01x06 - Die Generation Wembley

[bunniefuu]

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 sh**t: 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.