ONE YEAR LATER
You know, everyone has their own memories,
but with me it was
I can still see myself, sitting in the bus ahead of the game.
Listening to music as usual.
I only had one thought in my mind:
We're going to win today!
CHAPTER 6 GENERATION WEMBLEY
SUMMER BREAK JUNE 2012
FC Bayern was like the grave all week.
You could walk around and everyone was defeated, like us.
We had no idea, how to process it and get over it.
But at some point, after about a week the mood turned.
We all got onto a call every day,
even though we were really meant to be on vacation,
and we just restructured the team a bit.
It was also lucky,
that the new players who joined us, mostly weren't
so well known, like Mario Mandžukić, but fitted in well.
I didn't really know him.
Then I started to notice him.
This guy who always went in hard.
At that time they made some changes to the team, filling in
the missing pieces of the puzzle.
In Mario we had a forward, whose defining talent,
was to beat defenders, and support
his own team to the very last.
A totally different type of player than me.
Not only at games, but also when we trained down here.
No one wanted to play against him.
I was always a fighter.
I knew when I came to Bayern,
I was still fairly unknown,
I wasn't a big name,
so I knew they had a great team
and a big name, but I was bringing something new,
which they may not have already had.
We just restructured the squad slightly and it worked
both qualitatively and in terms of the mentality.
Some really important players were added,
really good players, who helped the team.
I'm thinking of Dante.
The best day of my life was the day,
when I signed the contract.
My agent said: “Bayern Munich are interested."
And I said: “Wow, then you don't need to talk to any other club,
because that's where I want to go."
He said: “That's risky, because it's competitive."
So I said: “Yes, but
this club,
only turns up once in your life."
Dante: just an outstanding player a classic left-side central defender,
with a great long passing, and he fitted in perfectly.
I arrived at the same time as Mario Mandžukić':
and Claudio Pizarro.
I already knew, this was my chance,
to win the Champions League, because that was what I wanted,
that was what I was missing, I had no doubt about that.
Of course I decided straight away, to come to Bayern.
At that moment in time
the right transfers came together at the right time.
Shaqi as well.
Xherdan Shaqiri was a young guy who had played at Basel.
Jupp had scouted him,
and taken a look at him and said:
“Let's take him, because he's got that special something."
He was so small... I always said he looked like a cannonball.
Ottmar Hitzfeld was the national team coach,
and I'd say that Hitzfeld played a huge role.
Obviously Bayern asked him about me too.
These players, I can't tell you how important they were for us.
They were a breath of fresh air,
bringing new energy,
it was brilliant.
Jupp did a great job with these transfers.
We made good selective transfers.
Matthias Sammer also joined.
Someone not afraid of tough subjects.
Also a very, very good transfer by Bayern.
Matthias was sporting director with the DFB,
and we then practically signed him from the DFB to Bayern.
We'd been following Matthias Sammer's progress for a long time.
We were in contact every now and then,
when he attended Bayern games in the stands.
We talked about football...
When you meet him, you automatically talk football.
And I was always struck by the competence in his remarks and statements
And Matthias was
a building block of the whole mosaic that year.
Bayern Munich is a top club in Germany, in Europe, in the world,
and of course you know that it's very attractive
and I feel suitably honoured.
And the way I personally think still means
that we need a new spirit at Bayern.
For the players, what happened last year is not so easy.
It wasn't that bad, but something was missing.
On the 28th or 29th of August, just before the transfer window closed,
we had a meeting upstairs:
Jupp, Matthias Sammer, Karl Hopfner, Uli Hoeneß and me.
And then Karl-Heinz interrupted the discussion and said:
"Jupp, what do you think? Is he a player for us?
Will he improve us? Will he make us stronger?“
Jupp just sat there, a" relaxed and said: "Yes!"
So I said: “Then I vote we sign him.“
And everyone in the room, instinctively raised their hand.
Then I said: “So that's unanimous."
That was his transfer. Jupp Heynckes always said: "I have to have that one."
Javi Martinez.
Hello.
