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Finally, the UEFA Champions League final is almost here.

Bayern Munich and Chelsea will compete for European club football's top prize Saturday evening in Munich. While you count down the hours, minutes and seconds, we've got your comprehensive preview right here.

Inside, you'll find all the information you need for both teams. Anything else? Leave a question in the comments.



First things first: Just the basic facts.

Who: Bayern Munich vs. Chelsea

When: Saturday, May 19, 8:45 p.m. Central European Time (2:45 p.m. Eastern)

Where: Allianz Arena, Munich (dubbed Fußball Arena München for the day by UEFA, for sponsorship reasons)

Road to the Final: Bayern



Bayern Munich, who finished third last season in the Bundesliga, defeated FC Zurich in the Champions League's final qualifying round last August. The 3-0 two-legged victory secured Bayern a spot in the group stage.

There, Bayern won Group A with 13 points, beating out Napoli, Manchester City (who eventually won the English Premier League) and Villarreal (who, incidentally, were relegated from La Liga this season).

In the first knockout round, Bayern overcame Basel, winning the second leg 7-0 after losing the first leg 1-0 in Switzerland.

Bayern then handled Marseille 4-0 on aggregate in the quarterfinals and eliminated Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid on penalties in the semifinals (after a 3-3 aggregate draw following extra time).

Bayern finished second in the Bundesliga this season, eight points behind Borussia Dortmund. The same two teams also met in the German Cup final, with Dortmund winning 5-2.

Road to the Final: Chelsea



Chelsea finished second in the English Premier League last season, earning direct qualification to this season's Champions League group stage.

The Blues won Group E thanks to a dramatic 3-0 victory over Valencia on the final matchday. The drama continued in the first knockout round as Chelsea overturned a 3-1 first-leg deficit against Napoli by winning 4-1 (after extra time) back in London.

Chelsea then beat Benfica 3-1 on aggregate in the quarterfinals and upset defending champions Barcelona in the semifinals.

Chelsea finished sixth in the English Premier League this season and won the FA Cup by beating Liverpool in the final. The Blues must win Saturday's Champions League final to qualify for next season's competition.


History in Final

Bayern Munich's eight previous appearances in the Champions League/European Cup final have resulted in four wins and four losses.

The German giants won Europe's top club competition in 1974, 1975, 1976 and 2001. They lost the final in 1982, 1987, 1999 and 2010.



Chelsea's only previous appearance in the Champions League final came in 2008, when they lost to Manchester United on penalties in Moscow.

Coaches' Corner

Roberto Di Matteo (pictured) took over as Chelsea's interim manager following the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas in March.

Di Matteo, 41, played for Chelsea from 1996-2002, winning two FA Cup medals (1997, 2000). Previously the manager at Milton Keynes Dons (2008-09) and West Bromwich Albion (2009-11), he led the Blues to the FA Cup title this season as caretaker manager.



Jupp Heynckes is currently in his third stint as Bayern Munich's manager, having led the club from 1987-91 and again for less than two months in 2009.

Heynckes, 67, has won two league titles as Bayern's manager.

Key Player: Chelsea



Didier Drogba has cultivated a reputation as a big-game player for Chelsea.

The 34-year-old Ivorian underlined those credentials with yet another goal at Wembley in Chelsea' 2-1 win over Liverpool in this month's FA Cup final. He has now scored in four FA Cup finals, a record.

Transfer rumors surround Drogba these days, and after eight seasons in London, Saturday could be his final match for Chelsea.

Ignoring the speculation for a moment, on Saturday we can expect to see the excellent hold-up play, brute strength and lethal scoring instincts we've come to expect from Drogba.

Key Player: Bayern



When Bastian Schweinsteiger is in form, it's tough for any team to beat Bayern.

Schweinsteiger, 27, is the box-to-box midfield general who makes Bayern tick with tireless running, dedication to both attacking and defending, slick passing and the occasional goal.

The German international (90 caps, 23 goals) has struggled with injuries this season, and his head-to-head matchup with the older Frank Lampard (who turns 34 in June) could decide which team controls the midfield—and thus which team controls the match itself.

Suspensions



Both teams have been hit hard by suspensions.

Six players will miss the game through yellow-card accumulation after receiving bookings in the semifinals. The six are Bayern's Holger Badstuber, David Alaba and Luiz Gustavo, and Chelsea's Ramires, Raul Meireles and Branislav Ivanovic.

Chelsea captain John Terry (pictured, left) is also suspended for the red card he received against Barcelona in the semifinal second leg.

Injury News




Chelsea midfielder Florent Malouda and defenders David Luiz and Gary Cahill (both pictured) are fighting for fitness.

Malouda appears to be losing his fight, but Luiz and Cahill are reportedly making progress.

Defenders Cahill and Luiz have not played since April after picking up hamstring injuries - Cahill in the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona and Luiz in the FA Cup win over Tottenham - but both players are set to return to training on Tuesday.

Luiz claimed on Monday that he was confident of being fit, but Di Matteo admitted Malouda, who was substituted as a precaution in Sunday's win over Blackburn, would be "touch and go."

