I have a sleeping problem. It's not insomnia. It's not some ruinous issue that adversely impacts my life. Basically, I find it hard to sleep without something (tv, radio, etc.) on. It probably started back in middle school. I got my parents to get me a walk-man (yup, I'm that old) that had a radio tuner. Each night I would put in WFAN and listen to Steve Somers (10 - 1) and Evan Roberts (1 - 6, if I had a tough time sleeping). That eventually became putting on TV shows, or sports, or podcasts. I would rarely stay awake for more than 30 minutes (or one episode, or one 20/20 update on The FAN). Generally the headphones would fall out of my ears at some point. In the end, I would sleep, but I need some stimulation.
It's not too serious, and if I tried hard, I can probably rid myself of it, but habits that start when you are a kid are really hard to break. My wife one day probably won't like it too much so I'm sure there will be an expiration date on this at some point. So, what exactly does this have to do with sports? Well, there are certain go-to games that I'll put on my computer and go to sleep to. And there might not be any better than the 2012 Champions League Semifinal between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich - preferably the 1st Leg in Munich.
In the beginning it was mostly football games, but that graduated to all games (my previous nostalgia episode is one of them as well), and almost nothing puts me to sleep, in the best way, as this great tie between two great teams, the beginning of a modern era of Champions League football.
The game pitted Jose Mourinho's best Madrid Team, the one that would win La Liga with an all-time record of 32-4-2, with 100 points, 121 goals scored and 32 goals allowed. They met a Bayern team that surprisingly didn't win the Bundesliga (the last season that would happen), but with Jupp Heynckes in charge, and their collection of superstars entering their primes, they were about to enter into a period of sustained dominance. The collection of talent on that pitch was amazing. Madrid had many of the key pieces that still play today (Ronaldo, Benzema, Modric, Marcelo, Pepe, Ramos) but a few forgotten Merengue stars (Angel Di Maria, Xabi Alonso, Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira and of course, captain Iker Casillas).
Bayern entered with, again, a host of current Bayern greats (Thomas Muller, Philipp Lahm, Manueul Neur, David Alaba, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery) but even more ex-greats (Toni Kroos, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Jerome Boateng). These two teams both played similar styles. They were both the anti-Barcelona (as Bayern would show, of course, the next year by hammering them 7-0 in the UCL Semifinal). They played direct, they played physical, they played fast. They were perfect counterparts across ultimately 210 minutes and penalty kicks, but it started with a really fun night at the Allianz.
The Champions League is just a perfect competition, and no this is not because I am a Real Madrid fan (it is, after all, Our Competition). The battling of nations, of styles. The two-legged knockout format. The great night-time atmospheres across the cathedrals of European Football. The Allianz is not long on history, but high on atmosphere, with pulsating noise, music and cheers from starting whistle to final. The Bernabeu, if anything, is even better. With its high walls that trap noise, there may be no better setting for a Champions League game. I have great connections to both.
The first leg is the one I will put on more because the drama was just so intense. The second leg was the first sporting event I watched as a legally-able-to-drink adult in a bar. I cut class (that in itself was not a surprise when I was in college) and went to a local LES bar to watch the game among some friends, some drunken European hooligans, and a progressively drunker bartender (he was European as well, he really didn't give a fuck). The second leg was a strange game. Ronaldo got a penalty early, then scored a great goal and within 20 minutes Real was 2-0 up. Bayern got a penalty of their own to level the tie (level on away goals as well), and then it was 90 minutes of slightly cagey play with Bayern taking more and more chances when they got deep enough into the tie that a goal for them was worth close to double a goal for Madrid. Again, for various reasons, the first leg was better.
The away goals rule sometimes ruin ties, but sometimes it makes them as well. Mourinho and Real wanted that away goal in the first leg. Bayern wanted all the goals. The openness and eveness of the game created an incredible spectacle. As with any great UCL games, it began with that unforgettable Champions League anthem. That is the perfect way to enter into any tie, especially with the crowd like it was at the Allianz. It felt different. This was a meeting of two titans and they played like it.
The goals were scored by three of the 'lesser' stars in Ribery, Ozil and Mario Gomez (of all people). The Gomez goal was in the 89th minute. Mourinho fell to his knees. Heynckes celbrated like nothing else. It was a beautiful moment in the Allianz. I keep coming back to the energy in the stadium, and for good reason. My favorite sports memories, especially when you move away from football, all have great crowds, buzzing energy and a feeling of the moment that builds as the game goes on. This was no different.