I had this feeling, I just needed to change club.
But of course Athletic Bilbao was opposed to it.
Javi was difficult and particularly expensive: 40 million was a lot of money back then.
Bilbao weren't at all obliging.
If you get an offer for 40 million Euro, we'll let you go.
In that case it was really difficult, but we got there.
Of course Javi was incredibly important for us,
as our mentality driver.
I'm a player who always gives my all
and in the big games I'm really at my best.
It was important to stay cheerful,
because it was a really, really
difficult situation for the entire club.
It overshadowed everything, just as training
at Bayern Munich started again.
You saw the same faces, of players you'd been
crying next to in the shower or the changing room.
Then Jupp Heynckes gave us a pep talk
and we all pulled ourselves together.
Then in the training camp we realised: “Aha! It's all coming together."
From day one, in the summer of 2012,
in Trentino I think we
really hit the accelerator.
The whole team felt the same way.
Jupp Heynckes is definitely the perfect coach. He managed to pull 25, or 22 players together.
We all knew our role, we all accepted it.
Now you'd think Jupp Heynckes, who was no spring chicken,
back then and was very experienced: How would he deal with a situation like that?
From day one, you could see
we all just wanted to
forget the shame.
We all said "Now we're really going for it.“
The thing driving it was
that Jupp Heynckes was just buzzing with energy.
Jupp said: "Listen guys, this season we want to win everything.
Believe me, believe me, I know, you don't believe me, but I'm certain,
we're going to win everything this season.“
Having credibility and your own identity,
that's Bayern for me.
That's also how I see my obligation
to activate, to tease out,
to work through, to excite, to please, to inspire.
We were physically strong, absolutely top fit.
I've never seen us in such good shape since then,
in terms of attitude,
preparation,
and winning mentality.
So it started out well, when we won the 2012/13 Supercup
against Dortmund at the Allianz Arena.
Greetings to the reigning German champions,
Borussia Dortmund, and the German record champions, Bayern Munich.
It was my first competitive fixture,
I wanted to show myself in a good light.
After losing the championship twice, and losing against them 5-2 in the cup,
it was really important to us,
not because of the trophy,
but because of the prestige:
Okay, now we can finally beat them again.
We knew, that after losing that double,
Bayern would be hungry and ready to fight back
and that's exactly what they did.
After that they really placed went all-in financially,
no question about it.
You almost felt
that Bayern had given up Their supremacy for this season.
But they proved everyone wrong really impressively, especially in the Bundesliga
and it was clear they were fighting back.
It was crazy:
We drew so much strength and motivation out of those defeats,
that we ran away with everything.
You'd be on the bus to the game and you knew:
“I'm going out there with the team and we're going to win.“
Okay, no question.
The same next week with a different opponent.
We were like a machine driving over our opponents,
driving on and on and on.
We were successful,
we had an incredible team spirit,
and even the players who weren't on the team from the start, played brilliantly.
I think it was very important to have this great team spirit.
So you can achieve big things.
Looking back on that bench now, it was amazing.
At any time you could bring on Mario Gómez, Pizarro, Shaqiri, wow!
Rafinha, Daniel Van Buyten,
Luiz Gustavo.
And Jupp kept looking at the bench, and saying:
"Oh my, who shall I bring on next?“
Everyone wanted a game
so everyone was important on this team.
It was really amazing, how the team
even celebrated, when we didn't concede in a game.
That's the best thing, that can happen to a goalkeeper,
but it was really important, to be solid at the back.
I remember Jupp used to say:
"Guys, don't concede. Don't concede."
As a defender you always have that in your head:
"Don't concede. Don't concede.“
We aim for a clean sheet at the back, think defensively and run back,
regardless whether it's the right or left winger or a forward,
we all work together and try not to concede a goal.
Individualism is great,
I give players every freedom,
but, and I've said this to a couple of players
loud and clear in front of the whole squad: "If you're not playing at the back
like you are at the front, you're not on my team."
Franck and I were on the wings, but we also played in defence as well,
we kept running all the way to the back.
