The first all German final in the history of the Champions League will be between Bayern Munich, four time champions, and Borussia Dortmund, one-time winners, as the two ran rampant over their Spanish counterparts in the semifinals, signaling that it might be a new era in European football, with a new style and heroes dominating the scene.
When the two teams meet on the Wembley pitch on May 25, it’ll be the fifth time they’ve met this season. Bayern won their Super Cup meeting 2-1 at the beginning of the season, followed by a 1-1 draw in the league and a 1-0 Cup win for Bayern as well. The two will play against each other on May 4 in the Bundesliga for some sort of dressing rehearsal before the big day.
Bayern Munich
For the 10th time in their history, Bayern Munich will play in the Champions League final, making them one of only three teams (along with Real Madrid and AC Milan) to reach the final at least 10 times. It’s also their third final in four years, having lost the previous two (2010, 2012), and in general, they’ve lost (five) more than they’ve won (four).
This season, Bayern have been cruising from the moment they began. They’re leading the German Bundesliga by 20 points, having lost just once in 31 matches, scoring 90 goals and conceded only 14. Mario Madzukic with 15 goals is their top scorer in the league.
In the Champions League things have gone quite smoothly as well. They came out first from their group, beating Valencia, BATE Borisov and Lille to the top spot. They narrowly escaped Arsenal in the knockout stage, qualifying thanks to away goals. From that moment, the compacency ended – they’ve beaten Juventus 2-0 at home and 2-0 away in the quarterfinals, followed by what might become a historic semifinal encounter with Barcelona, winning 4-0 and 3-0, making it four consecutive matches without conceding. Thomas Muller is their top scorer with 8 goals.
Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund are going to play in their second Champions League final, hoping it resembles their 3-1 win over Juventus in 1997. They will finish second (probably) in the Bundesliga, 20 points behind Bayern Munich. Robert Lewandowski is their leading scorer in the Bundesliga with 23 goals.
In the Champions League, they were undefeated until the second leg of the semifinal against Real Madrid. They finished first in their group, ahead of Real, Manchester City and Ajax. That was followed by an impressive 5-2 aggregate win against Shakhtar Dontesk in the knockout stage. Against Malaga, in the quarterfinals, it was a little bit trickier, needing an injury time goal to win 3-2 at home and advance. In the semifinal, a 4-1 win at home against Real Madrid was enough to allow a 2-0 loss in Madrid. Lewandowski is the team’s top scorer in the competition with 10 goals.