Another trophy in the cabinet.
Bayern Munich have been crowned champions of the Beckenbauer Cup!
The six-team five-a-side tournament was held as a tribute to the late Franz Beckenbauer. Apart from Bayern, the likes of Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Ajax, VfB Stuttgart, and AC Milan also took part. The games were held in two six-minute halves. Bayern’s lineup in particular boasted a stellar squad including Arjen Robben, Franck Ribéry, Giovane Élber, Claudio Pizarro, Rafinha, and more. The Bayern legends suited up in the gorgeous 125th anniversary special kit.
Bayern advanced to the semifinals after two draws against Ajax and Madrid, 1-1 and 2-2 respectively. There they faced Dortmund, and Robben echoed the memories of Wembley some 12 years ago as he scored in the dying seconds of the game to give Bayern the lead. Fellow treble winner Diego Contento followed up with a goal of his own, and Bayern won 2-0 to advance to the final, where arch rivals Real Madrid awaited.
This time, the meeting between the two giants would not be a close one. Élber opened the scoring for Bayern before Mark van Bommel made it two at halftime. Rafinha then let loose an absolute thunderbolt past Iker Casillas, and Élber got his brace to cap off a 4-0 win for the Bavarians. Meanwhile, Stuttgart beat Dortmund in the third place match.
On a slightly surprising note, defender Kevin Großkreutz of Dortmund got the top scorer award with four goals. Casillas was named best goalkeeper, and Robben was crowned the best player of the tournament. Ribéry then caused some laughs by attempting to “share” the award with his former partner in crime.
All in all, it was a wonderful evening of football, and Bayern’s win undoubtedly would have made the Kaiser very happy. He probably bragged about having an entire tournament to his name to Gerd Müller up in heaven.
