Bayern take the most affordable Champions League from PSG
It was the PSG Champions League. The football world was waiting for the all-powerful French team to finally lift the trophy it had been seeking since the arrival of Al-Khelaifi's petrodollars in 2009. Almost a decade and an investment of 1.3 billion euros have not been enough to lift the European sceptre. Football has its share of justice and does not usually give the throne to just anyone. Millions are not enough. Manchester City has proved this and PSG has suffered from it.
Thomas Tuchel came to PSG in 2018 after seeing how Ancelotti, Blanc and Emery could not find their way to Europe. The sheik wanted to put some sanity into the tide of big names and huge salaries. The team became more human and got the stars that really shine. Neymar and Mbappé are the franchise players of a team that is forced to keep playing the Champions League while walking around in Ligue 1.
In the Lisbon final, Neymar moved so far from the area that he ended up shooting from the front. Mbappé was riding the sidelines, but Kimmich, Davis, Boateng and Alaba are infinitely more defensive than anyone in the French league. The two cracks were running, calling for the ball and creating play, but incomprehensibly failed to hit the target.
Bayern Munich had the lost season at the end of 2019. Niko Kovac was dismissed in November after losing 5-1 to Eintracht. Hans Flick was taking the reins of a lost team, but was well aware of the path of his particular excellence that has led him to reign in Europe. Flick was Löw's assistant in Germany and 2014 World Champion with a recognisable playing style. He also knew the way.
His work at Bayern consisted in bringing together a team where Müller, Lewandowski, Boateng or Neuer were with youngsters like Davis, Coman, Sule or Pavard. The slate was a secondary theme because if there are synergies, football flows.
The 2-8 to Barça consolidated a team that had already come to raze after the confinement. The level of play was maintained, they won the Bundesliga and the Cup and presented themselves in an affordable Champions where they had to finish off Chelsea to get to Lisbon with options.
PSG and Bayern were fair finalists. Their football inertia and their ability to compete left them on the verge of a Champions League that was affordable because of its format. PSG was robbed of its competition in March without asking and they didn't give it back. It arrived with hardly any matches, but with a clear objective.
Neymar's tears and Al-Khelaifi's comfort talk of continuing to fight. The fact that he left Barcelona to be the best in the world has already proved to be the bitterness of defeat. He will continue in the PSG just as Mbappé will continue. The sheik has no rivals in the offices and a Champions League final gives him an extra life to keep paying salaries. In Paris they already know how to reach a final, even if it was atypical. The same route that Bayern have taken six times. Two coaches who played, but did not stand out. Two similar styles of entering the player's head and joining the points between the templates to make them perform.
The Champions of 2020 will be remembered for the pandemic that is sweeping the world. For the empty stadiums. For the finals in Portugal. And for UEFA's work in finishing its competitions and delivering another champion to the world of football. The leagues are over, Europe has had its champions and the 2020-2021 season has already begun in countries like France or the United States. Congratulations are due to Bayern, but also to football. A giant showcase in which many fans who are having a hard time find some consolation.