Over the years, the crowds at the Allianz got more entitled, less invested; this was especially true during the Pep Guardiola years, but even now with Ancelotti, the Allianz isn't the same. At that point, Munich was on the ascendency. They made a spirited run to the 2010 Champions League final but that was more of a Cinderella journey. This was them about to become a dominant force. This was the first of five straight trips for Bayern to the Semifinals (ended this year by, of course, Real Madrid). They were ready, and they sang and sang and sang throughout the incredible, up-and-down 90 minutes in Munich.
The tie ended with a dramatic, if awfully executed, penalty shootout. Madrid missed their first two attempts with great saves by Manuel Neuer. Bayern missed their 3rd and 4th. Then Sergio Ramos, the man who a half-decade later would be known more for his ridiculous clutch goals, skied a penalty ludicrously over the bar. At this point,, Jose Mourinho was kneeling, powerless for what was about to come. This may have been the best team he ever had and they were going to go down. Bastian Schweinsteiger, with German precision, ended it - allowing Bayern to play the Final in their home stadium (they would lose to Chelsea, but that is another story).
It was a great 'moment in time' match. This was the height of Madrid's dominance this decade, but of course they would win the Champions League two other years when they weren't as good domestically. Bayern was just about to become the world's best team, a title they held until the 2013-14 Real Madrid humiliated them in the Champions League Semifinal. But more than anything, for me personally, it was a continuation, and a rebirth, of my love for the tournament. In the preceding years, it was dominated by Barcelona and Manchester United. The shock loss for Barcelona to Chelsea (Torres' EUR 80MM Goal) helped, but this tremendous tie is what turned the tide. For once, one team didn't have 70% of possession. I didn't have to hear how one team deserved it over the other. Instead, it was a throwback to the 2006 FIFA World Cup (also in Germany), with great matchups, great pace of play, and more than anything, even play. And really more than anything, in front of rhapsodic crowds lending a tremendous backdrop to it all.
It is ironic that the game I turn to the most to, in effect, put myself to sleep, would be one that also has an indelible impact on me. But so is my life with my terrible addiction to needing stimulation to put myself to sleep. But why does it put myself to sleep? Maybe it is the eveness of play, the sing-song nature of the crowd, and just the fact that the level of competition, the level of intensity, is a calming reminder of how great the Champions League can be.
It's not too serious, and if I tried hard, I can probably rid myself of it, but habits that start when you are a kid are really hard to break. My wife one day probably won't like it too much so I'm sure there will be an expiration date on this at some point. So, what exactly does this have to do with sports? Well, there are certain go-to games that I'll put on my computer and go to sleep to. And there might not be any better than the 2012 Champions League Semifinal between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich - preferably the 1st Leg in Munich.
In the beginning it was mostly football games, but that graduated to all games (my previous nostalgia episode is one of them as well), and almost nothing puts me to sleep, in the best way, as this great tie between two great teams, the beginning of a modern era of Champions League football.
The game pitted Jose Mourinho's best Madrid Team, the one that would win La Liga with an all-time record of 32-4-2, with 100 points, 121 goals scored and 32 goals allowed. They met a Bayern team that surprisingly didn't win the Bundesliga (the last season that would happen), but with Jupp Heynckes in charge, and their collection of superstars entering their primes, they were about to enter into a period of sustained dominance. The collection of talent on that pitch was amazing. Madrid had many of the key pieces that still play today (Ronaldo, Benzema, Modric, Marcelo, Pepe, Ramos) but a few forgotten Merengue stars (Angel Di Maria, Xabi Alonso, Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira and of course, captain Iker Casillas).
Bayern entered with, again, a host of current Bayern greats (Thomas Muller, Philipp Lahm, Manueul Neur, David Alaba, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery) but even more ex-greats (Toni Kroos, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Jerome Boateng). These two teams both played similar styles. They were both the anti-Barcelona (as Bayern would show, of course, the next year by hammering them 7-0 in the UCL Semifinal). They played direct, they played physical, they played fast. They were perfect counterparts across ultimately 210 minutes and penalty kicks, but it started with a really fun night at the Allianz.
