2001 UEFA Champions League Final

Lore & Background

Both goals scored in the match were from penalties, with Bayern Munich also missing a penalty in normal time, and a penalty shoot-out was required to decide the winner, with the match being referred to as an 'all-penalty' final. Valencia opened the score early on with a Gaizka Mendieta penalty in the third minute. Bayern were awarded a penalty after Jocelyn Angloma fouled Stefan Effenberg, but Santiago Cañizares saved Mehmet Scholl's kick. Bayern were awarded another penalty early in the second half after Amedeo Carboni handled the ball; Effenberg took the kick and sent Cañizares the wrong way to level the scores at 1–1. The scores remained level for the remainder of regulation time and throughout extra time, sending the match to penalties. In the shootout, Paulo Sérgio put the first kick over the bar, Mendieta scored, then Hasan Salihamidžić, John Carew and Alexander Zickler traded penalty goals before Oliver Kahn saved Zlatko Zahovič's kick. After Andersson's kick was saved by Cañizares, Kahn tipped Carboni's shot onto the crossbar. Both Rubén Baraja and Effenberg scored, taking it to sudden death. Bixente Lizarazu and Kily González scored, then Thomas Linke scored for Bayern, and Kahn saved Mauricio Pellegrino's decisive kick. Kahn also won the UEFA Fair Play Award for consoling Cañizares after the shootout.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights of Milan hummed against the night sky as the referee blew the final whistle after extra time. The score remained deadlocked at 1-1, sending the San Siro into a frenzy of anticipation. Oliver Kahn stood alone in his box, tapping the ball against his palms, his eyes locked on the penalty spot. He remembered the tears of Manchester; he would not let them fall again. One by one, the players stepped forward. The roar of the crowd faded into a singular heartbeat for the goalkeeper. When Vicente stepped up to take Valencia's fourth kick, Kahn dove low to his right, stretching every muscle to palm the ball away from the net. Silence fell for a split second before the Munich contingent erupted. Kahn sprinted toward his teammates, screaming in pure release, his arms wide open as if embracing the ghosts of the past and the glory of the present. The fourth star was born not on the grass, but in the heart of the keeper.

Reader's Guide

This was the sixth European Cup final to be decided on penalties, and the second under the Champions League format. This was Ottmar Hitzfeld's second Champions League title after he won it with Borussia Dortmund in 1997, making him the second coach in European Cup history, after Ernst Happel, to win the competition with two clubs. It was Héctor Cúper's third consecutive European final defeat. The 2001 event was a meeting of the two previous seasons' losing finalists – Bayern Munich lost to Manchester United in 1999 and Valencia lost to Real Madrid in 2000.

Did You Know?

• This match along with the 2001 UEFA Cup final that Alaves lost to Liverpool one week earlier, was the last time a Spanish club lost a UEFA final against a team from another country until 2025 UEFA Conference League final
• Oliver Kahn saved two penalties in the shootout: Zlatko Zahovič's and Mauricio Pellegrino's.
• Gaizka Mendieta scored Valencia's opener from the penalty spot in the third minute.