Snap shot: When Madrid ousted Bayern to close on title No9
Friday, April 20, 2018
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As Bayern and Real Madrid prepare to lock horns for the 25th time, we turn the clock back to their quarter-final meeting in 2002.
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No two teams have crossed paths in UEFA club competition as often as Real Madrid and Bayern, and the giants are now set to meet for the 25th time – after Madrid caught Bayern's tally of 11 head-to-head wins in last season's quarter-finals.
This image comes from the second leg of their last-eight tussle in 2002, Iván Helguera stretching to score the pivotal goal at the Bernabéu after a 2-1 first-leg defeat. Guti sealed it late on, and title No9 was a step closer ...
1 Iván Helguera
Helguera was 24 when he landed in Madrid from Espanyol in 1999. The defender-cum-midfielder stayed eight years at the Bernabéu, making 346 outings despite the club's 'Galácticos' policy. He started both the 2000 and 2002 UEFA Champions League finals and collected three Liga titles. Helguera also earned 47 caps for Spain, and later helped Valencia to 2008 Copa del Rey glory, playing his last game that same year, aged 33. He now does ambassadorial work for the Real Madrid Foundation, runs a real estate business and provided expertise as a commentator.
2 Fernando Morientes
In tandem with Raúl González, Morientes helped fire Real Madrid to three UEFA Champions League crowns and two Liga titles. A fine all-round striker, especially strong in the air, he spent six years at the Bernabéu before moving on loan to Monaco in 2003/04 – a decision the Merengues rued when he helped knock them out of Europe. Spells with Liverpool, Valencia and Marseille followed before he retired in 2010. He returned to Madrid as a youth coach and was at the reins of third-tier Fuenlabrada in 2015/16 but now works as a Liga ambassador.
3 Robert Kovač
Strong in the tackle but graceful on the ball, Berlin-born Kovač was three times a Bundesliga runner-up with Leverkusen before transferring in 2001 to Bayern, where he won two German doubles. The centre-back is the younger brother of Croatia captain Niko, the siblings playing together and later co-coaching the national Under-21 and senior side. Robert Kovač, who also had stints at Juventus and Dortmund, is currently Niko's assistant at Eintracht Frankfurt – but the pair are set to return to Bayern this summer, replicating their roles as Niko takes over from Jupp Heynckes.
4 Raúl González
Raúl was at Atlético before being released aged 15 as a cost-cutting exercise – their loss was Real Madrid's gain. He got his first Merengues goal in 1994 ... against Atlético of course. A natural successor to Emilio Butragueño, Raúl eventually overtook Alfredo Di Stéfano as the club's all-time lead marksman in 2009. Altogether he amassed six Liga titles and three UEFA Champions Leagues with Madrid, scoring in the 2000 and 2002 finals, and enjoyed stays at Schalke, Al Sadd and New York Cosmos before retiring in 2015. He is now being tipped to take on a youth coaching role at Madrid, having returned to the club last summer.
5 Oliver Kahn
Mehmet Scholl once said the only things he feared were "war and Oliver Kahn". Kahn was fiercely committed, known for spectacular reflexes and never afraid to dive head first into the danger zone. He was 25 when he switched to Bayern from home-town club Karlsruhe, and over the next 14 years he helped spur (by words and actions) renewed success. Known as 'Der Titan' (the Titan) and 'Vol-Kahn-o' (a pun on volcano), he was equally impressive for Germany and is today a media pundit.
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