Get Even More Visitors To Your Blog, Upgrade To A Business Listing >>

You can always get back on your feet

It was a warm spring night in Munich – one of many such nights at the Bavarian capital. The city was unusually quiet, except for a spaceship-like construction on the outskirts of the city, where the only sound was the sound of silent desperation. Eleven, no, fourteen, no, a million men, lied on the Pitch Shattered, broken husks of men where there had once been a team fighting for their life.

Arjen Robben (© dpa)

No man exemplifies this better than the Flying Dutchman, and Bayern’s right winger at the time. His story over these years mirrors Bayern’s to incredible detail.

I don’t think I’ll ever see a clearer image of despair than when I saw Arjen Robben clutching his face after missing a penalty against Borussia Dortmund, with Neven Subotic yelling at his face. This was a man who had the chance at his feet and wasted it – failure was a result of the team’s performance, but the chance of success, so sweet and yet so bitter, had flashed out of existence.

This very occurrence happened that night in Munich as well. The results, tragically, were the same.

I, as well as many other Bayern fans, will probably never forget that night. The hope we had after beating Real Madrid and dodging Barcelona. The excitement of playing at home. The promise of a cup – our cup – after failing against Inter Milan two years prior. The struggle against an overly defensive Chelsea team. Thomas Müller’s goal, our own youth player scoring the decisive goal at home in the dying efforts of the game.

And then, the unspeakable. Didier Drogba’s header keeping them alive. Petr Cech saving Arjen’s penalty like it was a children’s game. The horrible “ding” Bastian Schweinsteiger’s penalty made as it hit the post. Drogba running around our home, triumphant, with the cup held high. Our team lying on the pitch, shattered husks of men bearing the signs of people who are physically, emotionally, and spiritually broken.

This could have been the end of a dynasty for Bayern. Labeled as chokers, spiritless players, having lost two finals in three years, the board wouldn’t have been questioned had they decided to sack our coach and sell a lot of team members. Losing out in every competition, despite fine margins, is still losing. Many other teams have been dismantled for less.

But I’m filled with pride whenever I remember the actions that Bayern – our club – took in that situation. They stood by the coach and his decisions. They gave him the money to break the Bundesliga’s transfer record and sign a midfielder, which paid off hugely. The club, and the team, took these broken players and imbued new life into them. It was a massive gamble, and yet it paid off, with this newly born team thrashing every bit of competition which stood in their way.

On May the 25th, 2013, a single, triumphant word was on the lips of every football commentator around the world: vindication. The sweet taste of vindication imbued in every single air molecule displaced by Arjen Robben’s shouting at the crowd – at the world – that on that night, the ghosts of troubles past were eradicated, and a triumphant entity clad in red now stood on the pitch. An Avatar of Vindication. And how sweet it tasted.

(GarciLP is a fan of Bayern München and a member of BayernZone forum)


· Comments



This post first appeared on BayernZone - Bayern Munich, please read the originial post: here

Share the post

You can always get back on your feet

×

Subscribe to Bayernzone - Bayern Munich

Get updates delivered right to your inbox!

Thank you for your subscription

×