The European football season ended on a great note on Saturday with Wembley hosting one of the better Champions League Finals, if not one of the best.
While the scoreline and drama may not have quite matched the likes of Liverpool's come from 3-nil down to beat AC Milan Final, or Man Utd's injury time turnaround against Bayern, the quality of football played was definitely one of the best we had witnessed in a Final of this calibre for some time.
Recent World Cup and Champions League Finals have witnessed dour, defensive football and a preference for penalties. And it was feared that a Final featuring two teams from one country's league would follow that recipe. Not for the Bundesliga, which has reinvented and now prided itself as being an entertaining league with high quality passing, attacking football and plenty of goals and youthful enterprise and that was evident in North London on Saturday night.
Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund may not agree on many things but both clearly agreed that they would go and attack this game right from the off. However, it was Dortmund who took the first initiative - and in hindsight, probably should have made more of their opportunities when they were dominant before the inevitable Bayern strike back.
Arjen Robben was electric in a 2nd half in which we saw why Bayern were the overwhelming league champions in Germany - they found ways to get back into the game and take control. Dortmund's defence was run ragged, exposed by Ribery, Muller, Robben and Mandzukic, and Bayern could have won the game earlier had it not been for an epic clearance off the line by Subotic.
In a game that was typified by delicious tikka-takka football, it was a very direct approach that used to be expected from sides that have aspirations of going to Wembley Stadium each season for the FA Cup that won Bayern the game. A great goal kick by the brilliant Manuel Neuer reached Robben whose touch was magnificent and cool to win Bayern the game.
Bayern's victory means that they have somewhat redeemed themselves for last season's home horrors when they choked in their home Champions League final against Chelsea. It also meant that incoming coach, Pep Guardiola, has a Mount Everest to climb to even match the effort of his retiring predecessor, Jupp Heyneckes.
Retaining the treble - assuming that Bayern beat Stuttgart in Germany's version of the FA Cup next weekend - is virtually impossible - winning it is already extremely extremely extremely difficult. Guardiola would be making landfall on Mars if he can guide Mario Goetze and Bayern to a repeat treble next season.
However, this Bayern side with their massive win of the league and now capturing the European Cup, must surely warrant debate as to whether they are one of the greatest club sides ever, alongside the likes of Pep's Barcelona of 2009 and 2011, Mourinho's Inter of 2010, Fergie's Man United of 1999, etc.
This Bayern side have been reshaped from expensive underachievers to a true champion team by Jupp Heyneckes but are they comparable to Messi's Barcelona who seem to reach their astronomical targets on a consistent basis? No doubt it is a great side and probably the greatest club side ever assembled in Germany, and one thing they have on their side, is the fact they not only beat Messi's Barcelona but thrashed them over two legs.
In that regard, yes Jupp Heynecke's class of 2012/13 definitely warrants the title as one of the greatest club sides ever, but whether it is the greatest side ever, remains to be seen. Let's not forget that they still have to complete the treble by beating Stuttgart in the DFB Pokal - a huge upset if Stuttgart who narrowly avoided relegation could topple the very motivated European champions.
So Prost to the German and now European champions, clearly the class of Europe in 2013.
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