Dinamo Zagreb to face hearing over fans

Dinamo Zagreb are to face a disciplinary hearing following a protest by Bulgarian champions Ludogorets over their controversial Champions League qualifier last week, UEFA said on Thursday.

Ludogorets, who won their maiden league title in May, said club officials were the victims of racial abuse and offensive chants while cups of beer and other objects were thrown at them in the main stand of Maksimir stadium.

Croatian champions Dinamo won the second qualifying round tie 4-3 on aggregate after they scored in the eighth minute of stoppage time to win the second leg 3-2. A draw in that match would have sent the Bulgarians through on away goals.

"Dinamo are to face charges for improper conduct by their supporters," said UEFA in a statement, adding that the disciplinary board would hear the case on August 23.

Razgrad-based Ludogorets, whose protest was backed by the Bulgarian Football Union, were also angry at the performance of German referee Felix Zwayer.

Dinamo beat Molodvan champions Sheriff Tiraspol 1-0 away in the first leg of the third qualifying round on Wednesday.

Lexo më shumë

UEFA may review rule that hit Spurs bid

The Champions League rule which has denied Tottenham Hotspur a place in next season's competition because Chelsea won Saturday's final could be reviewed by UEFA's executive committee, president Michel Platini said on Wednesday.

Chelsea automatically qualified for next season as European champions despite only finishing sixth in the Premier League.

If they had lost on Saturday they would have only qualified for the Europa League, but their victory over Bayern Munich means that they, rather than Spurs who finished fourth in the Premier League, will compete in the Champions League.

Speaking in Budapest ahead of this week's FIFA Congress, Platini said he was aware the rule was unpopular because of the potentially huge Champions League revenue a club can lose because of another's success.

But he told reporters: "Everything can be discussed - the rules, yellow cards, but not during the competition. Perhaps in the next executive committee we can speak about it".

On Tuesday, FIFA President Sepp Blatter questioned whether Chelsea should be allowed to enter next season's Champions League because he said all confederations should follow FIFA's rules on competition winners.

Blatter told Reuters: "We had this rule in FIFA that the winner of the World Cup was automatically qualified and we abandoned it, so the winner of a competition should not be automatically qualified.

"This is the FIFA rule and if we have the same rule all around the world then this should be applicable to UEFA as well."

Platini rejected suggestions that Tottenham were being unfairly punished and that by denying them a place in the competition it made a mockery of their season.

"No, they have not been punished, they know the rules, they should have been third and not fourth, they could have finished first. Did they fight for first place?"

Lexo më shumë

Ivanovic: Tough to watch Chelsea triumph

Branislav Ivanovic has described the emotions he was put through after being forced to watch Chelsea’s Champions league victory over Bayern Munich.
The powerful Serbian was suspended for the final at the Allianz Arena after picking up a third booking during the semi-final encounter with Barcelona.
Munich looked set for victory after Thomas Muller’s headed goal just seven minutes before the full-time whistle.
However, a Didier Drogba equaliser five minutes later was enough to see the Blues through to extra time before securing the trophy in a dramatic penalty shootout.
And Ivanovic has conceded it was tougher being a spectator during the enthralling win.
"Many times it is said that some matches are harder to watch than play, and I would say that the Champions League final is at the top of the list," Ivanovic told Sportski Zurnal.
"I was so nervous that it was hard to watch. The hardest was in extra time and at penalties. If you play, you do your job. If you sit in the stadium, you are powerless. You can just watch what is going on, you can't help your team.
"But in the end everything was superb so I was as happy as a child."
Having not taken part in the finale, the 28-year-old was proud of the spirit shown by his team-mates and insisted it was the highlight of his career.
"Once again we saw that in football you have to play until the end, until the very last minute. You can't yield for even a second," the defender added.
"We won, because we believed in ourselves. Even when Bayern scored, we were sure that we could do it. This victory is the biggest one in my life. As a footballer you live for something like that.
"We completely deserved it and I will remember these pictures for my whole life."

Lexo më shumë

Schweinsteiger sorry for president snub

Bastian Schweinsteiger was "paralysed" with disappointment after Bayern Munich lost Saturday's Champions League final and did not see German president Joachim Gauck offer his hand, he said on Monday.

Schweinsteiger apologised for the incident but said he did not intentionally snub Gauck as the team collected their medals following the penalty shootout defeat by Chelsea.

"It's a misunderstanding," Schweinsteiger said on Bayern's website.

"Anyone who puts themselves in my position and looks at the photo can see that, after such a great disappointment, I was not aware of what was going on around me.

"I was desperate, disappointed, as if I was paralysed. I didn't see the president's hand.

"I'm sorry that in that moment I left the wrong impression. I would like to apologise to the president."

