Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayern Munich, 2013 UEFA Champions League final: Robben wins it for Bayern

Where Guardiola goes from here is difficult to see. It would be a major surprise were he even to equal their triumphs this year, and therefore may be judged on building a work-in-progress. Despite that, there is no obvious reason why the team should suffer a decline, and failing to win the Bundesliga would certainly be unacceptable. They could play more attractive football, but that’s about it.

Whether Pep attempts to impose his own style - as far as is known and perceived, the style his Barcelona side played, although it is not certain, since the formulation of that team had begun before he took charge and he may be more than a one-trick pony - on Bayern Munich will be interesting to watch. If he intends to get the team playing in a different manner, then many of the players begin to look expendable, but it’s hard to see anyone moving away from the Javi Martinez-Bastian Schweinsteiger midfield axis.

Stellar stuff from start to finish, and we don’t care who doesn’t agree.

Roman Weidenfeller — Some brilliantly alert goalkeeping in the first half to ensure Dortmund didn’t fall to a sucker-punch early on. A classic, composed performance to keep his concentration after long spells with nothing to do.

* Then again, it’s easy to see why Dortmund don’t go for this option as a first choice. Grosskreutz can bring much to an otherwise excellent team with his industry, but combined with Blaszczykowski’s mediocrity, it left BVB with a dearth of creativity and the quick-thinking required to really turn games of this magnitude. Due to Bayern’s relative strengths and weaknesses mentioned above, it was actually felt in the more open periods of second half rather than when they were simply trying to break their opponents down. Twice a counter-attack broke down through Kuba’s lack of imagination, when the likes of, well, Mario Gotze could’ve found the ball to continue the move towards a clear chance.

* Finally, a word on Dortmund’s future. With one or two key players out of the door this summer and the race to replace them an uncertain one, even Jurgen Klopp’s loyalty must be severely tested. With all the huge jobs that were on offer this summer, it’s commendable that he’s decided to stay, but he must be feeling that he needs to move on if he can truly create a dynasty. For the foreseeable future, the Bundesliga seems to be Bayern country.

The pre-game intrigue in Saturday’s Champions League final largely centred around Mario Gotze, who had agreed to transfer from Borussia Dortmund to Bayern Munich at the end of the season. Unfortunately for Mario, he’s injured and wasn’t able to play. Even more unfortunately, he displayed some highly questionable dress sense which was quickly picked up on.

Next, it was Dortmund who went close again, through Marco Reus…

Dortmund were surprisingly the much more assertive team in the early going, though they failed to turn their chances into a first-half goal. Robert Lewandowski, in particular, was extremely active and consistently terrorized the Bayern center of defense.

Bayern were kept on their heels until the 25th minute. Reus had a long-range effort saved by Neuer in the 19th minute after he was slipped in on goal by Großkreutz. Sven Bender also had an effort from 12 yards saved by Neuer, though he should have done quite a bit better to elude the Bayern keeper.

A minute later, Dortmund were given a lifeline after Dante kicked Marco Reus across the knee in the area, and the referee wasted no time pointing to the spot and awarding BVB a penalty. It was an extremely clumsy challenge and there was no doubt on the call.

Game on at Wembley.

But things would change.

Bayern finally had their first real good spell of possession in the Dortmund even about seven minutes into the half. BVB reacted perfectly, though, pulling back into a well-organized defensive formation and letting Bayern pass around. When they finally sent a pass into the area, Mats Hummels was all over the play and earned a goal kick to clear the danger.

Ouch.

Ouch.

The first half of the Champions League final had a little bit of everything for soccer fans to enjoy. Entertaining open play, great shots, even better saves, but the one thing it didn’t have was goals. Both sides had their chances but thanks to outstanding work from both goalkeepers, it’s scoreless at the break.

After a nervy opening 10 minutes, things began to open up with Dortmund becoming the dominant side as the half moved along. The first real effort on goal came in the 10th minute when Dortmund finally were able to move into the attacking third and after Kevin Grosskreutz’s initial pass was blocked, he jumped back on the ball and unleashed a shot that curled well away from danger.

Just remember, Daniel LaRusso wins in the end. And he gets the girl.

As we reach the half hour mark of the Champions League final it’s all Borussia Dortmund everywhere except the scoreboard. If not for some excellent goalkeeping the “underdogs” could have very well been up by a goal or two.

Franck Ribery got away with what appeared to be an intentional shot on Robert Lewandowski’s face in the 24th minute but the referee either missed the call or interpreted the play differently.

No goals in the opening 15 minutes at Wembley Stadium but it was hardly a dull opener to this Champions League final. Entertaining, open play in the midfield, some shaky moments from defenders, but ultimately a lack of sharpness from both sides.

The opening five minutes were the careful, dare I say nervy, start that you might expect in a major European final. Dortmund looked the better team on the attack, earning an early corner and putting Bayern under some pressure. The sharpness wasn’t really there though for either side as all the pre-game hype finally melted into the reality of playing 90 minutes of soccer.

We’ve kicked off from Wembley Stadium in the 2013 UEFA Champions League final. Obviously every Champions League final is massive for both teams, but this is an especially important one for Borussia Dortmund. They were beaten head-to-head in the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal this season, failing to capture any domestic awards after capturing them in the years prior.

