Champions League Final Recap

                                                                                                                                  By: Adamo Marinelli

August 29th, 2020

     On August 23rd, Bayern Munich beat Neymar and Mbappe’s Paris St. Germain 1-0 in a stellar game to capture their 6th Champions League Title. This piece will recap the game and explain how Bayern Munich has become a dynasty.

     Bayern Munich dominated in possession time, 62% - 38%, and outshot PSG 12-10 en route to their victory. 

     Kingsley Coman was the hero, scoring the only goal for Bayern in the 59th minute by heading a spectacular cross pass from Joshua Kimmich into the back of the net.

     Bayern Munich moved the ball better, connecting on 84% of their 515 passes, compared to PSG who connected on 74% of their 322 passes.

     Bayern Munich’s keeper, German all-star Michael Neuer, stopped all 3 shots on goal that he faced. PSG keeper, Keylor Navas wasn’t as successful in net, making only 1 save on 2 shots against.

     In short, all aspects of this game was dominated by Bayern Munich. Offense, defense, transition attack, and capitalizing on chances.

     Paris St. Germain played well almost everywhere except around their opponents’ goal. They had so many chances, but couldn’t capitalize, missing many opportunities from in the box and also hitting several posts. That was their demise.

     Bayern Munich played better around their opponents’ goal, they missed some opportunities as well, hitting multiple posts but they were able to score one time, which was enough to seal the win.

     Another incredible aspect of this win is that Canadian midfielder Alphonso Davies, at only 19 years old, has won the biggest honor in European Football. His future is very bright. 

     The most stunning aspect, however, is how Bayern Munich built their team. They did it so efficiently and obtained so much talent, yet they accomplished the task by using a moderate budget.

     Bayern’s Champions League semi-final lineup cost them 80 million Euros; their Finals matchup costs them about the same.

     Eight of their players make an annual salary of fewer than 1 million Euros, including Alphonso Davies. Only two players make over 20 million Euros: Phillipe Coutinho makes 24.5 and Robert Lewandowski makes 20 million. Incredible work from the management to put together such a skilled lineup so inexpensively.

     Looking to some other notable stars being signed to other teams, 80 million Euros doesn’t sound like much at all.

     80 million Euros is less than a third of what PSG paid for Neymar and nearly half of what they spent to sign young sensation Kylian Mbappe. 

     Manchester United spent 110 million Euros on Jadon Sancho and Harry McGuire cost the same as Bayern’s entire starting lineup. 

     Juventus spent 100 million Euros on 35-year-old Christiano Ronaldo, one of the best soccer players to ever live and whichever team lands Lionel Messi - another of soccer’s all-time greats - whether it be Manchester City, PSG or another club, they will likely spend over 100 million Euros. 

     While Real Madrid was busy winning three consecutive Champions League titles, while Barcelona was spending more money on its core than any other European team, and while Juventus undid several years of chemistry by signing Ronaldo, Bayern was quietly and effectively building a super team, all while watching their spending.

     When Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery left the team, management quickly brought in Serge Gnabry, a player who left England as an Arsenal flop but has excelled in Bayern and Ivan Perisic, who was supposed to be slowing down his career but is as productive now as ever to replace them.

     Kingsley Coman, Philip Coutinho, and Leroy Sane, in addition to Serge Gnarby (Ivan Perisic is now playing for Inter Milan), create a core of wingers that has a perfect balance of youth and veteran experience.

     Manuel Neuer, David Alaba, and Jerome Boating are still in starting roles, however, Alaba has moved to the center midfield to accommodate Alphonso Davies’ incredible talent on the at the left-back spot and on the left side of the attack, ahead of the talented Lucas Hernandez.

     Joshua Kimmich and World Cup winner Benjamin Pavard both playing on the right shows the incredible amount of depth this team has.

     In the middle, the beefed-up Leon Goretzka has become the world’s best box-to-box midfielder alongside Thomas Muller and Thiago Alcantara using a perfect balance of brains, brawn, and beauty in his game.

     In addition, Robert Lewdanski has been phenomenal this season, scoring 55 goals in 47 games.

     No matter where you look on the roster, there is plenty of depth, skill, and a fine mix of youth and veteran leadership. This is all supplemented by excellent coaching and recruitment.

     Compare what Bayern Munich did to Barcelona, who spent a lot of money on players like Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele, none of which feature in their strongest lineup; Real Madrid who spent a lot of money on Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez who were both banished to the bench so that Sergio Ramos, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Raphael Varane start in their lineup and not to mention Juventus, who threw all their eggs into one basket, acquiring an aging Christiano Ronaldo, and you will realize which front office is the most clever.

     The era of super teams in the Champions League is very much still upon us. To build a super team, one must acquire talented players for every position, however, they must also do that without spending too much money on one particular player, which may cost them down the road.