Bayern Munich bounced back from previous Champions League disappointments in some style last year.
In the competition’s quarter-finals, they beat Manchester United 1-0 away and 2-1 at home while defending champions Real Madrid were no match for the Germans in the last four. The Milan final against Valencia during May was something of an anti-climax, but goalkeeper Oliver Kahn emerged as Bayern’s hero after saving twice in the penalty shoot-out as the Germans clinched the title 5-4.
The team capped a memorable season by denying Schalke to win the Bundesliga title for the 17th time after a Patrik Andersson goal in Hamburg in the last minute of the campaign. Giovane Elber ended the season as the club’s top scorer with 21 goals, including six in Europe. Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld was voted the world's best club coach for 2001 in January by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics.
