Robben vs. Sneijder could decide final

Mike Piellucci is a writer for FOXSportsSouthwest.com.

For two clubs who don’t have a much of a history with one another, there are a surprisingly strong number of subplots surrounding Saturday's Champions League final (LIVE on FOX at 2:30 p.m. ET).

You have the classic mentor vs. protégé conflict, with Bayern’s Van Gaal matching wits with his former translator at Barcelona, Mourinho. There’s the prodigal son returning home as Inter’s Lucio squares off with his former club of five years. For those attracted to the allure of all-time greatness and legacy, there is the guarantee of a treble for the winning side; making this the second year in a row we will see such a feat after Barcelona became the first side ever to accomplish the feat last year.

All of those are great, but the best plotline will be watching Bayern’s Arjen Robben and Inter’s Wesley Sneijder, both Dutch internationals and casualties of Real Madrid’s 2009 transfer extravaganza, play for their third trophy of the season in the Santiago Bernabeu as Madristas galore fume over a second consecutive season with no silverware on the shelves. In fairness to Los Galacticos, their decision to sell Robben is certainly defensible given Cristiano Ronaldo’s staggering 26 goal return in 29 appearances, but only procuring 15 million euros for Sneijder was nothing short of a disaster, seeing as how the 25 year-old Dutchman drastically outperformed his replacement, 66 million euro-man Kaka.

Of course, Sneijder isn’t the only key player that Inter poached from Madrid’s leftovers – center back Walter Samuel cost the Nerazzurri 16 million euros while defensive midfielder Esteban Cambiasso arrived on a free transfer; both, by the way, are among the top five players in the world at their position. Have I mentioned that Real Madrid hasn’t won a trophy in two years?

More to the point, it will be special to watch the two close friends and international teammates duke it out for the Champions League before lining up together at the World Cup, especially with the added enticement of showing up their former employers in the process. Sneijder, for his part, has made no secret about his bitterness at being forced out of Madrid and admits to “dreaming about [this match] ever since [he] arrived at Inter.”

One last wrinkle, in case there wasn’t enough already on the line: don’t be surprised if the winner between Robben or Sneijder becomes a favorite for the Ballon D’Or, given their massive run of success at the club level. Hey, did you know that both played last year for … never mind, you get the idea.

Bayern should be scared of: The Inter Offensive

The supremely confident Jose Mourinho certainly inspires a variety of opinions but one thing that remains above reproach is The Special One’s tactical acumen. The Portuguese manager is known for his willingness and ability to change strategies on-the-fly, leaving his opponents off-balance while somehow maintaining his own side’s organization. Mourinho has crafted his perfect machine in this Inter side, a squad so malleable that it has spent significant time in no less than five formations this season.

This season’s UCL also demonstrated Inter’s proficiency in implementing different styles as well as shapes. Against Chelsea, they dictated the pace at the San Siro, then knocking out the English Champions on a counter attack at Stamford Bridge. Versus CSKA Moscow, it was classic Italian catenaccio – earn a goal and protect the lead by eliminating any space on defense. And with Barcelona it was all of the above, stunning the Spaniards in the first leg by punching in three goals on the counter attack before parking the bus and protecting the net in the second, all the while shutting down Lionel Messi in a manner rarely seen at the club level.

There is little doubt, then, that the excessively well-prepared Mourinho has a gameplan cooked up for Saturday – and it likely involves attacking Bayern’s shaky backline like bloodhounds on a porterhouse. While the Bavarian center back pairing of Daniel Van Buyten and Martin Demichelis are solid, they are anything but spectacular and short of playing a gimpy Wayne Rooney in the quarterfinals, have not dealt with anywhere near the type of firepower that Inter have at their disposal with their quartet of strikers Diego Milito, Samuel Eto’o, Mario Balotelli, and Goran Pandev. Ditto goalkeeper Hans-Jorg Butt, who has exceeded even the wildest of expectations after his arrival at Munich on a free transfer in 2008 but isn’t the caliber of shot-stopper who can be relied on to win his team a match against one of the best sides in the world.

