Chapter 184: The Most Star-Studded Champions League Final in Nearly Two Decades
This season, both Bayern Munich and Real Madrid entered the final stretch of their Champions League preparation as domestic champions, having already sealed their respective league titles early.
It was a far cry from the situation last season, when Bayern faced Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinals while still locked in tight battles for the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal.
And the end result? One word: disaster.
They didn't make the Champions League final, finished second in the Bundesliga, and lost the German Cup final.
To this day, Müller and Kroos carry scars from that DFB-Pokal final.
All because of one "harmless" blessing from Leon.
After Real Madrid defeated Bayern, Leon had cheerfully wished Müller and Kroos luck in the upcoming German Cup final — the last trophy they still had a shot at.
Given Leon's reputation for being "prophetically accurate," Müller and Kroos had actually believed they had a real shot at redemption.
Instead, Dortmund smashed them for five goals in the final.
Even now, Müller shudders at the memory. That final left him physically pained. To make matters worse, both he and Kroos had genuinely believed in Leon's goodwill.
You can imagine the emotional whiplash.
Even now, Müller jokes on social media about how Leon "cursed" them. It wasn't until Leon — having arrived in London ahead of the final — treated Müller and Kroos to a meal that the teasing finally toned down.
Of course, three foreign stars dining at a French restaurant in London, roasting British cuisine in fluent German, was a story the tabloids wouldn't miss.
Sure enough, The Sun ran an "exclusive" the very next morning detailing every step of the trio's city stroll and dinner conversation.
The English public wasn't particularly bothered. They were used to foreigners trash-talking British food — they barely ate it themselves. True Londoners considered it a sin not to dine at a French spot.
What caught their attention instead was Leon's language ability.
He'd already impressed English reporters with fluent (albeit American-accented) English during past interviews.
Now, add in Spanish, French (as reported by Spanish media), and German — plus his native Chinese — and you've got a 22-year-old multilingual genius.
Five languages.
That was rare even in elite football. No wonder the Brits were obsessed.
While the public fixated on his linguistic skills, Leon was back at Arsenal's Colney Training Centre, lifting weights.
He wasn't alone. Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos were with him. In fact, it was Ronaldo who spotted The Sun story while cycling and showed it to Leon.
So why were they using Arsenal's training ground?
Credit to Arsène Wenger.
Mourinho had originally planned to rent Chelsea's Cobham facilities, but Bayern had beaten them to it — booking it two weeks earlier.
Abramovich couldn't break the agreement, so Mourinho picked up the phone and called Wenger.
With the Premier League season over and most Arsenal players already on vacation, Wenger was more than happy to help.
On May 22, the full Real Madrid squad arrived in London and checked into a hotel near Colney.
That afternoon, after lunch with Müller and Kroos, Leon returned to rest before joining Ronaldo and Ramos for some strength training and a swim.
Colney's facilities were top-tier — professional, clean, and more than adequate for Champions League-level preparation.
It wasn't just the trio who were impressed. The entire Real Madrid squad found the environment ideal.
With the team settled in and adjusting to the London weather, Mourinho extended his thanks to Wenger once again.
While both Madrid and Bayern trained with laser focus, fanbases across the globe were already at war online.
After all, Bayern hadn't been a weak side last season either. But Real Madrid had knocked them out in the semifinals with authority.
That loss still stung for Bayern fans — and the fact that they had come up short in all three major competitions made things worse.
Many Bayern supporters had entered this season with one word on their minds: Revenge.
They wanted to reclaim the Bundesliga from Dortmund — done.
Now they wanted to avenge their Champions League loss to Madrid.
So while Madrid fans viewed Bayern with cautious respect, Bayern fans came in with an almost rabid vengeance, ready to "settle the score."
The fan war naturally spilled over into the media.
Germany's Bild newspaper dubbed the final "the most star-studded, high-quality Champions League final in the past 20 years."
And just like that, the pot boiled over.
Fans of other recent finalists — Chelsea, Manchester United, Barcelona, Inter Milan — erupted in protest.
Still, a significant portion of the football world agreed.
On raw talent and consistency, this Real Madrid and this Bayern Munich were probably the best Champions League finalists in at least a decade.
Both squads were packed with stars.
Both could play multiple systems.
Both managers — Mourinho and Heynckes — were tactical masterminds.
Some joked that if the legendary 2011 Barcelona team could somehow face this Real Madrid in a time-warped final, it would break the internet.
But time travel wasn't an option.
This final — Madrid vs. Bayern — was the battle of the era.
With fans and media locked in, the players and coaches inevitably got dragged in too.
But where fans were full of venom, the actual interactions between the teams were remarkably cordial.
In interviews, Heynckes praised Mourinho's "near-perfect team-building work" over the past three years.
Mourinho returned the compliment, crediting Heynckes for transforming Bayern's playing style.
The mutual respect seemed genuine — but it was also so diplomatic that the English media found it dull.
Which is why they loved Leon's press conference quote:
"If we win the final, I'll treat Müller and Kroos to another dinner."
Now that was a proper soundbite.
Fans were delighted.
The English tabloids were thrilled.
And when Müller and Kroos responded with a cheeky video from their hotel — eating German sausages and pork knuckles and inviting Leon to Bayern's post-victory party — the internet exploded.
Was it playful teasing? Was it genuine trash talk?
Didn't matter. The fans were eating it up.
On May 24, both teams held their final press conferences in London.
Unlike in the past, neither Mourinho nor Heynckes revealed their starting elevens.
Both dropped tactical smoke bombs instead.
Mourinho mentioned that Benzema and Alonso were "feeling some tightness" in their muscles.
Heynckes countered by saying Robben "picked up a knock" in training and was a game-time decision.
Classic coach mind games — no one was fooled.
Reporters didn't bother digging. They'd seen it all before.
Neither side gave a hint about their tactical setup.
Sky Sports took a stab at it anyway, predicting the likely starting formations based on both teams' last ten games.
But even they didn't dare guess the actual match plans — because both teams were tactically versatile.
Possession football, gegenpressing, wing play, counters — both squads could do it all.
This was going to be a match of depth, intelligence, explosiveness, and endurance.
The star power. The flexible tactics. The potential for game-breaking moments from elite players...
There was just so much to look forward to.
As the final night before the match quietly slipped away, May 25 arrived.
And the eyes of the footballing world turned to Wembley Stadium.
Real Madrid and Bayern Munich were ready.
This was the final battle of the season.
Their strongest performance of 2013 — about to unfold.
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