was for the losers of the day.
2006 – Paris (Stade de France)
No football match has ever meant
to The Dug Out as much as this one did.
It was as he had always dreamed it. His beloved Arsenal taking on Barcelona,
whose style he’d always admired. And this time The Dug Out was determined to watch this one at all costs, school
rules permitting or not! By this time the rules had been relaxed a bit to allow
the senior boys to watch the match at a dormitory recreation room. Since The Dug Out was still just a junior he
wouldn’t be granted access to the room and instead had to watch through the
window from outside. Yes, that’s how much it meant to him.
It was the purists’ final, with
both teams known and revered for their commitment to playing the game
beautifully and aesthetically. Arsenal boasted the meanest defence, while Barcelona
had the most devastating attack. Something had to give. Around 10 minutes into
the match and the Arsenal keeper, Jens Lehmann was given his marching orders.
Rather than stifle Arsenal’s resolve, it spurred them to taking the lead
through a Sol Campbell header. What followed was tension at its best as Arsenal
fought to hold on to the lead. Inevitably it was always going to be too much as
Barcelona’s numerical advantage told. They got the two goals they needed to
deny Arsenal and The Dug Out what
would have been the sweetest of victories. The
Dug Out sobbed his eyes sore to sleep. It was cruel. Very cruel.
2007 – Athens
In all honesty, The Dug Out quite enjoyed Milan’s
ruthless demolition of Manchester United in the semifinal second leg than the
final itself between the Italians and Liverpool. These are the sides that two
years ago had produced that dream final in Istanbul and so another cracker was
always expected. The Dug Out managed
to leave preps in time to catch the second half of a rather tactically cautious
final. Needless to say, he wanted and craved for revenge. As it happened two
Pippo Inzaghi goals proved enough to hand the Rossoneri their seventh title,
despite that late Dirk Kuyt goal which would fail to trigger another famous
come back. The Dug Out was only too
happy to have broken a three-match losing streak in the finals.
2008 – Moscow (Luzhniki)
Again this was a cracker of a
final and indeed the first all-English final. Manchester United was taking on
Chelsea and if the recent encounters between the sides was anything to go by,
this was going to be an explosive affair. And true to form United took an early
lead through Cristiano Ronaldo only to be pegged back minutes to the interval
by a Frank Lampard goal. The second half was marred by some quality end to end
attacks and close misses by both teams but none could get the winning goal. So
once again penalties would decide the destiny of the trophy and you should have
seen what a nervous-wreck The Dug Out had
become, clad in the Chelsea colors.
There’s no need to go over John Terry’s horribly taken miss that handed
Sir Alex Ferguson’s men their third European victory. Another loss for The Dug Out.
2009 – Rome (Stadio Olimpico)
Manchester United had done well
to make another appearance in the final in their bid to become the very first
team to successfully defend the Champions League title. Their opponents were
Barcelona, an irresistible force that had always turned on the style in their
demolition of one team after the next. The
Dug Out only knew better and rooted for the Catalans, very confident of
victory. It would prove to be another one-sided final as goals from Samuel
Eto’o and Lionel Messi sealed the deal.
2010 – Madrid (Santiago Bernabeu)
This final was of great
significance to The Dug Out in that
the protagonists, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich, were teams that he had always
loved and supported. So in a way the outcome did not bother him as such. Inter,
guided by Jose Mourinho had finally emerged from the shadows of their more
illustrious city rivals and were ready to conquer Europe once again. Bayern on
the other hand had once again exhibited the famed German efficiency and were
looking to once again be at the summit of the European game. The match itself
at one of the continent’s grandest venues quite wasn’t the classic we were
dying for. Bayern had the most possession but Inter were defensively sound and
ruthless on the counter, typical of the Mourinho sides. Two clinical Diego
Milito strikes in either half were enough to bring back European glory to the
blue half of Milan. In as much as The Dug
Out may have wished for the Germans to win, he was happy for his beloved
Inter. Forza Nerazzuri!
2011 – London (Wembley)
This was a repeat of the 2009
final and The Dug Out would not
expect anything different in terms of the outcome. There was talk of the ‘home’
advantage working in Manchester United’s favor, but only the wildly deluded
would bet against the deadly Barcelona carousel. All through the season Barca
had been as close to perfection as any footballing side could possibly be. For The Dug Out it was just a matter of what
margin the Catalans would win this one. Despite United giving as much as they
got in the initial stages, Barcelona would fully assert their dominance on
proceedings, completely outplaying and out passing the English to submission.
Even though United’s Wayne Rooney scored to make it 1-1 at some point, Pedro,
Lionel Messi and David Villa did the necessarily to ensure that Barcelona side
had a right to stake their claim as the best football team ever witnessed. The Dug Out on his part was more
mesmerized by the celestial display than the result. It was a great night of
football.
As we draw closer to that night
in Munich later this year, The Dug Out
is looking forward to another great final as his topsy turvy love affair with
the tournament continues. And as the majestic UEFA
Champions League anthem plays in the background, long live the Champions
League.