The Champions League is just a perfect competition, and no this is not because I am a Real Madrid fan (it is, after all, Our Competition). The battling of nations, of styles. The two-legged knockout format. The great night-time atmospheres across the cathedrals of European Football. The Allianz is not long on history, but high on atmosphere, with pulsating noise, music and cheers from starting whistle to final. The Bernabeu, if anything, is even better. With its high walls that trap noise, there may be no better setting for a Champions League game. I have great connections to both.
The first leg is the one I will put on more because the drama was just so intense. The second leg was the first sporting event I watched as a legally-able-to-drink adult in a bar. I cut class (that in itself was not a surprise when I was in college) and went to a local LES bar to watch the game among some friends, some drunken European hooligans, and a progressively drunker bartender (he was European as well, he really didn't give a fuck). The second leg was a strange game. Ronaldo got a penalty early, then scored a great goal and within 20 minutes Real was 2-0 up. Bayern got a penalty of their own to level the tie (level on away goals as well), and then it was 90 minutes of slightly cagey play with Bayern taking more and more chances when they got deep enough into the tie that a goal for them was worth close to double a goal for Madrid. Again, for various reasons, the first leg was better.
The away goals rule sometimes ruin ties, but sometimes it makes them as well. Mourinho and Real wanted that away goal in the first leg. Bayern wanted all the goals. The openness and eveness of the game created an incredible spectacle. As with any great UCL games, it began with that unforgettable Champions League anthem. That is the perfect way to enter into any tie, especially with the crowd like it was at the Allianz. It felt different. This was a meeting of two titans and they played like it.
The goals were scored by three of the 'lesser' stars in Ribery, Ozil and Mario Gomez (of all people). The Gomez goal was in the 89th minute. Mourinho fell to his knees. Heynckes celbrated like nothing else. It was a beautiful moment in the Allianz. I keep coming back to the energy in the stadium, and for good reason. My favorite sports memories, especially when you move away from football, all have great crowds, buzzing energy and a feeling of the moment that builds as the game goes on. This was no different.
Over the years, the crowds at the Allianz got more entitled, less invested; this was especially true during the Pep Guardiola years, but even now with Ancelotti, the Allianz isn't the same. At that point, Munich was on the ascendency. They made a spirited run to the 2010 Champions League final but that was more of a Cinderella journey. This was them about to become a dominant force. This was the first of five straight trips for Bayern to the Semifinals (ended this year by, of course, Real Madrid). They were ready, and they sang and sang and sang throughout the incredible, up-and-down 90 minutes in Munich.
The tie ended with a dramatic, if awfully executed, penalty shootout. Madrid missed their first two attempts with great saves by Manuel Neuer. Bayern missed their 3rd and 4th. Then Sergio Ramos, the man who a half-decade later would be known more for his ridiculous clutch goals, skied a penalty ludicrously over the bar. At this point,, Jose Mourinho was kneeling, powerless for what was about to come. This may have been the best team he ever had and they were going to go down. Bastian Schweinsteiger, with German precision, ended it - allowing Bayern to play the Final in their home stadium (they would lose to Chelsea, but that is another story).
It was a great 'moment in time' match. This was the height of Madrid's dominance this decade, but of course they would win the Champions League two other years when they weren't as good domestically. Bayern was just about to become the world's best team, a title they held until the 2013-14 Real Madrid humiliated them in the Champions League Semifinal. But more than anything, for me personally, it was a continuation, and a rebirth, of my love for the tournament. In the preceding years, it was dominated by Barcelona and Manchester United. The shock loss for Barcelona to Chelsea (Torres' EUR 80MM Goal) helped, but this tremendous tie is what turned the tide. For once, one team didn't have 70% of possession. I didn't have to hear how one team deserved it over the other. Instead, it was a throwback to the 2006 FIFA World Cup (also in Germany), with great matchups, great pace of play, and more than anything, even play. And really more than anything, in front of rhapsodic crowds lending a tremendous backdrop to it all.
It is ironic that the game I turn to the most to, in effect, put myself to sleep, would be one that also has an indelible impact on me. But so is my life with my terrible addiction to needing stimulation to put myself to sleep. But why does it put myself to sleep? Maybe it is the eveness of play, the sing-song nature of the crowd, and just the fact that the level of competition, the level of intensity, is a calming reminder of how great the Champions League can be.