Mourinho likely will call upon the 4-2-3-1 alignment listed above, and send the front four up the pitch with everything they have, content in the knowledge that the steely Inter backline has silenced every big side they’ve run into this season. Bayern has plenty of offense to rely on, but cannot fall into a trap of trying trade goals with Inter, as the Nerazzurri’s defense will eventually win out. Simply put, Van Buyten, Demichelis, and Butt must be at their very best thwarting the Inter attack or the match will be over quickly.

Inter should be scared of: Bayern’s Right Flank

Louis Van Gaal, for his part, doesn’t have quite the wealth of world class talent that Inter enjoys, especially not with prized left winger Franck Ribery officially suspended from participating in the final. While Hamit Altintop can more than hold his own in Ribery’s stead, the Bayern attack will come from the right side – ending with Robben, but starting with a force almost as lethal yet somehow remains out of the limelight.

There are few certainties in this world, and along with death and taxes lies the sobering certainty that Philipp Lahm is likely to be criminally underappreciated as one of the world’s top fullbacks. At 26, Lahm’s startling resume speaks for itself – 138 appearances for Bayern Munich, where he is vice-captain, and 64 caps for the German national team, both at his natural right back position as well as on the left, where he put in dominating performances by cutting to the middle in lieu of bombing crosses. So often, Brazil’s right backs Maicon (who lines up for Inter) and Dani Alves are considered the alpha and omega in the discussion for positional superiority yet Lahm is every bit their equal as a player; perhaps more reserved on the offensive end, if only slightly, yet a rock at the back.

Moreover, given that Robben is given carte blanche to focus on his creative responsibilities at the expense of tracking back for the ball, every run Lahm makes comes without the promise of the player in front backfilling his defensive responsibilities, as Inter captain Javier Zanetti so brilliantly does for Maicon, or the assurance that a rock solid pair of center backs will cover for him, which Alves enjoys to the fullest advantage at Barcelona. No, Lahm’s game is one of self-reliance, and one that nearly absent of weakness.

The plan, then, is for Bayern to stick with what got them this far – station Lahm in between central midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger and Robben, with all three probing the Inter defense for avenues to feed the ball to industrious striker Ivica Olic.

Robben, for his part, is what makes this approach work. Perhaps the world’s premier dribbler, he likes to cut into the middle on his natural left foot, at which point he has four equally effective options: shoot; play it forward to Olic and fellow striker Thomas Muller; play the ball back to Schweinsteger, who can either keep the ball circulating or unleash one of the world’s deadliest long range shots; or re-route to Lahm, who replaces Robben on the right and can unleash pinpoint crosses into the box.

Oh sure, Altintop will do his best to produce trickery on the left side and there will be the odd run through the center but Bayern lives and dies by the right flank, which will keep Cambiasso, Samuel, and Cristian Chivu – a trio of world class defenders in their own right – on their toes. On paper, Inter is much more equipped to deal with Bayern’s attack than the other way around, but all bets are off when Robben is involved.

In fact ...

Bayern can win because: They have Arjen Robben

As talented, skillful, and balanced as Inter is, Robben is a cut above any singular player in black and blue. Simply put, when he’s is on form and his brittle bones cooperate, the Dutchman one of the top ten players in the world, if not top five. Right now, both those things apply.

Robben’s always had the physical gifts, dating back to his initial displays for Chelsea as a 21 year-old; now, the mental side has caught up. Maybe it’s growing older or perhaps it’s the responsibility of having to carry a side for the first time in his career but the enigma who tended to occasionally drift out of important matches and into his teammates’ bad graces now channels his arrogance into scoring decisive goals. Good thing, too, for nobody else could have carried Bayern this far with Ribery suffering through a brutal campaign beset by injuries, poor form, and off-the-field scandal. In many ways, it could be argued that Bayern and Robben are a symbiotic relationship; the former needing the latter to produce his greatness, the latter needing to be needed by the former.

