Chelsea Win Champions League 2012; Beat Bayern Munich on Penalties

Pin It Now!

Nobody gave Chelsea a chance from the beginning of 2012 UEFA Champions’ League; they were not in their best shape. The highly favoured English teams like Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal FC all got knocked out before the quarter final stage and the Blues were left to redeem the image of EPL. Nobody believed they could get beyond the round of 16 after they were dealt a deadly blow by Napoli in their first leg match at Italy.

They remained dogged and determined. After losing by a whooping 3-1 at Italy, they came back to upturn the table at Stamford Bridge, winning by an unbelievable 4-1 to advance to the quarter final stage. They defeated Benfica away by 1-0, and also beat them 2-1 at Stamford Bridge (though Benfica were reduced to 10 men).

Their Semi final matches were dramatic as they defended gallantly against FC Barcelona at Stamford Bridge and ended up winning the match by a lone goal. The second leg at Nou Camp saw Chelsea down to 10 men and losing by 2 goals in the first half. But they fought back and pulled a 2-2 draw against highly favoured Barca.

Soccer pundits still didn’t have faith in the Blues; they believed luck might not keep seeing them through. The fact they were to play the final at Allianz Arena, coupled with the fact they were playing against a highly experienced side made Chelsea clearly the underdogs. But it seemed that God was clearly with them, giving them victory where nobody expected them to succeed.

Munich came in with determination to win the match and be handed the trophy right in their own home. They bombarded Chelsea from the outset, with Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery firing full cylinders from the right and left flanks respectively. But the Londoners held their ground; they defended their territory gallantly.

But after series of onslaught by the Munich side, Thomas Muller’s nodding in the 83rd minute caught Petr Cech pants down, putting the host team ahead. They had only 7 minutes to redeem themselves and Chelsea fought back, with the introduction of Fernando Torres who replaced Salomon Kalou. They finally got a corner kick in the 88th minute which was nodded in by Didier Drogba for an equalizer.

The match eventually went into extra time. Just in the 3rd minute of added time, Drogba stepped on Franck Ribery’s heel in the 18 yard box to give away a penalty to Munich. The resultant penalty was taken by Arjen Robben, but Petr Cech denied him the opportunity to celebrate as he stretched full length to save the kick.

The match eventually went into extra time and after 120 minutes of play, score line remained 1-1. The match had to be concluded on penalties. Juan Mata took the first kick for Chelsea but Manuel Neuer saved it, creating tension in the Blues’ camp. The kicks went on and at the end, Munich lost two kicks (Bastian Schweinsteiger and Ivica Olic) and Chelsea lost one (Juan Mata) to end score at 4-3 in favour of the London side.

Roberto Di Matteo suddenly rose from a villain to a hero; he did what the likes of jose Maurinho, Guus Hiddink, Avran Grant, Filipe Scolari, Carlo Ancelotti and Andrea Villas Boas could not do. He rose from being a failure in WestBromwich Albion to a Champions’ league winner. He ended up winning the doubles (having won the English FA Cup earlier) for the season. The coach soccer analysts said had no pedigree to lead the Blues suddenly succeeded where Man U, Manchester City and Arsene failed.

The happiest men of the night were arguably Didier Drogba, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and John Terry. It was sweet victory as Drogba led his team mates in victory celebration, having scored a crucial equalizer and then the winning penalty for his team. There was no better way to celebrate. The likes of Arjen Robben, Mario Gomez and Bastian Schweinsteiger couldn’t believe they just lost the trophy right in their backyard. They remained glued to the pitch.

Roman Abrahamovich was elated his dream of winning the Champions’ League finally came true courtesy of Roberto Di Matteo and his lads. Now that they’ve delivered, what happens to Drogba, Terry, Lampard and Ashley Cole? Should their contracts be renewed or should they leave on the expiration of their contracts?

Now that Di Matteo has proven to be a reliable coach, should Abrahamovich still sack him and get someone else to manage the team? He sure deserves to be retained since he was able to discover the magic wand needed for the team to succeed.

One thing is obvious; Chelsea needs more young talented players to beef up the attack, midfield and the defense if they hope to successfully defend the title next season. They need new hands to complement the efforts of the aging legs should they be retained.

What do you think? Should Roberto Di Matteo be confirmed as the coach of the team? Should Drogba, Terry, Lampard and Ashley Cole be shown the exit door or should they be retained? Kindly drop your comment here.

If you love this post, share it with your friends. Follow me on Twitter, Google+ Facebook , Pinterest, Linkedin

Chelsea Win Champions League 2012; Beat Bayern Munich on Penalties