Jupp wanted us to do this, it was really important for him.
Such outstanding wingers like Arjen and Franck,
who identify 100 percent with the club and the team,
do exactly that:
They're working for the team, for their teammates,
even though they are incredible individual talents.
Robben and Ribéry:
We play for Bayern, we don't play for Robben,
we don't play for Ribéry.
We play together.
If you understand me and I understand you,
we can achieve a lot together
for the history, for Bayern, for the fans.
DFB CUP QUARTER-FINAL
Our history with Dortmund
mattered less to me, to be honest. They were my favourite opponents.
I often scored against Dortmund, both before and since.
In Dortmund of course, Arjen Robben was a player who,
I don't want to use the word hostile,
but let's just say he was a polarising figure in Dortmund.
I think every Bundesliga goalkeeper and international goalkeeper
recognises that move of Arjen's when he's about to blast it home from an angle.
Everyone saw it coming, but the ball was just unstoppable.
Philipp should really have been awarded a penalty,
then the ball was at my feet and without even thinking,
I booted it into the net.
That was the first game:
Okay, we've beaten Dortmund again.
We all knew, Bayern would fight back,
and that year they did so impressively.
It was like a continual stream that year: In the Bundesliga, I think...
I seem to remember, there was still snow on the ground in Frankfurt,
when Bastian Schweinsteiger made it 1-0 with a back heel.
Job done, in Frankfurt, back heel goal.
Philipp set it up perfectly.
That was when on paper we'd already won the Bundesliga.
So at a stage in the year when there was still snow on the ground.
I arrived at Bayern and in the first year the team already won the Bundesliga.
It was like a dream come true.
That little dance of Dante's...
If the team plays like Dante dances,
anything is possible.
I think it's quite natural for us Brazilians.
We want to create a great atmosphere.
I spent a lot of time with Rafinha, with Dante of course and with Luiz Gustavo,
we also spent time together off the pitch.
We were a team.
Lunchtime? We all ate together.
Dinnertime? We all ate together.
A basketball game? We all went together.
The atmosphere we all felt throughout the whole club
was just so good and so focused.
Every player really got into the training and was happy,
and I believe that really made a difference in the end,
in the team's success.
You just gave
one, two, three percent more than you normally would
because you knew these are your best buddies
and you've gone through thick and thin together.
Every day when the players, came to training at Säbener Street,
they didn't just greet each other, they hugged, I never saw anything like it.
Something amazing developed between the coach and the team.
An energetic, strong team.
Without even talking about it they somehow decided:
"We're going to give this guy a brilliant send-off."
We wanted to do so much for Jupp.
It was amazing with the players, how he rotated the team, everyone was so positive,
and we really wanted to win for him, because he was a father figure to us.
The thing about Jupp Heynckes: he expects punctuality, order, discipline, concentration.
And because of his experience, and because of his age,
and because you don't want to disappoint him personally, as a player, you just do it.
The way we performed as a team,
both on the pitch but also off it,
with the coaching staff, with the coach and how we worked,
incredible, incredible,
as though the Champions League final was coming up in two weeks.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - ROUND OF 16
So when the day before arrived, we'd be ready for it,
even though it was still a long way to go,
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER FINAL
but we were working towards it.
The games against Juventus were absolutely out of this world.
You look your teammates in the eye, and you know: “We're going to win today!"
You could tell we wanted to get to the final. We were owed it!
Then came Barcelona.
Our expectation was:
Okay, here come Barcelona.
Spain: European champions, world champions, European champions! Barcelona:
Champions League, Champions League!
They had Xavi, they had Iniesta, they had the lot:
Piqué, Mascherano, Dani Alves,
they were all there.
This was no ordinary club.
I think Barca's strongest team was in Guardiola's first year.
Up front with Thierry Henry, Messi, Eto'o. The midfield players were at
the peak of their skills. When Pep left the team
the players were still very strong,
but not as good as under Pep any more.
At the time, we were not in good shape,
physically or mentally.
