Tomorrow is the final of the European Champions League, the most prestigious non-World Cup soccer competition in the world. It airs on Fox (the first time it has ever been aired on network television after being on ESPN in recent years) at 1:30 CT, 11:30 PT.
Teams involved: Inter Milan, champions of Italy and Bayern Munich, champions of Germany
Storylines: The story starts with both teams attempt to become the first in their countries history to claim the treble (the treble is winning a league title, a national cup title and the European title in the same season) and the first since Manchester United in 1999 to complete it.
Inter relies on punishing defensive tactics and just enough scoring from strikers like Samuel Eto'o. The defensive tactics are something of a club tradition having gone back to the founding of the club. Manager Jose Mourniho (dubbed by the British media the 'Special One') has maximized his talent this season after many years of spectacular Champions League failures including blowing leads and a forfeit after their fans threw flairs at rival AC Milan's goalkeeper Dida in the middle of last decade as you can see below.
In fact, one storyline to watch here is the actions of Inter's fans. They have been legendarily bad over the years in addition to the flair incident. They have brawled with opposing fans, beaten cops, and even tried to launch a flaming vespa off the upper deck of their stadium. They succeeded with the launch but the fire went out.
Game wise, the question for Inter is completely dependant on the defense. It was airtight in the seim-final upset of Barcelona. Inter will get its one or two goal like always. The question is keeping Bayern Munich off the board.
As for Bayern, it has been a bouncback season for the German powerhouse after a humiliating campaign last year. Last season, they struggled to even finish in the top four needed to qualify for this seasons Champions League and were destroyed 5-1 by Barcelona in the quarterfinals.
This season, it has been completely different as the offense has paced the club in a departure from the clubs normal defensive oriented tradition. The issue will come from having lost French midfielder Frank Ribery to suspension during the semi-finals. Ribery is the most creative and skilled player on the Bayern roster and his absence puts even more pressure on striker Miroslav Klose (one of the most skilled aerial strikers in the world) and midfielders Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mark van Bommel to supply more offense.
The ultimate question for Bayern is can they score at all to pressure Inter's airtight defense.
The pick: I trust Mourinho to have a gameplan ready. He will get Inter its long desired European title and he will win a second for himself after guiding FC Porto from Portugal to the title in 2004.
Inter Milan 2, Bayern Munich 1
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