2012 Champions League Final vs Chelsea

Lore & Background

Bayern Munich were making their ninth appearance in the competition's final, having won four and lost four, most recently losing in 2010. Chelsea were appearing in their second final, having lost their first in 2008. It was the first Champions League final to be held at the Allianz Arena. As tenants of the Arena, Bayern were the first finalists to have home advantage since 1984. Both teams progressed to the knockout stages by finishing top of their group. Bayern then beat Basel, Marseille and Real Madrid to reach the final, while Chelsea knocked out Napoli, Benfica and defending champions Barcelona.

In Their Own Story

The air inside the Allianz Arena tasted of salt and iron. Thomas Müller stood near the corner flag, chest heaving, watching the clock bleed past ninety minutes. The roar of seventy-five thousand voices dissolved into a collective held breath. When Didier Drogba’s header smacked the net in stoppage time, the silence that followed was heavier than any noise Bayern had ever known. In extra time, Arjen Robben sprinted toward the box, eyes locked on goal, but his shot was blocked by a desperate slide. Then came the shootout. Franck Ribéry’s effort was palmed away by Čech; Bastian Schweinsteiger clipped the post. When Robben finally stepped up, his miss sealed the fate of the night. As the whistle blew, players slumped to the grass, faces buried in hands, while red flags fell limply from the stands like autumn leaves.

Reader's Guide

Bayern took the lead late in the second half through Thomas Müller, but Didier Drogba equalised for Chelsea five minutes later to take the game to extra time, in which Arjen Robben missed an awarded penalty, Petr Čech saving the low drive. The teams stayed level at 1–1 and the match went to a penalty shoot-out, which Chelsea won 4–3 to clinch their first Champions League title. In doing so, they became the first London club to win the tournament, the fifth English club and 22nd overall.

Did You Know?

• The match was the fourth occasion that a team had reached a final of the European Cup which was scheduled to be played at their own home ground, after 1957, 1965 and 1984, and the first occasion since the tournament was
• Only two of the 36 players had previously been in a winning squad in a Champions League final: Chelsea's Paulo Ferreira and José Bosingwa were in the Porto squad in 2004.
• The stadium was illuminated in green and turquoise to represent the official UEFA emblem of the Munich final, as the outer shell of the Allianz Arena can change colour.
• Chelsea became the first London club to win the tournament.