CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL PREDICTION

The European club season comes to an end in Madrid tonight, as in a curious spot of scheduling he Champions League final has moved from its usual Wednesday night slot to a Saturday night. Oh well, it may help the viewing figures! This may not have been the final many had predicted at the start of the season, but they have been (with the possible exception of Barcelona and a certain Mr Messi) the form teamsd of Europe this season. Both have scored goals for fun, and this attacking philosophy has to be praised heading into the World Cup. For Inter, it is their first final since 1972. while Bayern Munich were last in the European showpiece when they beat Valencia on penalties in 2001. So, both of these giants of the European game have underachieved. The winning manager, be it Jose Mourinho or Louis van Gaal, will join a select group of European Cup winning managers with more than one club - Ottmar Hitzveld is incredibly lonely in that group! I'd make Inter slight favourites - they have probably the best keeper in the world on current form, Julio Cesar, and Lucio and Walter Samuel have been imperious in defence this season. Bayern's defence (and keeper Hans Jorg-Butt for that matter) don't inspire the same confidence. Going forward is a different matter, although Arjen Robben will have to be at the top of his game in the absence of his partner on the other wing, Franck Ribery. Ivica Olic has been a surprise revelation up front this season, ahead of the German internationals Miroslav Klose and Mario Gomez. But then Inter aren't exactly slouches when it comes to attacking, with a multitude of options. Be it Esteban Cambiasso breaking up the play, leaving it for Wesley Sneijder (in my opinion the stand out player in Europe this season) to bring it forward and supply a combination of Samuel Eto'o, Diego Milito, Goran Pandev and Mario Baloteli. And that's before you even mention Maicon, probably one of the best two right-backs in the world and about as adventurous as they come. Unfortunately for him, the best (Dani Alves) is also Brazilian! So it should be a terrific spectacle to bring the curtain down on this club season, and should whet the appetite for what's to come in South Africa. My money's (metaphorically) on a final scoreline of Inter Milan 2-1 Bayern Munich, with Milito and Sneijder scoring for Inter and Olic hitting the target for the Germans. Not watch it be either a 0-0 bore draw or a crushing win for Bayern!