Lexo më shumë

Cameron basks in Chelsea's triumph

British Prime Minister David Cameron savored Chelsea's win over German club Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on Sunday after watching the deciding penalty shootout with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a summit in the United States.

"It's not often you get the opportunity to watch a penalty shootout between an English team and a German team and watch the English team win," Cameron told reporters in Chicago before a NATO summit.

"There are many great privileges in this job but to be able to do that with the German chancellor was a great moment - but we did hug and make up afterwards," he said.

Cameron was photographed with his arms thrust aloft in triumph while watching Saturday's final on television with other world leaders during a break in the Group of Eight summit at the U.S. presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, on Saturday.

In the photo Cameron was next to U.S. President Barack Obama, with his mouth open in amazement, and Merkel, who looked disappointed.

Chelsea became the European champion when Didier Drogba made the last kick of the shootout in Germany after the match ended in a 1-1 stalemate after extra time.

It was sweet revenge for Cameron after he and Merkel watched part of Germany's 4-1 thrashing of England at the 2010 World Cup on television at a Group of 20 summit in Toronto.

Cameron said he had to explain some of the finer points of Saturday's penalty shootout to Obama "and he was beginning to catch up on the rules by the time it was over."

"You've got the American president not fully understanding the rules of football, or soccer as he would call it, a very despondent German chancellor and, of course, another happy man in the room, which was the Russian prime minister [Dmitry Medvedev]," he said.

Chelsea's success was built on the millions invested in the club in the past nine years by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

Cameron said the leaders had watched a bit of the game and then he had insisted they get back to their discussion of weighty global matters, including the euro zone debt crisis.

"I got everyone back in the room but when the penalty shootout started Angela Merkel drifted away and after trying to focus minds on what we were talking about I drifted away too, obviously suspecting that an England-Germany penalty shootout was going to be another difficult night for me," he said.

"That is why you see me being quite so elated when Drogba put that great penalty in," he said.

Lexo më shumë

Champions League perfect present for Cech

Petr Cech celebrated a perfect 30th birthday on Sunday after producing another exceptional goalkeeping performance to help Chelsea land their first Champions League trophy.

The Czech had a shaky first half of the season but his revival in form has run parallel with the club's overall resurgence since Roberto Di Matteo took over as interim coach in March, and he played a major role in Saturday's 4-3 penalty shootout win over Bayern Munich.

"I said prior to the game that if we win the trophy I don't want a birthday cake and this is the best present I can get," Cech told reporters at Bayern's Allianz Arena. "It's a dream come true.

"There were six penalties and I went the right way all the time and saved three, so I was well prepared. It's incredible we have finally got the trophy."

Cech, as he has done so frequently in his eight years with Chelsea, provided an inspirational barrier in goal as Bayern dominated most of the initial 90 minutes and the additional half hour.

He saved Arjen Robben's penalty in extra time and then thwarted Ivica Olic and Bastian Schweinsteiger in the shootout amid wild scenes of jubilation among his team-mates.

"We lost the Champions League final to Manchester United in Moscow four years ago and we hoped for another chance," said Cech, who has made 87 appearances in the competition and has 89 caps for his country.

"The chance came, and in a moment when nobody expected it, we grabbed it."

Former England international Peter Bonetti has always been regarded by Chelsea supporters as the club's greatest keeper, following his 20 years of service in the 1960s and 1970s.

However, Cech has won a host of medals in his time at Stamford Bridge, including three Premier League titles, and is now rightly considered to be at least on a par with Bonetti.

Ivory Coast forward Salomon Kalou, given a new lease of life under Di Matteo after being consistently ignored by the Italian's predecessor Andre Villas-Boas, said the unity of the squad was a feature of Chelsea's triumph on Saturday.

"It was destiny for us to win it," said Kalou. "It was also team spirit and togetherness. What a wonderful moment for us."

Midfield playmaker Juan Mata has wowed the Chelsea fans since arriving from Valencia at the start of the campaign, and the club's player of the season summed up the mood of euphoria among the players.

"We are very happy," said the diminutive Spaniard. "We believed in ourselves and this is what it means to play for Chelsea. We've made history."

Lexo më shumë

Bertrand offers Chelsea glimpse of future

There has been endless debate about Chelsea's fate once Frank Lampard, John Terry, Ashley Cole and Didier Drogba move on, but young defender Ryan Bertrand proved at Saturday's Champions League final that the future is bright at Stamford Bridge.

The 22-year-old left-back became the first player to make his European debut in either a European Cup or Champions League final in 30 years on Saturday as he helped Chelsea to beat Bayern Munich 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Munich.

Aston Villa goalkeeper Nigel Spink was the last to achieve the feat when he came on as a 10th-minute substitute in the 1982 final for the injured Jimmy Rimmer.