It was the season our coach Tito Vilanova got sick with cancer.
They weren't on top form,
but it was Barcelona, their players are always dangerous.
A top team, the one to beat,
even still in this phase.
But we also knew, we had ways to hurt them.
We need a good plan twice, we need good form on the day twice,
but Barcelona, no question, are strong.
But we have become stronger and stronger.
Bayern were really hungry at the time,
they waited for this game with knives between their teeth.
Believe me, we had no fear.
I think Barcelona was more afraid than we were.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL
When the Champions League anthem started, I was just replaying
the 2012 Champions League final in my head.
You could see the fans, all the crowd as the anthem played
and you just had to, had to win,
there was no other option.
Right from the first minute we were just brilliant,
full stop.
The team was fit, really fit, and we charged up and down,
all eleven of us.
Right from the start we were really aggressive..
We fought for every ball.
It was a really uncomfortable game for Barça.
Bayern were also very strong physically, they defended man-to-man.
Schweinsteiger took Iniesta, Javi Martinez took me, and they traded off.
This individual defence worked very well.
I was in an aerial duel with Dani Alves,
he's about 1.50 m tall.
I wasn't in an optimal position and I just wanted to
head the ball on towards the far post, because there'll always be someone there.
He's always there, he's always there: Thomas Müller!
Dante can head it, and it's a header, and the ball is in the net,
what a strike!
On the pitch you really felt, how the fans
were driving us on.
You really felt it,
the wave of pressure from the fans.
It was incredible.
Müller's header, goal for Bayern!
Mario Gómez makes it 2-0,
in the 49th minute.
We were fairly surprised
how superior they were to us.
Football is about cycles.
I believe Barcelona were at the very top in 2009,
and FC Bayern were further below.
Following the 4-0 defeat they asked themselves at FC Bayern:
“What's going on? What are we missing?"
New players, a new coach,
a change of generation.
They also had a core of Germany internationals:
Neuer, Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Müller.
They signed Robben and Ribéry.
So you put a new squad together,
and the team grows to a certain point.
FC Barcelona in 2009 were better than FC Bayern.
After that, Bayern kept reducing the gap to Barcelona,
until they were better at some point.
I think, in this moment FC Bayern were the best team in the world.
This is Robben, there's the goal! Goal!
3-0 for FC Bayern.
That could be the goal that takes them to the final.
It was like a machine.
We absolutely took them apart.
We focused on playing it forward and we didn't stop,
not after 1-0, 2-0, or even 3-0.
We went on to score that fourth goal.
There's the chance, there's the goal, goal for Bayern!
That's incredible,
Thomas Müller, 4-0!
Someone slap me, I don't believe it! We can't be in the arena,
we can't be watching Bayern v. Barcelona. Something's not right here!
We kept going with an intensity, which had its foundation on that day.
Leaving the stadium with a 4-0 win, that was beautiful, that was wicked!
After the game you can't go straight to bed and sleep,
you're full of adrenaline.
Sometimes I go to Charles Schumann,
to eat fried potatoes or drink carbonated apple juice.
When I walked in, everyone stood up and applauded.
To be honest I think we won the Champions League
in the first leg against Barça.
To win a prestigious title like that you really need
significant moments like that, and they're not usually in the final,
like in the 2014 World Cup, it was the match against Brazil, which was the semi-final.
The first-leg result was obviously outstanding.
But I'm of the opinion that in a situation like this, the result doesn't matter at all,
but the way you want to play football.
And that has to be the benchmark, to perform like that here.
Similar to what we did in the first leg.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL - 2ND LEG
We thought it would be very difficult, but not impossible.
We knew that no team had ever turned around a 4-0 defeat.
But we thought we could do it because we were a real winning team.
Okay, you go to Barcelona sitting on a 4-0 lead,
but everyone keeps talking about
“the spirit of Camp Nou." Every stadium has a spirit like that,
because every stadium
has seen a top team turn it around at some point.
But that time, nothing was turned around. Instead, we turned it up higher.