The big story in this game is the absence of Mario Götze, the Dortmund star who has already agreed to go to Bayern this summer. He was unable to recover from a hamstring injury in time to play. Some thought that Sebastian Kehl might get a start in a more defensive Dortmund side, but Jürgen Klopp has picked his normal team, with Kevin Großkreutz taking Götze’s place.

Join KICK TV from 45 minutes before kickoff until well after the match as they discuss the Champions League final.

If you were hoping for a lineup surprise from Borussia Dortmund, you’re out of luck. Jurgen Klopp is sending his team out in the 4-2-3-1 that everybody expected, with every first teamer out there except for Kevin Krosskreutz, who replaces the injured Mario Gotze, as expected

The question for Dortmund is whether they try to keep the ball and dictate terms to Bayern. At face, leaning upon their defense and counterattack would be the way forward for BVB, but giving Bayern that kind of space is frightening.

Apparently Mario Götze got out of bed today and thought, I need three things to look my best for today’s Champions League final at Wembley.

A snappy suit. Check.

Borussia Dortmund starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Roman Weidenfeller; Marcel Schmelzer, Mats Hummels, Neven Subotic, Lukasz Piszczek; Ilkay Gündogan, Sven Bender; Kevin Großkreutz, Marco Reus, Jakub Blaszczykowski; Robert Lewandowski

Kickoff is at 2:45 p.m. ET from Wembley Stadium in London. You can catch the game on FOX in the U.S., Sky and ITV in the U.K. and Sportsnet in Canada.

For the second time in his career, Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli will preside over a major European final. He’s the man in the middle for the Champions League final between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich on Saturday, and it will be his first career Champions League final.

Rizzoli does not send off players frequently in European games, but brings out yellow cards more frequently than most. He showed an average of six yellow cards in his four Champions League games this season. He once showed 10 yellows in one game, during a Champions League playoff game between Malmö and Dinamo Zagreb in 2011.

As we draw under two hours to go until the kickoff at Wembley between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, you’re probably starting to get that creeping feeling that accompanies most highly publicized games. You know the one, it’s the “can we just stop talking about the damn thing and play the game!” feeling. It’s totally understandable considering we’ve had near a month to think about today’s final.

So in an effort to provide you something mentally stimulating ahead of kickoff, we’re directing your attention to our Bayern Munich blog, Bavarian Football Works, who’ve been working their collective tails off all week providing excellent analysis of the match. This post looks at the statistical side of the match, crunching stats like an old automobile in a car crusher.

Jürgen Klopp and his side weren’t supposed to be here but now that they’ve nearly reach the peak of European soccer, they’ll be out to go ahead and just win the whole damn thing.

Before the final kicks off though, let’s look back at how Dortmund arrived at Wembley Stadium for a shot a history.

On top of that, they make virtually no money from ticket sales. Unlike the powerhouses of the Premier League, who can make close to €100 million in match-day income per year, Borussia Dortmund ensure that the experience of the Westfalenstadion is available to all. The 2011 and 2012 Bundesliga champions make less than a quarter of what Manchester United does from match-going fans.

This is the German model, and with Germany ascending, it’s not surprising that it’s being trumpeted as what football should be. After all, we have an all-Bundesliga final. If clubs can be successful without gouging the fans, what’s not to like?

Before the final kicks off though, let’s look back at how Bayern arrived at Wembley Stadium for a shot at redemption.

Bayern qualified for this season’s Champions League after finishing second in the Bundesliga last season and earning an automatic place in the group stages. Last August they were drawn into Group F along with Valencia, BATE Borisov and Lille. It was a group they were expected to dominate and while they won the group via a tiebreaker over Valencia, it was never in doubt that Bayern would advance into the knockout rounds despite never looking overly impressive.

As much as Saturday’s Champions League final might look like a classic underdog up against a giant type of matchup, it doesn’t quite deserve that kind of billing. Borussia Dortmund’s financial mismanagement in the 2000s put them in a situation where they needed to build up players just to sell them, and they needed a coach to get the most out of the solid, but unspectacular talent that they had. They’ve cast off numerous stars and will cast off more.

Dortmund aren’t all the way back, despite their appearance in this game, but it’s a bit tough to look at the team with the highest average attendance in European football as a minnow, especially when they’re less than two decades removed from a European Cup win. Der BVB sell 5,000 more tickets for each game than Manchester United and Barcelona do, but their riches don’t compare to those of Bayern Munich, who didn’t have to think twice about paying €40m to sign Dortmund’s Mario Götze. He had a release clause because Dortmund -- despite not really being the cool underdogs their fans want you to believe they are -- still aren’t that big of a club, and he wasn’t going to sign a new deal without a release clause. Bayern’s players don’t have release clauses in their contracts because no one signs for Bayern thinking that it’s a stepping stone to bigger and better things. They are the destination.

The loss of Gotze might convince him to make a more cautious approach, as he has done previously against Bayern, with his side standing off more - and in a 4-3-3 formation, long periods without the ball will make them more of a 4-5-1.

With Bayern possessing great ball-playing midfielders, and the additional threat of the wide players, who will come inside towards the centre, Klopp might prefer to pack the centre - and could use Sebastian Kehl alongside Bender, with Gundogan higher up, to give Dortmund more physicality in midfield.