Like Spink, Bertrand ended with a winners' medal round his neck after victory over Bayern Munich, and, like the goalkeeper, the Englishman played an important part in his side's victory.

In the 73 minutes he was on the pitch he acquitted himself well in what was only his eighth appearance for Chelsea, although he has appeared nearly 150 times in the lower leagues of English football while on loan at Bournemouth, Oldham Athletic, Norwich City, Reading and Nottingham Forest.

"I have been out on loan to a lot of clubs and played a fair few games now, but obviously nothing compares to the scale of what happened here," Bertrand said after emerging from the victorious Chelsea dressing room.

"When the manager told me I was playing, of course I could hardly believe it, but I knew what I had to do.

"I was getting all these flashbacks too of when I was a kid, growing up in South London, in Peckham, in Bermondsey, tough places, playing against the wall with my mates.

"And I spent time at so many clubs, I wondered at times where my career was going, but I never gave up."

HUGE PRESSURE

Bertrand was a surprise starter in the Chelsea line-up and got his chance only because Florent Malouda suffered a hamstring injury last week, resulting in the young Englishman being asked to play in an unfamiliar midfield role in front of left back Ashley Cole.

Bertrand was resolute as Bayern fired 35 attempts at the English side's goal.

He left the field to be replaced by Malouda with the match still scoreless and the Chelsea supporters singing "one Ryan Bertrand," to cap a dream debut.

"He handled himself so well, he was under huge pressure and he didn't show it," team-mate Gary Cahill said.

"I mean he's 22, and to play with the composure he did, playing out of position against Arjen Robben and the likes of Mario Gomez, one of the most experienced wingers around, was amazing."

Bertrand, however, was keen to praise others.

"Ashley Cole has been such a massive help to me too, all the way through. It was great being out there with him, he kept his eye on me," Bertrand said.

"The atmosphere was amazing, Bayern fans outnumbered the Chelsea fans and it wasn't 50/50 in there, there was more like 70 percent of them, against us, but we stuck in there together and won it. It is just incredible."

Much has been made of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's huge investment in the London side to achieve his ambition of becoming kings of Europe, but Bertrand's signing was not one expected to result in Champions League glory.

Having joined lower league English side Gillingham as a nine-year-old, he moved to Chelsea when he was 15 for an initial fee of 125,000 pounds which provoked considerable anger from Gillingham's feisty chairman Paul Scally.

That fee can rise to a maximum of 525,000 pounds after he has played 40 league games but with Bertrand's contribution in the final outweighing that of the expensive signings of Fernando Torres and unused substitute Michael Essien, the deal could prove to be one of Abramovich's finest. 

Lexo më shumë

Bayern still waiting to crown 'golden generation'

Another Champions League final another defeat, time is running out for Bayern Munich's home-grown talent to claim the top prize in European club football and cement their status as a golden generation.

Bayern had set their sights on the Champions League in December 2010 when club president Uli Hoeness mapped out their target of lifting the trophy in their own stadium in 2012.

But 18 months later, that dream turned into an "absolute nightmare".

Bayern started with five youth academy products in the side and despite dominanting much of Saturday's game could manage only a 1-1 draw with Chelsea before they were beaten in a penalty shootout.

The German side have now lost two Champions League finals in the last three seasons.

"What happened to us is an absolute nightmare," said Bayern sports director Christian Nerlinger. "The disappointment has gone very deep. It is like a bad movie and it will be very difficult to digest this defeat."

Local boy Thomas Muller had given the Bavarians an 83rd minute lead but Didier Drogba levelled for Chelsea two minutes from time. Dutchman Arjen Robben's penalty miss in extra time gave Chelsea the chance to snatch the title in the shootout.

NO SILVERWARE

Bayern had hoped to ease the pain of a second successive season without a domestic trophy by winning the Champions League, a title that would lift captain Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger on a par with other club greats like Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Mueller.

Germany captain Lahm had said before the game that without a major title they would never be remembered as a "golden generation."

Lahm and Schweinsteiger, who along with younger Toni Kroos, Muller, Diego Contento and suspended Holger Badstuber, came through the club's youth ranks, have also got runners-up medals from Euro 2008 and two third place finishes at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups behind them.

Bayern have also played second fiddle to Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga in the past two seasons, and lost to them in the German Cup final last week.

Lahm and Schweinsteiger, who missed his penalty in the shootout, hung their heads as they left the stadium and did not utter a word to waiting reporters.

They know that at 28 and 27 respectively time is gradually running out for that elusive major trophy.

While club success will have to wait, they will get another shot at silverware next month when they lead Germany into battle at Euro 2012 with fellow internationals Badstuber, Muller and Kroos.

"We will build the boys up. With us they can still win a title," said Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff.

