Skysports.com looks at where Saturday's game between Bayern and Inter might be won and lost.
Skysports.com looks at where Saturday's game between Bayern Munich and Inter Milan might be won and lost
Saturday's UEFA Champions League final in Madrid between Bayern Munich and Inter Milan promises to be an explosive affair. Both teams are chasing historic trebles, with coaches Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho well aware of each others capabilities having worked together at Barcelona. Here,
skysports.com looks at where the game might be won and lost.
BAYERN MUNICH STRENGTHS
Goalkeeper Hans-Joerg Butt is enjoying a fine seasons at the age of 35 and his call-up to the Germany squad was the result of his cool and calculated play. Played in 2002 Champions League final with Bayer Leverkusen.
Dutch winger Arjen Robben has been sensational for the Bavarians all season and his form could decide the final. Bayern's attractive and aggressive play usual starts with Robben whose instinctive moves have made him the club's top scorer this season.
Backed by solid defender Philipp Lahm who covers the right flank and supports Robben in attack, the pair will be a constant headache for the Italians.
Bastian Schweinsteiger will also be a danger in midfield, able to slice open defences with pinpoint passing. Captain Mark van Bommel, who won the Champions League with Barcelona four years ago, adds steel in midfield.
Thomas Mueller and Ivica Olic have formed a formidable strike force with the Croat bidding to top the competition's scorers list.
BAYERN WEAKNESSES
Franck Ribery's suspension could prove vital for Bayern with Hamit Altintop lacking the Frenchman's creative play down the wing. With Mario Gomez and Miroslav Klose in a slump in form, Bayern have few alternatives in attack.
Central defenders Martin Demichelis and Daniel van Buyten have been less consistent than in the past few seasons and have been troubled by speedy strikers.
INTER STRENGTHS
Walter Samuel and former Bayern man Lucio form a rock-solid central defensive partnership which even Lionel Messi failed to crack. Their lunging tackles and never-say-die attitude epitomise Inter's approach and midfielders like Esteban Cambiasso are built in the same mould.
Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar is an extremely safe pair of hands while evergreen captain Javier Zanetti, 36 and likely to play left-back, rarely has a bad game.
Rampaging right-back powerhouse Maicon is hard to stop and playmaker Wesley Sneijder takes up wonderful positions between midfield and attack which defenders find impossible to mark. His dead ball delivery is also improving. Argentina striker Diego Milito is a goal machine, netting 22 in Serie A in his first season at Inter.
Inter's main strength is coach Jose Mourinho's tactical acumen. He can make the team shift effortlessly from a 4-3-1-2 formation to a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 and is not scared to make bold substitutions at halftime.
INTER WEAKNESSES
Lucio can be erratic, missing tackles, mis-hitting clearances and giving away penalties. Deputy Marco Materazzi is even more error-prone.
If Milito does not have his shooting boots on, Samuel Eto'o is not the feared striker of old and rebellious teenager Mario Balotelli misses more than he scores. When Maicon marauds forward, gaps can appear behind him and Mourinho has on occasion gone too gung-ho.
Speculation about his future could also prey on his and his team's mind but they are so experienced it is doubtful they will be fully distracted.
WHERE GAME WILL BE WON OR LOST
Mourinho and Van Gaal's tactical battle.
Arjen Robben against Javier Zanetti. Can the wise old head keep the standout right winger at bay?
Cambiasso against Van Bommel, which midfielder will fight hardest and win the toughest tackles?
Demichelis v Milito. Can Bayern keep the fox in the box under wraps?
INCENTIVES AND HISTORY
Both teams are going for a treble having won their domestic doubles.
Bayern are desperate to win their first Champions League in nine years, having failed to progress past the last eight since winning it in 2001. They have won the trophy four times.
Inter have not won Europe's top title since 1965 and coach Jose Mourinho will want to leave Milan having given them the one trophy they have desperately been seeking for decades with fruitless investment worth dozens of millions.
The Portuguese coach will also want to outfox his mentor Van Gaal, who was in charge at Barcelona when Mourinho was a assistant coach there in the late 1990s.
For Bayern's Arjen Robben and Inter's Wesley Sneijder it will also be a return to Madrid after they were sold by Real Madrid last year to make space for big names including Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo.