I was in Barcelona a few years ago,
and Xavi told me:
"Mister, I thought, at some point they have to stop running.
But no, you just ran even faster.“
I said: "Yes, we were fast and furious,
and a better team."
They didn't know what was happening or why it was happening,
and particularly in their stadium, they have a very wide pitch,
with a lot of possession,
but we were on amazing form,
we ran rings round them in a way,
I've rarely ever seen.
At the time we were very surprised,
at how physically strong they were but how poorly prepared.
Sitting with Karl-Heinz in the VIP box I scarcely dared look to my right
after one of the three goals,
I'm someone who always gets up.
Me with my scarf, I kept trying to hide.
It was crazy, with 100,000 fans in the stadium, all despondent.
Honestly, the work of Heynckes, the way they pressed physically,
we were unable to get into the duels, they were very aggressive.
It was the best FC Bayern I had seen in many years.
They were the deserved winners.
As soon as the referee blew his whistle,
there was a certain silence in the changing room, which I loved
and which told me:
"Okay, we're going to win the Champions League.“
I woke up early, that day.
And I knew: Today is the day,
today we're going to win.
We're playing Dortmund, our permanent rivals,
and in the last two years in the league and in the 2012 DFB Cup
they've pulled the rug from under us,
and all of a sudden
Bayern Munich were the clear favourites after that game.
I'd prefer any other opponent to Bayern,
obviously, because of course
the team have known each other for years
and Bayern, more than any other foreign club
have promoted their self image, as having won the league
by a huge margin and that's not a coincidence.
Of course, that contributed to the fact, that at least
on a national level we were pretty relaxed,
but we wanted to win this title.
The Champions League title is like their Fata Morgana,
their oasis in the desert, which they desperately need.
They came with a lot of anger and frustration from the previous year,
from the Champions League final,
and said: “Now it's our turn.”
I just told myself, that it wouldn't happen to us again
and especially not against Dortmund.
Unfortunately, we had problems with injuries at the time.
Mario Götze was unfortunately also struggling with a knock at the time,
but everything was actually set for that day.
"Today is a great day for making history."
That was my motto ahead of the game.
We have to win the Champions League
we can't lose again.
In our “Finale dahoam“
I had nothing to do the entire game,
and against Dortmund everything went off like crazy.
I have to say, everyone could see how nervous we were.
It really was the case,
that you could see it on the pitch,
that there was a certain pressure,
because losing another Champions League final
would have been the third time in our generation.
It was the first time, I felt I was like in the old saying
as though I was carrying a heavy bag on my back.
I couldn't do anything like that,
so I said to myself: What's this about?
But it was exactly this feeling,
everything felt slower, more tense.
They were really scared of losing,
that's obvious, but if you experience that even before the game:
The officials were very nervous.
Everyone was nervous, everyone was tense.
I think it was all part of that lost “Finale dahoam"
and the second places in the league and the cup.
Right from the start we made an impact on the pitch,
we kept trying,
from the first minute to set the tone,
to get stuck into the game, to push forward, to create chances.
Certain situations came up, one after another,
and I realised: Hey, I'm in the game.
If anyone asks me,
who was the best player I played with, I always reply: “Manuel Neuer!“
Manu infused the team's style of play
with his own way of doing things, and how he plays as a keeper.
You can play football differently, if you know you have Manu behind you.
I think there were some moments: “We have Manu behind us.
So let's start to show them just who Bayern Munich are."
If I think back to the first minutes, the first quarter of an hour,
I have to say
there were two players who didn't share the same history as us.
One was Manu. Obviously, he'd been in the Champions League final
a year earlier, but didn't have a long history with Bayern,
and hadn't been in the other final in 2010.
And Javi, who had arrived just before the season, and had
no past rivalry with Dortmund.
At this moment
when the team needed help,
I was always there.
We won five
or six challenges and changed the direction of the game.
We attacked better.
It was as though a switch had flipped:
Okay, now we're awake, we've arrived, we're getting going.
Suddenly we started to take more control
and I believe we started playing better.