Lexo më shumë

Lampard: Shootout win was never in doubt

Frank Lampard began to think there was no way back for Chelsea in the Champions League final as the minutes ticked down with Bayern Munich leading 1-0, but when the match went to a penalty shootout he had no doubts the trophy was coming to London.

Saturday's final ended 1-1 at the Allianz Arena and after missing their first kick in the shootout, Chelsea battled back to win it 4-3.

"I admit when we were trailing 1-0 with about a minute left, I wasn't so sure," said Lampard.

"Once it went to penalties, I thought there was no way we were going to lose. I thought, we are going to win this."

Lampard's confidence was remarkable given the circumstances.

Bayern had never lost a penalty shootout in Europe, Chelsea had never won one, and the German side were at home and taking the spot-kicks in front of their own fans after captain Philip Lahm won the toss.

A glance through the record books showed no English team had beaten a German one on penalties either.

But Lampard said the heartbreak of losing in the final four years ago to Manchester United on penalties spurred his team to victory.

"It wasn't going to be a repeat of Moscow, we couldn't have stood that again," he added.

Thomas Muller headed Bayern ahead in the 83rd minute before Didier Drogba made it 1-1 in the final two minutes. 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.

However, Ivica Olic missed for Bayern and when Schweinsteiger struck the post the stage was set for Ivorian Drogba to write his name into Chelsea folklore and stun Bayern's supporters into shocked silence.

Chelsea not only stopped Bayern winning the title for a fifth time, they also became the first London side to win Europe's top club competition in its 57-year history and the third English team to beat Bayern after Aston Villa in 1982 and Manchester United in 1999.

Lampard continued: "I really wasn't sure there was a way back and I was thinking well, perhaps it wasn't meant to be after all... then Didier equalised with a minute to go and Petr [Cech] saved Arjen Robben's penalty in extra time and I thought, 'we are going to do this'.

"And when the penalties started I was sure."

The 33-year-old heaped praise on Drogba, whose contract is set to expire and could well have played his last match for the club.

"I have to say, Didier was the main man tonight, and he dug us out of a hole there.

"The man is a Chelsea legend, he is a hero, without him we're not here. He scores the goals in the big games."

Asked if this victory could mark the break-up of a side that have largely been together for most of the last decade, he said: "No, I don't see why it should.

"Teams are always changing, but why should we stop now? We want to carry on, move fowards. We've won the FA Cup and now the Champions League and the determination and spirit we have shown, its been fantastic."

Lexo më shumë

Drogba's grand finale gives Chelsea glory

Didier Drogba scored Chelsea's goal and their winning Champions League penalty against Bayern Munich on Saturday and then solemnly appeared to say his farewells.

The 34-year-old Ivory Coast striker capped his eight years in London by lifting the trophy that his boss Roman Abramovich has longed for since buying the club in 2003. Then he was named man of the match.

But the big striker, who has failed to reach agreement with the club over a new contract, accepted the accolade with what sounded like a valedictory speech and side-stepped questions about his future.

"I don't think we can take decisions in emotional moments like this. The most important thing is not my future, the most important thing is what we achieved today," he told reporters after the astonishing victory.

"I want to say thank you to all the players I've been playing with since I've been here and all the managers. They have improved me as a player and as a person."

The exuberant Ivorian, who delighted fans and worried club security by dancing on the roof of the team bus when Chelsea won their first English title in 50 years in his first season at the club, said he just felt very happy.

"Today it's a great day for the club, for our fans, for the players. I don't really know if there's enough words to describe how I feel now," he said.

The striker has developed a knack of scoring in finals, hitting home in Chelsea's 2-1 FA Cup final over Liverpool earlier this month, when he became the first man in the FA Cup to score in four finals.

But Saturday's 88th-minute header against the run of play after Bayern had gone ahead five minutes earlier, wiped out the misery of Chelsea's defeat on penalties four years ago against Manchester United in Moscow, when he was sent off.

"In Moscow it was very difficult. It was very painful for the players, for the club and the fans and today we managed to change all that in an amazing game, equalising in the last minutes and then with the penalty shootout," he said.

Drogba, demonstrative and histrionic on the pitch as he is quietly courteous and softly spoken off it, has divided opinion in English football, but few would deny his impact on the game during the time that Chelsea have won two English titles four FA Cups and now the Champions League.

He said he had felt calm and confident taking the last penalty despite missing one earlier this year in the Africa Cup of Nations final.

"Before going to take it I still had in my head what happened in the African Nations Cup where I could have won the cup for my country.

"At the same time Petr Cech was a fantastic goalkeeper and he kept us in it. So when I stepped up I went to score for him and for my team-mates. I went to make Chelsea smile after we had been so down in Moscow.

"That was the last kick of the season and what a way to do it."

Lexo më shumë

Banned Terry: Best moment of my career

Chelsea's suspended captain John Terry missed the club's penalty shootout victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on Saturday but still described the win as the best moment of his career.