Now, he’ll be counted upon to weave his magic one last time this season – and while it may seem improbable against Inter’s brick wall of a defense, let’s not forget that most counted the Bavarians out in the final match of the group stages against Juventus… and in the first knockout stage against Fiorentina… and in the quarterfinals against Man U. Victory in the latter two came from heroic Robben goals, the type that few have the audacity to attempt and fewer the skill to convert. Inter will throw the kitchen sink and then some at Bayern, but Robben might just be enough to foil Mourinho’s plans.

Inter will win because: It’s their Time

As early as November 4, 2009, Inter looked to be crashing out of the Champions League in the group stages. Facing a virtual must-win game at Dynamo Kiev, Inter went into last five minutes of the match certain to draw 1-1 and drive the nail into their Champion’s League hopes – an utter embarrassment for one of the world’s biggest clubs, especially one whose outspoken goal was to hoist the European Cup. Champion’s League is nothing new for Inter, mind you, after being eliminated in the first knockout round in each of the past four European campaigns but this would be the lowest of lows, one that would reportedly place Mourinho’s head on the chopping block after the club had overhauled half of it’s starting lineup.

But a funny thing happened in the 90th minute: Inter, for once, came through courtesy of a Sneijder tap-in. It seemed like a friendly reprieve from fate at the time, but it was a sign that perhaps things were changing, that perhaps a more workman-like side was the answer after the club had sold the bedrock of their domestic success, star forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic, to Barcelona in exchange for Eto’o and cash. That flicker of hope turned into a bonfire after stunning Chelsea and now blazes out of control with the ouster of Barcelona, the very club that embarrassed Inter in both of the clubs’ group stage fixtures. In Mourinho’s words, Inter “now [has become] a European power” less than six months after skirting towards becoming the butt of the continent’s joke.

The transformation, more than anything else, is born out of relentlessness desire that comes from each player having something to prove. Sneijder wants to show Real Madrid that they made a grave mistake selling him. Milito wants once again to vindicate his status as a top class striker after years of being dismissed as a prolific goal-scorer for mid-table sides while his fellow forward Eto’o wants to remind Barcelona that they never should have swapped him out for Ibrahimovic. Lucio wants to demonstrate to his former employers that selling him for a fee reported to between 3 and 6 million euros was the biggest transfer gaffe that no one talks about. Zanetti and Cambiasso want to prove, for the umpteenth time, that Diego Maradona lost his marbles when he didn’t include them in the Argentina World Cup squad, although I think we already knew that. Jose Mourinho wants to silence any lingering debate that he is the best manager on the planet and up in the owner’s box, Massimo Moratti wants a Champion’s League title so his tenure as the club’s patron is every bit as successful as his father Angelo’s, who owned the team in the 1960’s and enjoyed back to back European Cups – the team’s last forays to the summit of club competition.

And yet as self-oriented as each man’s agenda is, they funnel it into selfless displays on the pitch. If the Inter of old was defined by their dependence on Ibrahimovic’s singular brilliance, then this unit is personified by sacrifice, be it Samuel and Lucio heaving themselves in front of wayward strikes like soldiers on a grenade or Eto’o slotting himself in at left back after Inter were reduced to ten men in the second leg of the semi-finals. Simply put, they are driven to win at all costs, and each player on the pitch will do whatever it takes to get there; as Mourinho famously boasted after Inter rescued a draw after being reduced to nine players in a Serie A match, Inter’s spirit is so ferocious that they “can only be beaten with six men [on the pitch].”

Very rarely do teams come along with that marry Inter’s balance with their singular focus. The once gaping creative hole in the midfield was plugged with Sneijder and much like Robben’s journey from brilliant talent to match-decider, Inter has metamorphosed from talented under-achievers to ruthless world beaters. The difference, though, is that there is only one of Robben to Inter’s eleven, and like any other sport the team eventually wins out. Saturday will be no exception – Inter’s time at the summit has finally arrived.

The Pick: Inter Milan 3- 1 Bayern Munich.