Arjen Robben, with Ribéry.
I found Arjen in a deep position.
Artistic play now, through the legs, Robben!
I actually wanted to go past him then cross the ball.
I thought it would be his last chance
to get the ball in.
All I knew was, it had to go in,
because Mandžu was there.
At that moment my legs weighed about 100 kg.
If you are the tiniest bit, just a millimetre out,
then the ball will go over the crossbar.
There it is, 1-0, for Bayern! The two artists together,
Mandžukić scores!
If you manage something like that, when you look back you see it before your eyes,
like your childhood.
I come from a small village, Slavonski Brod.
Yes, we may have come via a more difficult route
than the guys
who play in Germany or in England.
But what could be better
than scoring at Wembley
with Bayern fans behind the goal.
Then you really know everything paid off.
Today I can repeat everything I've said about Mario
out of conviction, out of loyalty and out of love.
I am in awe of him, of what an amazing player he was,
and what an amazing person.
He was the missing piece of the puzzle.
I couldn't fill that role, because that wasn't my style of play.
Hats off to the club! They recognised it and implemented it.
It wasn't a beautiful goal, but it was an important one.
It was quite early, we still had time left to play,
but you were already glad, to be 1-0 up,
but it wasn't a relief yet.
At that moment, Bayern were on their way to the longed-for treble.
We also had a feeling of humility:
Remember last year, how we lost the final!
But it's all cool, we just have to keep playing,
the ref hasn't blown the whistle, so keep going!
And that was how it was.
For me, the turning point came
around the 63rd minute.
I went for the ball and wanted to kick it away,
but I noticed, I was slightly too late,
so I was just trying to stay upright.
I ended up with a yellow card as a result.
He was already on a yellow, so was sent off for a second yellow,
so we were playing against ten men, so you're going to win,
that's my forecast.
Most referees would
surely have given a second yellow, after that foul.
But a penalty was more than enough.
The player from Gelsenkirchen took it against me.
Ilkay Güindoğan put it into the corner, he doesn't normally go for,
the side-foot corner.
A short run up, then it's 1-1!
Everything's back to square one.
It was my mess, but I told my team mates:
"Just keep going, we're going to win!“
Of course your first thought is:
Damn! That was too quick. Too quick. Now it's 1-1.
But that doesn't help, so play on.
It's our ball, we're the better team,
we can still score.
Imagine if I score, don't be daft.
And maybe that final from 2012
helped us a bit.
There was also a set-back then, we were 1-0 up,
then the other team equalised,
but we still had to carry on and stay disciplined
and push forward.
Then we started to feel the Bayern team getting stronger.
It was going more in the direction Of the far corner than intended.
I ran round the keeper and tried to steer the ball over the line,
but it was a shot.
Analysing it after the game I'd say: "I should have got there."
That's one of those moments.
22 MAY 2012 3 DAYS AFTER LOSING THE FINAL IN MUNICH
In that 2012 friendly against Holland
he took a lot of criticism, people were booing him,
even some of the home fans.
Then, as we all know, after the
Champions League final there was a friendly against Holland.
That was a nightmare game, nothing went right.
Arjen is such a sensitive player, that must have really got to him.
I couldn't do anything different, I couldn't help it,
but like I said, it wasn't a nice experience.
In the weeks after that he was calling for every ball.
“To me, pass it to me.“
He didn't disappear, didn't say: “Okay, I'll wait for the right moment,
where the ball comes from the right, I run to the middle and shoot: The thing I do best.“
Instead have the courage to demand every ball.
Of course maybe he didn't always spot Franck
on the other side and pass to him,
but rather took a shot on goal himself,
but I always knew,
if you have Arjen in the right place, he'd do anything for you,
and really make the difference in a game, and that's what he did.
At the end of the day, that's what made him different from everyone else.
His incredible ambition.
Then there came the moment, where there was a free kick in our own half.
I'm calling from the left, thinking: “Jérôme, pass it to me on the left."
Franck just knew it.
Suddenly he hoofs the ball forward.