The central defender was ruled out of the match at the Allianz Arena after being sent off in the semi-final second leg in Barcelona.

"This is an incredible feeling," Terry told reporters after Chelsea won the shootout 4-3 following a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes.

"I've waited eight or nine years for this moment and it wipes out all those bad memories from this competition. It's 100 percent the top moment in my career."

The stunning victory at Bayern's home ground had made up for previous heartbreak in the Champions League, he said.

"In the past we've been knocked out in the last minute, lost on penalties to Manchester United in the 2008 final and twice we lost to Liverpool in the semi-finals but this victory takes a big weight off everyone's shoulders," added Terry.

"I can live with the fact I didn't play because we have won. That's all that matters to me because I care so much about this football club."

Terry thanked European football's ruling body UEFA for allowing him to join the team in the post-match celebrations and letting him lift the biggest trophy in European club football.

"To be involved was incredible," said the former Chelsea youth team product. "If I hadn't been involved it would have been very hard to take.

"Credit to UEFA for making the right decision to allow all four of our suspended players to be involved."

Even when Chelsea looked down and out earlier in the competition Terry said he had faith his team could land the Champions League trophy for the first time.

"You look back at the Napoli game in the first knockout round when we were 3-1 down from the first leg," he said.

"Everyone wrote us off but I believed in us and within the squad we all believed in each other. It's great we've got so many big players for big occasions, players like Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres, Frank Lampard and Petr Cech."

While his team-mates had no doubt been under immense pressure on the pitch against the Germans, Terry said it was more difficult to look on from the sidelines than to be in the thick of the action.

"It's probably harder watching. You know then what the fans go through and it's really frustrating," he added.

"But it's great to see us win the trophy I think we have deserved, to see the smile that was on owner Roman Abramovich's face after the game and to see the fans at the end.

"We've won the Champions League and the FA Cup this season so we we'll go down as the best ever team in Chelsea's history and that's incredible."

Lexo më shumë

Heynckes: We have only ourselves to blame

Bayern Munich have only themselves to blame for failing to lift the Champions League trophy for the fifth time on Saturday after dominating against Chelsea but losing 4-3 on penalties, coach Jupp Heynckes said.

Bayern had the upper hand for most of the 1-1 draw at their own Allianz Arena but wasted a bagful of chances and an extra- time penalty before the English club snatched the top European club trophy in the penalty shootout.

"This was not about who won in the penalties," Heynckes told reporters. "This was about us not using our chances to win the game. It is purely our fault that we did not use our many chances.

"My team played an outstanding game against an opponent who played as we expected them to do," said the 67-year-old coach, who won the title with Real Madrid in 1998.

This was the second consecutive season that Bayern were left without any trophies.

They had though looked on track for their first Champions League victory since 2001 when Thomas Muller headed in for a much-deserved lead in the 83rd minute after the Bavarians played cat and mouse with a defensive Chelsea for much of the game.

"It is difficult to put what we feel into words," a dejected Muller told reporters. "This is football and we have seen it so many times in the past that it is not always the team that deserves it that holds up the trophy in the end."

Mario Gomez, Muller and Arjen Robben had earlier come close several times.

Bayern then conceded an 88th-minute equaliser through Didier Drogba, who later brought down Franck Ribery in the first half of extra time for a penalty.

But instead of firing the Bavarians back into the lead, Robben saw his spot-kick saved by goalkeeper Petr Cech before the Dutchman refused to take a penalty in the shootout.

"We had three match points in this season and we did not convert a single one," said goalkeeper Manuel Neuer after losing the German league and Cup titles to Borussia Dortmund.

"If you see the game we played tonight you would have never thought that Chelsea would walk away as the winners."

Ivica Olic and Bastian Schweinsteiger missed their spot-kicks after Chelsea's Juan Mata, before Drogba scored the winning penalty to send 17,500 English fans in the stadium into a frenzy.

"We just could not figure out how to convert our many opportunities. You have to score because if you don't you will be punished," Heynckes added.

Bayern president Uli Hoeness was equally baffled.

"I have absolutely no explanation as to why we lost," he told reporters. "We scored our goal at a great moment, then we get a penalty and have a superb chance through Olic and then we still can't do it.

"If you have that many chances you have to seal the deal." 

Lexo më shumë

Jubilant Chelsea players: Give Di Matteo the job

Chelsea players made it clear they wanted Roberto Di Matteo to be given the coach's job full-time after the Italian's whirlwind three months in charge ended with the Champions League trophy - the prize owner Roman Abramovich had craved the most.

A 4-3 penalty shootout victory over Bayern Munich on the Germans' home ground after a 1-1 draw following extra time was the culmination of a stunning sequence of results.

