Chelsea cleared the final hurdle
in a season of never-ending challenges when they beat Bayern
Munich 4-3 on penalties in the German team's Allianz Arena
stadium to be crowned European Champions for the first time on
Saturday.
In what may be the final act of his Chelsea career, Didier
Drogba sealed victory in a tension-packed Champions League final
with the last kick of the shootout to clinch victory after he
had headed Chelsea's equaliser two minutes from time to force a
1-1 draw and send the game to extra time.
Bayern, just as in 1999 when they lost 2-1 to Manchester
United who scored two goals in stoppage time, were within
touching distance of the cup thanks to an 83rd-minute header
from Thomas Muller.
But history came back to haunt them as Drogba snatched
victory from their grasp with a late equaliser to set up his
team to victory against all the odds.
Even in extra time Bayern had a golden opportunity to seal
the win but Arjen Robben's penalty was saved by Petr Cech after
Drogba fouled Franck Ribery to concede the spot-kick.
Bayern skipper Philipp Lahm even won the toss to decide
which end the shootout would take place and it was held in front
of the Bayern fans.
Chelsea's success, built on the millions invested in the
club over the last nine years by Russian billionaire Roman
Abramovich, came on another night of unlikely glory in a season
that seemed to be going nowhere under coach Andre Villas-Boas
who was sacked in March.
Chelsea were rejuvenated by interim coach Roberto Di Matteo
who not only steered them to this success but also won the FA
Cup two weeks ago.
Whether he gets the job permanently remains to be seen, but
there is little more he could have done to prove he is the man
for the job.
He ended the campaign not only with the two cups, but also
making Chelsea the first London club to win the trophy since the
competition began 57 years ago and guaranteed to play Champions
League football again next season.
The match itself was similar to Chelsea's astonishing
semi-final victory over Barcelona with both successes built on
solid steel rearguard actions against sides that dominated them
territorially and with possession of the ball.
The Barcelona victory followed Chelsea's win over Napoli in
the last 16 when they lost the first leg 3-1 in Italy and
came back to win 4-1 in the second leg, a result that ultimately
set them on the road to their success in Germany.
At the end the German players were utterly stunned, none
more so that Bastian Schweinsteiger after his poorly struck
penalty hit the post.
"I believe a lot in destiny," Drogba said. "It was written a
long time ago. This team is amazing and I dedicate this cup to
all the managers and players we had before.
"[My equaliser] changed the game. Life is fantastic."
Bayern were left to rue a third near-miss this season after
finishing runners-up in the Bundesliga and the German Cup but
this was the harshest of blows.
For much of a compelling final, the match resembled a
defence versus attack exercise as Bayern poured forward, only to
be denied by a wall of blue or their own wastefulness in front
of goal.
Both Thomas Muller and Mario Gomez snatched at clear chances
as Chelsea rode their luck and manned the barricades as they did
in the Nou Camp during their semi-final against Barcelona.
Muller lashed one volley wide from Franck Ribery's cross
while the disappointing Gomez showed a surprising lack of
composure on several occasions.
Substitute Ivica Olic had his head in his hands in the
second period of extra time as he prodded a volley agonisingly
wide of the post with Cech helpless.
The night still seemed to be heading Bayern's way when they
moved 3-1 ahead in the penalty shootout after Juan Mata missed
Chelsea's first spot-kick but Olic missed for Bayern and when
Schweinsteiger struck the post the stage was left for Ivorian
Drogba to write his name into Chelsea folkore.
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