Along ball.
He knew I'd play that ball.
I trap the ball perfectly and control it.
The only thing I hope is that Franck sees me.
Sometimes you just feel it.
Two amazing players,
who never stopped,
just kept on going.
Even when it hurts, even when it really isn't fun any more,
that's all part of it.
These emotions,
the processing,
learning,
carrying on,
fighting
and then winning.
You've scored in the Champions League final
and at that moment of course, you don't know exactly which minute it is,
but you do know that it's important,
and that you've scored and that we're pretty close now.
An incredible, incredible relief and also the feeling,
that Arjen scored the goal, with Franck's assist.
I was so happy for him.
The way he ran straight off towards his family and the corner flag,
there where all our seats were...
Yes, you can see my dad in the background.
I knew my family and friends were there.
I also knew my wife and son were up there.
He was also there, that was great, even though he can't really remember it,
but of course it was important for me that he was there too.
I still get goosebumps,
because that moment when Arjen scored was amazing,
for him personally of course, and for us as a team.
He scored, then Arjen, you can see him in the background, I was further back,
and you see that whole side of the stadium in red and white just go wild.
I saw how all the reds jumped to their feet, wow!
You'd think I'd have seen that goal enough times,
Why isn't he passing the ball?
But in that moment I was, I think, still so...
if you've been playing for 90 minutes, at some point, your pulse is racing,
or else you're running around like a zombie.
I hadn't even been calling for the ball.
Robben runs in, he's not offside,
there's nothing you can do about it.
He's faster than me.
And wham, game over.
And then, you're standing in front of the goalkeeper again.
To this day I can't explain, how he did it,
and I can't imagine, that it was how he meant it to happen.
To me
it was one of the smartest decisions he ever made.
Because the first decision was: go past,
and I did the same in the first movement,
and then as soon as I see, he's come with me, I decide quickly:
Now the ball has to go to the other side, because then he's wrong-footed.
And Weidenfeller did this, and then the ball...
I was there, where I always stand waiting to see what would happen,
but I didn't expect that.
as far as I'm concerned it was unstoppable.
Some people may say, at least I've heard it said:
“He didn't strike it very well."
But that wasn't necessary, that's the whole point:
I only needed a touch, because he was on the wrong foot.
Maybe I didn't hit it cleanly, but that wasn't important,
it just had to get past him and I think it was a good decision.
It's like when you watch a slow-motion movie.
Everybody is looking and saying...
There were a lot of people in front of me, the ball was slow.
And then the ball went in!
The fact that it rolled in a bit slower is perhaps all the more beautiful.
Arjen Robben atones for everything,
and runs over to the Bayern fans!
Yes, those are the emotions,
that well up in you, because you're human after all.
Those seem to be the feelings or whatever it is you have,
yes, that's what you do.
I went over to the fans:
“What else do you want? Is that enough now?"
Those who behaved like that in the stadium,
who whistled and jeered and so on,
to me they're nothing really
and I've come to terms with this,
they're not really proper fans. The real fans are also thankful to me.
We're so near,
let's just take that last step, and just survive through
these last three, four, five minutes.
The fact you're not necessarily going to come back, that was...
at that moment I knew, it was over.
The fire was out, and we knew it.
Luckily we were able to take some positives from the experience
from the previous year's game, the "Finale dahoam“,
and then the celebrations,
It was joy unconfined.
That's why you do it all, that's why you play, work, fight,
it's your goal, your highest aim.
And then you achieve it, and it all comes out.
The fact that we'd really done it,
I couldn't really grasp that,
I couldn't comprehend it.
If you see all the faces of so many people,
how happy they are, then I'm happy too.
That's why we play this sport.
The emotions, which we've given these people,
they'll never forget,
never, eve r.
I always ran over to Dante.
I always said thank you to the defenders,
and I'm so glad to have been privileged to play with players like that.
My mum said: "Rafa, this week you're going to win two titles.“
My daughter was born on May 20th
Sorry,
I'm emotional, I always get so emotional.