Chelsea's first European Cup looked highly improbable when they trailed 3-1 to Napoli after a last-16 first leg but Di Matteo took over from the sacked Andre Villas-Boas and masterminded a comeback against the Italians and then wins over Benfica and, heroically, holders Barcelona.

Asked if Di Matteo should now get the full-time job, captain John Terry told ITV on Saturday: "Look at that trophy. We hope so. Robbie has been fantastic since he came in.

"It was a superb display from the whole squad. When our backs are against the wall we step up to the mark."

Goalkeeper Petr Cech, who saved Arjen Robben's penalty in extra time after Didier Drogba had equalised Thomas Muller's goal in the 90 minutes, echoed Terry's view of the former assistant coach.

"Whatever happens to him, he has got two fantastic cups. He has done enough to get the job but that is for the board to decide," said the Czech, pointing out Di Matteo also helped Chelsea beat Liverpool in the FA Cup final earlier this month.

Captain for the night Frank Lampard said Di Matteo had helped turn the club's flagging season around.

"It is not a question for this moment. He took us from a struggling team maybe going out of the Champions League and now we have won it, so just look at that," Lampard said.

The Londoners finished sixth in the Premier League, their worst placing for a decade, but the Champions League triumph ensured they would make next season's top European competition.

Media reports have linked Chelsea with former England manager Fabio Capello and neither Di Matteo and Abramovich have spoken publicly about the future.

"I'm enjoying this moment. I won't talk about it now," former Chelsea midfielder Di Matteo said. 

Lexo më shumë

Chelsea storm final frontier to win holy grail

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.

Lexo më shumë

Heynckes: Abramovich should keep Di Matteo

Whether or not Bayern Munich beat Chelsea in Saturday's Champions League final, their coach Jupp Heynckes urged the English club to stick with Roberto Di Matteo so the Italian does not suffer the experience he went through in 1998.

Heynckes guided Real Madrid to victory in the Champions League final over Juventus 14 years ago and duly left the club within 48 hours.

Di Matteo has transformed Chelsea's season since taking over as caretaker manager after Andre Villas-Boas was sacked in March, but there is no guarantee he will be offered the job permanently even if Chelsea are crowned European champions for the first time.

Although Chelsea won the FA Cup earlier this month and are now within 90 minutes of what would be their greatest triumph, the signals emanating from Stamford Bridge indicate that the club's billionaire owner Roman Abramovich wants a more glitzy, bigger name to fill the role.

Heynckes, 67, one of Europe's most experienced and successful coaches, who would become only the fourth man to guide two clubs to European Cup success, thinks letting Di Matteo go would be a mistake.

"I think the position of Chelsea and Di Matteo can be understood. Chelsea are a huge club, a top club in Europe, and you will try to find the best possible coach, someone who has already won something and already brought titles and has all the attributes you need for this kind of job," he said.

"But Di Matteo makes an excellent impression on me and if I was Abramovich, I would continue with this young man.

"He led Chelsea to the final with a calm head, and step by step he established contact with the players. I think really, until today, his work has been outstanding and no matter if they win or not, I hope he stays there because there is a need for continuity."

Heynckes thought there were differences between his departure from Real in 1998 and the situation Di Matteo is now in, saying he knew from the previous December he was going to be sacked and would have left anyway.

Di Matteo's position has been strengthened since he began to breathe new life into Chelsea's season after Villas-Boas's departure, and all he has said in response to hundreds of questions about his future is: "lets wait and see."

Although Chelsea finished sixth in the Premier League, their lowest position for a decade, and will miss out on the Champions League next season if they lose on Saturday, he has certainly restored their pride and self-belief.

They have lost only three times in 20 matches in all competitions since Di Matteo took over and he gained widespread respect for masterminding their semi-final victory over Barcelona.

For that alone, besides being a former Chelsea player, many fans believe Abramovich should at least give him a chance in the role permanently. Clearly, so does Heynckes. 

Lexo më shumë

Petrescu: Chelsea deserve to win trophy

Chelsea old boy Dan Petrescu was a picture of despair when the club he adores lost the 2008 Champions League final and he is desperate for them to win the trophy for the first time against Bayern Munich on Saturday.

"I am delighted to see them in the final," Petrescu, now coach of Russian top-flight club Kuban Krasnodar, told Reuters in an interview.

"I hope they win it this time because they deserve to," said Petrescu in a reference to Chelsea's record of reaching five Champions League semi-finals since 2004.

"I went to the final against Manchester United in Moscow in 2008 and I really want them to put that right this time. That was a very big disappointment for everyone at the club and also for me because I was there watching in the stands."

The former Romania wing-back was the first overseas player to make 100 appearances for Chelsea.

Petrescu helped the Londoners to win the 1997 FA Cup and the 1998 League Cup and was sent off in their 1998 European Cup Winners' Cup final victory over another German team, VfB Stuttgart.

