It was the night of the 19th of May, 2012 that the unthinkable happened right at the Allianz arena in the UEFA Champions League final contested between Chelsea and Bayern Munich.
Chelsea had reached their second UEFA Champions League final in five years following a miraculous run through the knockout stages.
The Roman Army had produced a sensational round of 16 comeback to oust Italian ‘big boys’, Napoli with a magnificent 4-1 triumph at the Stamford Bridge after a 3-1 first leg setback. Up next was Benfica whom they dispatched over two legs.
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It was the semifinal against defending champions Barcelona that further cemented the belief in some Chelsea supporters that indeed the god of soccer was all behind Roberto Di Matteo’s men. Didier Drogba’s only goal in West London proved vital as the Blues headed into the second leg with a slim – but relatively huge – advantage.
Barcelona sprung into a 2-0 lead and Chelsea looked very much on the edge of elimination. An injury to Gary Cahill and a red card to skipper John Terry further compounded the misery for the 2008 finalists.
However, energetic Brazilian, Ramires pulled one back for the Blues – a goal that only gave Chelsea and its supporters a very slim hope of reaching the final – as the Catalan giants continued to dominate, piling huge pressure on the Chelsea defence which looked very resolute.
Minutes to the end of the game however, a counter attack from the away side saw £50 million signing Fernando Torres run half the field before simply but brilliantly rounding Victor Valdes to slot into an empty net. And yes! Chelsea were in the final once again. The feeling was electric and unbelievable.
Speaking to chelseafc.com some years later, Ramires said, “wherever I go, I always meet at least one Chelsea fan and always they come to me and say ‘Oh! Your goal against Barcelona.’”
Of course, it was much more than Ramires’ goal against Barça in the last four. The Brazilian had proven to be instrumental in their push throughout the campaign. His energy, drive and strength were very valuable assets that were utilised to full effect.
German heavyweights, Bayern Munich had won the Champions League in 2001 and were aiming to add another to their four European trophies, this time with a fearsome squad that had beaten Real Madrid in the semifinal.
Boasting an array of attacking talents which featured the quick and troubling Arjen Robben (a former Blue), a powerful, cunning Franck Ríbery, ubiquitous Thomas Müller and top marksman Mario Gomez – who had scored 20 goals in his previous 17 Champions League games – the Bavarians looked devastating and were clear favourites to win the final.
The creative youthfulness of Toni Kross and unparalled experience of Bastian Schweinsteiger were sure to cause Chelsea problems. There were also expert defenders, Philip Lahm and Jerome Boateng in the Bundesliga champions’ starting XI on the night as it all looked set for Bayern to become the first side to win the competition on home ground since Internazionale did in 1965.
Just two years before, they had lost to a Jose Mourinho-led Inter, who went on to win a treble. Jupp Heynckes’ side had earlier suffered similar fate in 1999 when they lost to Manchester United via two quick-fire late goals – United also won a treble that year.
Ramires, Terry, Raul Meireless and Branislav Ivanovic had all been suspended from the final, and perhaps the biggest surprise of the night was the inclusion of Ryan Bertrand in Chelsea’s starting lineup. It was his first European game and what a way to launch it.
The match began with Bayern expectedly dominating proceedings. Cech pulled a brilliant save from Robben as the Czech international pushed his effort onto the post, and the pressure kept coming at the Blues.
Top striker, Gomez missed two chances to put Bayern ahead just before halftime, as Chelsea’s front three of Juan Mata, Salomon Kalou, and of course Didier Drogba barely had enough of the ball to do anything worthwhile.
The halftime stats clearly showed it was a one-sided affair – Bayern had 60% possession to Chelsea’s 40, the Germans also accrued 16 goal attempts to the Blues’ two – and it was only a matter of when and not if the Bavarians would eventually break the defensive wall marshalled by David Luiz and Cahill.
Eight minutes into the second forty-five, Ríbery looked to have given his side the lead only to be ruled marginally offside. Robben grew increasingly dangerous as the game wore on but Chelsea continued to defend with commendable discipline, with Ashley Cole doing everything he could to shutout the Dutch wizard.
Just when it seemed the game was heading for extra time due to a barren draw, Müller headed in what was likely to be the winner for his team, throwing the Munich fans into frenzy. Chelsea were in serious trouble now and they needed something more than extraordinary to find their way back into the game. They had largely defended throughout the 83 minutes and were not going to score with their mannerism of play.
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Di Matteo threw on Torres for Kalou as another attacking option as they searched for a goal(s) while Bayern brought on Daniel Van Buyten for the goalscorer to strengthen their defence. Few Moments after this, Chelsea won their first corner of the game, swung in by Mata and BOOM! It was the equaliser from their indefatigable forward, Drogba.
The section of Chelsea fans in the stadium exploded into ecstatic jubilation. What a night! What a journey it’s been! They kept the hope alive again as they’d done throughout the campaign.
There was a sigh of huge relief for the Chelsea board and players when Pedro Proenca’s whistle signalled the end of fulltime.
Tragedy almost struck for Chelsea when, just three minutes into extra time, Drogba tripped Ribery in the box but Cech once again came to the rescue to deny his former teammate, saving the resulting penalty.
Bayern’s ill luck continued as both Gomez and substitute Olic missed great opportunities to bury the game, as the match eventually settled for penalties.
After Bayern led through Lahm’s kick, Chelsea missed their first via Mata. Back-to-back successful kicks by Gomez and Manuel Neuer ensured it was 3-2 in favour of Bayern after Luiz and Frank Lampard had netted their penalties.
However, the tide turned as Olic and Schweinsteiger missed their penalties in quick succession. Cole scored his kick for Chelsea before Bayern’s final miss.
And it was the big moment. Just a perfectly – maybe not necessarily perfectly – executed penalty kick from talismanic striker Drogba won the Blues their first ever UEFA Champions League title. The Ivorian did not disappoint as he coolly placed the ball towards Neuer’s right who went the other way.
And there it was! A night Chelsea players and fans will never forget in the club’s history. Nine years and eight managers after Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea, the European dream was accomplished. It remains one of the greatest European football stories ever.
Chelsea have gone on to win another Champions League trophy (2021) under the managerial leadership of German tactician Thomas Tuchel. The West London side have also added two Europa League trophies (2013 and 2019) to their cabinet, alongside the UEFA Super Cup.
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