He said: "Gary and David are going to try and train with us [on Tuesday]. Florent Malouda we still have to assess and it will be touch and go for him to be available for Saturday."

The Man In The Middle



Meet the Champions League final referee. His name is Pedro Proenca, he's 41 and he's Portuguese.


After much said and done, guess we'll just have to wait and watch what happens in that forthcoming 90 minutes.

Have Your Say Pals

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Comedy Ke? Real Tract

Roberto Mancini insists landing the title for the first time in a generation is just the start of Man City's success and is now planning to take Europe by storm.

The club crashed out of the UEFA Champions League in the group stages this season at their first ever attempt despite having one of the most expensively assembled squads in the competition.

The wealthy owners of the club were said to unhappy at the way in which the club they are bankrolling slipped out of the competition before an even more galling exit from the Europa League to the unfancied Sporting Lisbon.

But the first league title in 44 years will have gone some way to repaying their multi-million pound investment in the club and Mancini wants it to be followed by success in the Champions League next season.



"We need to improve," Mancini admitted: "The Champions League is a very difficult competition, you need to be lucky and in good form in February, but I think we can do well next year.

"I think Manchester City now is in a good way.

"It is not easy because we have to fight every year against top teams like United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham - but we have worked well in the last two years and if we continue to work like this we can have a big future.

"I am very happy because in England it is the best championship in Europe. The Premier League is a fantastic league and I am very happy to be here."

City were crowned champions when they came from behind with two goals in stoppage time to beat relegation-threatened QPR, who played out the last half an hour with 10 men after Joey Barton saw red.

The last-gasp win meant they pipped rivals Manchester United to the title by goal difference in one of the closest championship races in years.

But assistant boss David Platt believes retaining the title they so narrowly won should be the very minimum aim next season.

Platt said: "In my first year [at the club] the objective was to qualify for the Champions League and win a trophy. We did that by winning the FA Cup.

"This season it was to win the league and get to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, which we failed to do. But we won the title.

"Next year's aim will be to win the title again. That's the minimum. That's the objective we have to have, and quite rightly so.

"We've been speaking for a couple of months about potential targets. No matter what the result on Sunday, that would not have got in the way of common business sense."

Sophie: Darling y do u always go 2 d balcony wen i sing...don't u like hearing me sing?
Stephen: No oooo, its not like that...i just want everybody to see clearly that I'm no beating you.

Title of this post is supposed to be "Craze man is Back!"

 

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admits securing third place in the Barclays Premier League was probably his most satisfying achievement in a campaign when people thought he was "absolutely mad" for believing in the squad.

The Gunners finally made sure of qualification for the group stages of the Champions League for a 15th season when they beat West Brom 3-2 in a tense final day at The Hawthorns to edge ahead of rivals Tottenham by just a point.

It is a remarkable achievement in itself considering how far off the pace Arsenal were earlier in the campaign, having slumped as low as 17th after losing four from the opening seven league games.

Despite the disappointments of failing to deliver a trophy once again, Wenger never lost faith in his players.

"I maybe take the biggest ever [satisfaction] because at some stage of the season everybody would have said you were absolutely mad," Wenger told Arsenal Player.

"We still kept our focus and worked hard together. It is down to remarkable character and I am very proud of the achievement of the team."



Arsenal's resurgence following a run of nine wins out of 10 games from February 4 means they now do not have to sweat on the outcome of the Champions League final - which Chelsea will have to win to take the place of Spurs in next season's elite club competition.

"It is good to sleep better at night," Wenger said. "It is a tricky position in fourth because you don't want Chelsea to win the Champions League, and to be fourth is playing a qualifier, which every year is more difficult.

"Therefore just to be in the group stage straight away is fantastic."

Top of Wenger's to-do list ahead of the European Championships is to sit down with captain Robin van Persie and discuss the future, with the Holland forward so far coy over his intentions.

Without Van Persie's 30 league goals, the Gunners would have been cut adrift, but it remains to be seen whether his extended lone appreciation in front of the travelling Arsenal fans at the end of Sunday's game was a last goodbye, the 28-year-old still with a season left on his current deal.

Whatever happens in 2012/13, winger Theo Walcott maintains Arsenal must believe in their ability to finally end their quest for silverware.

"It was tight, but we have deserved it [third place], for the past few weeks anyway," Walcott said.

"A couple of new additions may come, but we have to push on as it has been so long without a trophy now.

"We just need to start believing a bit more.

"The belief came in September that we really wanted it. If we can do that right from the start, keep people fit, then you never know where it will take us next year."

Nice 1 Arsene. I'm sure all the Arsenal fans (from your hometown) will be giving you a round applause joined with a standing ovation for this speech of yours, after going yet, another season TROPHY-LESS.

Have Your Say, Pals.

 

 

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Have Your Say Pals.

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Nice1 John... Bt u guys should know our society needs these things far more than them. But nice 1 anyway

 

 

this is as old as 'old' itself

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