The 44-year-old is enjoying his time in Russian football but said he would jump at the chance to return to Stamford Bridge.

"My daughter's name is Chelsea and I had the best time of my career at that club," said Petrescu. "I'll always love the club for sure.

PETRESCU DREAM

"All the ex-Chelsea players who have become coaches would love to lead the club one day. I haven't yet had the chance to coach in England but it's my dream to go back to Stamford Bridge.

"I've had offers from other clubs in the past but for me there's only one team in London - that's Chelsea. I can't imagine working for another London club."

Petrescu, who played for Steaua Bucharest in their 1989 European Cup final defeat by AC Milan, and interim coach Roberto Di Matteo talk on the phone every two to three days and he said his friend and former team mate had one simple task to perform on Saturday.

"Robbie must pick a winning team," the Romanian said with a chuckle. "I think it's a 50-50 game and I would never try to tell him what to do because he knows his players better than me.

"Both teams have several suspensions but Chelsea have a big squad and Robbie can't turn around if they lose and say we were beaten because we had lots of players missing.

"He must be positive and try to find the best solution. All the Chelsea players are good, that's for sure, and it doesn't really matter who plays."

Petrescu, who featured in Romania's quarter-final defeat by Sweden in the 1994 World Cup, said he was held in high regard in Russia.

"I'm in a very good situation right now, all the big clubs in Russia want me," he explained.

"The club where I am now want to give me a seven-year contract but if a big team from England, especially Chelsea, were interested then I'd come back straight away."

Lexo më shumë

Lahm: We're no golden generation without title

The names of Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller and Oliver Kahn have a mythical ring to them in the Bavarian capital Munich and across much of Germany.

Three consecutive European Cup victories in the 1970s lifted honorary Bayern Munich president Beckenbauer and his team-mates straight into the football history books.

Add to that a European Championship and World Cup victory with West Germany and their record looks even more impressive.

Bayern's 2001 Champions League win, two years after their last-gasp defeat in the final to Manchester United, prompted the club's fans to bestow Kahn with the nickname "Titan".

However, defeat by Chelsea in the Champions League showpiece on Saturday, and the failure to win the club yet another major title, would strip the current Bayern players of the right to be called a golden generation, said club captain Philipp Lahm.

No matter how talented the latest Bayern crop is, without a title they would be a mere footnote in the football annals, Lahm added.

"Every major era has its titles," Lahm told reporters this week. "If it does not work with the titles in the years I have left playing, then no-one will be talking about a big era or a golden generation. That is how I measure myself."

Along with Bastian Schweinsteiger, another product of the club's famed youth academy whi is also 27, Lahm is considered one of the best players in Europe. However, so far European and international titles have eluded him.

MAJOR TROPHIES

Third-place finishes at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups and a losing Euro 2008 final, plus runners-up in the 2010 Champions League, are as close as the pair have come to major trophies.

Team-mates Arjen Robben, 28, and Franck Ribery, 29, may be European superstars, but they too are lacking European and international silverware in their personal trophy cabinets.

"We are all at a very good football age, but we cannot assume that we will be playing a Champions League final every two years," Lahm said.

"Basti and myself, we are running out of time."

Lahm and company could not have hoped for a better set of circumstances in which to lift the coveted trophy, with the final being held at Bayern's Allianz Arena this year.

They may not have the usual 66,000 partisans to support them, as each clubs only gets 17,500 tickets, but home advantage could play a key role, with thousands of Bavarians preparing for what could be their biggest party yet on Saturday night.

More than 100,000 people are expected to attend two public viewing areas alone.

"I am convinced that we can do it," said Schweinsteiger. "If not in our own stadium then where? This is probably a unique opportunity."

Lexo më shumë

Lampard ready to win and upset uncle Harry

Family are usually the first to celebrate the success of a relative, but one member of Frank Lampard's is hoping Chelsea fail against Bayern Munich in Saturday's Champions League final - his uncle, Harry Redknapp.

Although they are close and Lampard played under Redknapp early in his career at West Ham United, he now manages Chelsea's Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur who finished fourth and are currently heading for a place in the Champions League next season.

However, if Chelsea win on Saturday, they and not Tottenham will take England's fourth place in the competition, relegating Spurs to the Europa League instead.

Redknapp said this week he hoped Chelsea lost and Lampard joked he would not have expected him to say anything else.

"I know he said that. But if he'd said anything other than that with a straight face I wouldn't have believed him anyway," the England midfielder told reporters this week at Chelsea's training complex south of London.

"That's understandable what he's saying from his point of view."

And while he might well hurt his uncle's feelings, Lampard is totally focused on winning the final at the Allianz Arena and celebrating what he says will be the greatest night in Chelsea's 107-year history.

