The 2001 UEFA Champions League final was a football match that took place at San Siro in Milan, Italy, on 23 May 2001, to decide the winner of the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League. The match pitted German side Bayern Munich against Spanish side Valencia. The match finished in a 1–1 draw, but Bayern clinched their fourth title by winning 5–4 on penalties. This was also their first European Cup title in a quarter-century, while it was Valencia's second consecutive defeat in the only finals they had reached in the competition. Both goals scored in the match were from penalties, with Bayern Munich also missing a penalty in normal time, and a penalty shoot-out was required to decide the winner, with the match being referred to as an "all-penalty" final. The 2001 event was a meeting of the two previous seasons' losing finalists – Bayern Munich lost to Manchester United in 1999 and Valencia lost to Real Madrid in 2000.
This was the sixth European Cup final to be decided on penalties, and the second under the Champions League format. This was Ottmar Hitzfeld's second Champions League title after he won it with Borussia Dortmund in 1997, making him the second coach in European Cup history, after Ernst Happel, to win the competition with two clubs. Meanwhile, it was Héctor Cúper's third consecutive European final defeat; he lost the 1999 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final with Mallorca before losing the 2000 Champions League final with Valencia.
Teams In the following table, finals until 1992 were in the European Cup era, since 1993 were in the UEFA Champions League era. TeamPrevious final appearances (bold indicates winners) Bayern Munich6 (1974, 1975, 1976, 1982, 1987, 1999) Valencia1 (2000)
Route to the final
Bayern MunichRound ValenciaOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd legQualifying phaseOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd legByeThird qualifying round Tirol Innsbruck4–10–0 (A)4–1 (H)OpponentResultFirst group stageOpponentResult Helsingborgs IF3–1 (A)Matchday 1 Olympiacos2–1 (H) Rosenborg3–1 (H)Matchday 2 Heerenveen1–0 (A) Paris Saint-Germain0–1 (A)Matchday 3 Lyon1–0 (H) Paris Saint-Germain2–0 (H)Matchday 4 Lyon2–1 (A) Helsingborgs IF0–0 (H)Matchday 5 Olympiacos0–1 (A) Rosenborg1–1 (A)Matchday 6 Heerenveen1–1 (H)Group F winnersFinal standingsGroup C winnersOpponentResultSecond group stageOpponentResult Lyon1–0 (H)Matchday 1 Sturm Graz2–0 (H) Arsenal2–2 (A)Matchday 2 Panathinaikos0–0 (A) Spartak Moscow1–0 (H)Matchday 3 Manchester United0–0 (H) Spartak Moscow3–0 (A)Matchday 4 Manchester United1–1 (A) Lyon0–3 (A)Matchday 5 Sturm Graz5–0 (A) Arsenal1–0 (H)Matchday 6 Panathinaikos2–1 (H)Group C winnersFinal standingsGroup A winnersOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd legKnockout phaseOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd leg Manchester United3–11–0 (A)2–1 (H)Quarter-finals Arsenal2–2 (a)1–2 (A)1–0 (H) Real Madrid3–11–0 (A)2–1 (H)Semi-finals Leeds United3–00–0 (A)3–0 (H)
Match
Summary This final would come to be known for the goalkeeping heroics of Bayern keeper Oliver Kahn.
Valencia opened the score early on with a Gaizka Mendieta penalty in the third minute after a prostrate Patrik Andersson was deemed to have handled the ball in the penalty area. Only a few minutes later, Bayern Munich were awarded a penalty after Jocelyn Angloma fouled Stefan Effenberg in the penalty box, but Santiago Cañizares saved Mehmet Scholl's kick with his legs. Bayern were awarded another penalty early in the second half, this time after Amedeo Carboni handled the ball while competing for a header with Carsten Jancker. This time, Effenberg took the penalty kick and sent Cañizares the wrong way to level the scores at 1–1. The scores remained level for the remainder of regulalation time and throughout the 30 minutes of extra time, thus sending the match to penalties.
Again, Valencia took the lead early on as Paulo Sérgio put the first kick of the shoot-out over the bar before Mendieta sent Oliver Kahn the wrong way. Hasan Salihamidžić, John Carew and Alexander Zickler then traded penalty goals before Kahn saved Zlatko Zahovič's kick to tie the scores at 2–2 after three kicks each. The next kick from Andersson was also saved by Cañizares, and then Kahn stretched out his hand to tip Carboni's shot onto the crossbar. Both Rubén Baraja and Effenberg then scored to take the shoot-out to sudden death. Bixente Lizarazu and Kily González both scored their clubs' sixth kicks and then Thomas Linke scored for Bayern to set Mauricio Pellegrino up for the game-deciding kick. Kahn guessed the right direction and saved, winning Bayern the trophy. He also won the UEFA Fair Play Award for consoling his heartbroken rival Cañizares after the penalty shoot-out.
This match along with the 2001 UEFA Cup final that Alaves lost to Liverpool one week earlier, was the last time a Spanish club lost a UEFA final against a team from another country until 2025 UEFA Conference League final, when Real Betis lost to Chelsea.
Details
GK 1 Oliver KahnCB 4 Samuel KuffourCB 5 Patrik Andersson CB 25 Thomas LinkeRWB2 Willy Sagnol LWB3 Bixente LizarazuDM 23 Owen HargreavesRM 20 Hasan SalihamidžićCM 11 Stefan Effenberg (c)LM 7 Mehmet Scholl CF 9 Giovane Élber Substitutes:GK 22 Bernd DreherDF 18 Michael TarnatMF 10 Ciriaco SforzaFW 13 Paulo Sérgio FW 19 Carsten Jancker FW 21 Alexander Zickler FW 24 Roque Santa CruzManager: Ottmar Hitzfeld GK 1 Santiago Cañizares RB 20 Jocelyn AnglomaCB 12 Roberto Ayala CB 2 Mauricio PellegrinoLB 15 Amedeo Carboni CM 6 Gaizka Mendieta (c)CM 19 Rubén BarajaCM 18 Kily González AM 35 Pablo Aimar CF 17 Juan Ginés Sánchez CF 7 John CarewSubstitutes:GK 25 Andrés PalopDF 5 Miroslav Đukić DF 34 Fábio AurélioMF 4 Didier DeschampsMF 8 Zlatko Zahovič MF 14 VicenteMF 23 David Albelda Manager: Héctor Cúper
Man of the Match: Oliver Kahn (Bayern Munich)
Assistant referees: Jaap Pool (Netherlands) Jan-Willem van Veluwen (Netherlands) Fourth official: Jan Wegereef (Netherlands)Match rules 90 minutes. 30 minutes of golden goal extra time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if no goals occur in extra time. Seven named substitutes. Maximum of three substitutes.
Statistics Bayern MunichValenciaGoals scored11Total shots199Shots on target54Ball possession64%36%Corner kicks103Fouls committed2423Offsides26Yellow cards13Red cards00
See also 2001 UEFA Cup final 2001 UEFA Super Cup 2001 Intercontinental Cup 2000–01 FC Bayern Munich season 2000–01 Valencia CF season FC Bayern Munich in international football competitions Valencia CF in European football
References