“And at the weekend you're going to win the Champions League.“
I said: “Mum, if that happens, then, wow. That would be a dream come true."
When I look at Basti and Philipp Lahm
and Thomas Müller,
who are fulfilling their life's work right now,
and you see them and the tears pouring down their faces,
that's the most beautiful gift
that I got to see those faces.
When you've finally managed
to win this cup,
at first you feel relief,
I find, because there was always a certain pressure
on our generation. I mean, we always made it to the final,
even that isn't a mean feat, in four years
reaching the final three times. But actually winning it,
that was what spurred us on.
Every step of the way up the stairs
right up to the cup
Stood for a hard training session,
which we did as a team.
Before, I just dragged myself up the stairs at the “Finale dahoam“
but now I felt like everyone embraced me.
You get closer and closer to the trophy and then you say: Wow, finally!
As captain and Munich native for this dream to come true,
for the team, for the fans,
for the club, for the city,
winning the Champions League,
you can't describe it, how beautiful it feels.
We needed that,
absolutely, to satisfy
the soul of Bayern Munich.
Yes, we did it, we can enjoy it and hold our heads high.
Yes, we just did it.
You've won the Champions League,
but you can't really celebrate,
or rather you have to be quick,
because you know, you have a one-off chance,
for the first time in the history of the club to win the treble in a week's time.
So I'd say everyone was celebrating with the brakes on,
but you can't really celebrate with the brakes on.
We were all happy.
It was already daylight in London.
People were going to work and we were still in the ballroom.
We were celebrating, really celebrating then Jupp said: “Okay, it's fine to party,
but only until tomorrow."
“Coach, give us an extra day off,
we've won the Champions League.“ He said: "No.“
For us the Champions League was the main thing,
let that be clear.
It was only in the days that followed, once it was already in the bag,
and we had the Cup final ahead of us,
that we started saying: it could be the first time,
that a German club wins the treble.
Then we started thinking: All right,
OK, start to focus on three days from now,
because now we have to win the treble, no question about it!
Unfortunately as many people know, I was injured.
I was watching it alone in my hotel room,
and that was such an emotional moment to find the whole team thinking of me.
I don't know what would have happened,
if we hadn't won, if Dortmund had won instead,
how my generation would have carried on.
We were happiest for Philipp, Basti, Arjen and Franck.
Everyone had always wondered: "Will they manage
to win a major title?“
With what they achieved,
there will always be 'titles' after the comma, big titles or not.
And that will also be very, very important for them in terms of reputation.
It was such a long journey,
it was a real marathon for us,
especially because we had really thought something was broken at FC Bayern.
We were number one in Germany again and number one in Europe,
and that gave us a lot of motivation,
amazing motivation.
It made up for a lot and Bayern's confidence was restored.
It was a game we had to win.
We won it!
I'm so proud,
to be able to tell my three children: “Daddy played there and won."
I always gave my best and am also very happy myself
because that's what I wanted - for everyone, for the club, for the fans.
I'm just happy to have helped out with that.
We really showed character,
and that unifies us more even than the trophy.
Really.
Once you've experienced something like that, such a roller coaster of emotions,
first such a downer in 2012 then such a high in 2013,
that is something, that binds you together for a lifetime.
These things endure. Whenever we see each other,
it's the first thing you see in each other's eyes, the Champions League and that year.
Even in 10 or 20 years when we meet up
as soon as we see each other, we'll embrace,
and we'll remind each other:
Yes, that happened, it was tough, it was good.
That time brought us together into one family.
It's a shame it's over.
Whether it's Jupp, or the players,
or the fans,
we'll always have something in common,
and in the end, whenever we meet up, we'll always be happy and remember great times.
The year 2012
was the most painful in the history of FC Bayern.
Teams can crumble because of that.
Not this team.
That was the story.
Subtitle Extracted by: Aren Zohrabi
The fact you managed just one year later, with the same core team,
to be the best team in Europe and somehow
managed to beat Dortmund to the trophy in the final,
that will connect us for all our lives and that is really something special.