"For Chelsea it would be the greatest achievement for sure. We've got four players out, some of our best performers of the season. I think every step has been a huge achievement - the Barcelona games, the turnaround against Napoli. It would be Chelsea's best ever achievement if we win it now."

BANNED FOUR

Chelsea go into the game with skipper John Terry suspended along with defender Branislav Ivanovic and midfielders Ramires and Raul Meireles.

It is the latest obstacle for them to overcome in a difficult season during which manager Andre Villas-Boas was sacked in March and replaced by caretaker Roberto Di Matteo, who has helped turn the club's fortunes around.

However, Chelsea only finished sixth in the Premier League, their lowest position for a decade, and know that if they do not win on Saturday they, not Spurs, will be playing in the Europa League next season.

Lampard, who will most likely captain Chelsea in Terry's absence when he plays his 100th European club match, was not thinking about that outcome, especially as they have consistently defied the odds to get this far.

"I think we were pretty unfancied to get this far at different stages - on the way out against Napoli, then drawn against Barcelona.

NICE THOUGHT

"Not that we have surprised ourselves but when you don't see it coming the fact that you're there is even more enjoyable in a way. "We've obviously still got to go and win it but it's been a nice thought for the past couple of weeks."

There were times when even Lampard doubted Chelsea could get through, especially when he was on the bench during the last16 3-1 defeat at Napoli.

"We were struggling. It's not just because I was sitting watching it from the outside but you could see that. You wouldn't have looked too far ahead of yourself and seen this [getting to the final].

"At the same time we're experienced enough to know things can change very quickly. But on that night we were very despondent in the dressing room afterwards and it took a big effort in the weeks in between the two games to turn things around.

"The home game was obviously a massive turning point - the major turning point - in our season."

Chelsea won that game 4-1 to advance 5-4 on aggregate and Lampard believes that had a huge effect on everyone.

"With experience you know that football changes in two seconds. You go from the worst to the best in a second and the other way around pretty quickly as well.

"That's the nature of the game. We always knew we had the quality. Losing the Napoli game, we knew we were better than that and it took a big effort from everyone at the club - staff, players included - we all had to improve."

Subsequent wins over Benfica and an epic semi-final success against Barcelona put Chelsea into the final, their second in five seasons after losing to Manchester United in 2008.

"We need to show the spirit we showed in Barcelona," Lampard said.

"It's nice to know that we beat Barcelona. But we're clever enough to know that if you lose the final, people quickly forget who you beat in the semi-finals.

"I am not sure we have been building towards something special this year. I hope so but every year we get asked the same questions around the knockout stages 'Is this the year? How inspired are you by past failures?' And every year we've failed.

"We haven't done it. There's only destiny if you make it yourself. And we're one step closer to making it."

Lexo më shumë

Robben: Bayern ready for "match of lifetime"

For Bayern Munich's Arjen Robben, Saturday's Champions League final against Chelsea in the Bavarian capital is the game of a lifetime and a chance to make amends for 2010.

Bayern want to set the record straight with a fifth top European prize after making their second Champions League final in three seasons and losing the 2010 decider 2-0 to Inter Milan.

"This is the match of a lifetime," Dutch winger Robben told reporters on Thursday. "It is time. You have to win the Champions League once in your life.

"Two years ago we lost the final and now we have been given another shot at it," added Robben, who will come up against his former club.

"We have showed this season in Europe that we are one of the best teams and hopefully we can say on Saturday that we are the best team. That would be sensational."

Bayern have been beaten in both domestic competitions this term by Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund, most recently 5-2 in the German Cup final on Saturday.

But any lingering disappointment will vanish instantly if they lift the Champions League.

"Now there is only one prize. Everything else is forgotten," said Robben.

The Dutch international, who has won league titles in Spain, Germany, England and Netherlands, has yet to win the top European club prize despite stints at heavyweights Chelsea and Real Madrid.

Neither has fellow winger Franck Ribery, who missed the 2010 final due to suspension.

Despite a recent changing room brawl, the pair known as "Robbery" have been instrumental in guiding Bayern to the final and a game away from becoming the first Champions League winners on home soil.

"I am 29 and you do not experience such a game every season," said Ribery, donning a red and white T-shirt with the Bayern slogan Mia san Mia (We are who we are).

"It is difficult to reach the final so that is why this is so important. We have to give it all we have got and try everything and if we are dead afterwards then so be it.

Lexo më shumë

Proenca picked to referee Munich final

Portugal's Pedro Proenca will referee Saturday's Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Chelsea, UEFA said on Thursday.

The 41-year-old made his international refereeing debut in 2003 and has officiated 65 UEFA matches and two Portuguese Cup finals.

Proenca has handled five Champions League matches since the beginning of the season and refereed Manchester United's semi-final second leg against Schalke 04 last term.

Lexo më shumë