The 90 minutes were up, at least according to the Camp Nou stadium clock. Munich scorer Mario Basler and the subs were on their feet in front of the dugout, winners’ T-shirts and caps at the ready – but the game still had 100 fateful seconds to run, and Bayern were destined to come up short against Manchester United in the Champions League final in Barcelona.
“Our steward Charly was already on his way to me with a massive bottle of champagne. But I turned back to the pitch, there was a corner, and then the English fans were screaming. Like I say, I had the cap on, the champagne was there – we were ready to go,” Basler unhappily recalled after the most bitter defeat in the Munich club’s history.
Tuesday 26 May 2009 is the tenth anniversary of the night of anguish, and yet time has not dulled the pain of Bayern’s astonishing 2-1 defeat. “I never watched a video of the game – until now. And I still find it unbelievable,” admitted Stefan Effenberg.
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