Champions League Reminisces

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.