Same old story?

On Saturday May 19th the UEFA Champions League Final will get underway at Munich's Allianz Arena and the eyes of the football world will be focused upon it. Yet few would have predicted that Chelsea and Bayern Munich would have been the two teams walking out to contest football's greatest club match, particularly when the quarter and semi-final draw was made back in March. The path seemed to be laid out for Barcelona and Real Madrid to meet in what would have been the first ever El Clasico European Cup Final. The Blaugranas had crushed Bayer Leverkusen 10-2 on aggregate in the last sixteen and los Merengues had cruised past CSKA Moscow winning 4-1 in the second leg at the Bernabeu. Lionel Messi had netted five against Bayer, the first man to do so in the Champions League era (Soren Lerby last did it in the old European Cup for Ajax back in 1979) and in Cristiano Ronaldo, Madrid are in possession of the one player on earth who can keep even remotely close to the Argentine's goal-scoring exploits. Both teams were managed by men who have two Champions League winner's medals already.  Domestically, both teams were also miles ahead of the likes of Athletic Bilbao, Atletico Madrid and Valencia who have all been making waves in the Europa League this season. Who could possibly stop the two Spanish giants from reaching the final? The quarter-finals came and went and things looked even more strongly in the favour of Guardiola and Mourinho's men. The former swept aside a toothless AC Milan outfit while the latter put eight past Cypriot surprise package APOEL. With both clubs playing the semi-final second leg at home, what could possibly go wrong?

The simple answer is that you can never, ever predict football with absolute certainty. Yes Barcelona and Real Madrid are, on paper, the two best squads in Europe. But, football doesn't work like that. In Chelsea and Bayern Munich, the Spaniards came up against two teams who are by no means the most impressive in the world, but hit form and performed at the crucial moments. Whereas Barcelona hit the woodwork four times over the two legs, Didier Drogba, Ramires and Fernando Torres all kept cool heads to put their rare chances away. Whereas £136m-worth of former World Players of the Year in the shape of Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka couldn't find the back of the net from 12 yards, David Alaba, Mario Gomez and Bastian Schweinsteiger all buried their spot-kicks. Guardiola was crushed and has since announced his departure from the Nou Camp. Mourinho can take consolation from an impending La Liga crown, but whether his tumultuous relationship with the Real hierarchy continues beyond the summer remains to be seen. The inevitable, it is clear, was never truly inevitable.

This is nothing new. People have spoken about the Champions League as a closed shop, but that is not true at all. Since it was rebranded in 1992 there have been 20 tournaments, yet no team has claimed the trophy more than three times. Not a single team has defended it successfully and this is no coincidence. The pressure and skill levels at this very highest level should not be underestimated. Look at how the two Manchester clubs, who have dominated the Premier League all season, both fell at the first hurdle. To claim victory, you require more than a skilful squad of players, a savvy manager and some good luck. You need to be able to cope with the high pressure situations which are unlike those found anywhere else in the club game. Mourinho and Guardiola have both proven themselves at this level already, but the fact it is Roberto Di Matteo and Jupp Heynckes leading their teams to the Final shows that you can never rest on your laurels at this level.

Where does this leave the La Liga duo? Are they the greatest two squads in the world? Quite probably. But there is much work to be done. Barca face a possible rebuilding job with Guardiola on his way out, although the new boss Tito Vilanova will be looking to stabilise things having been part of the coaching staff throughout the club's recent years of success. Madrid will probably go out and spend big again this summer, as they do every year. Never satisfied until his club are European champions President Florentino Perez will have his eyes on the likes of Robin Van Persie to bolster his already galactical squad. The Champions League has become an obsession, as Cristiano Ronaldo puts it, at Madrid 'everyone talks about the Champions League, in the dressing room and outside. Nothing else.' It is also an obsession of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and Bayern Munich President Uli Hoeness, the big cheeses of the clubs who will actually be at this year's closing event. If the Blues win, it will be the club's first ever European Cup, for Die Roten, it will end an eleven-year wait. Both have recently lost finals. Will whoever wins genuinely be the best team in Europe? As neither will be national champions of their respective leagues, probably not. But that's what keeps it interesting. Whoever labels football boring and predictable is a fool and the Champions League is the greatest example of this. For Madrid and Barca, there's always next year...

Follow James on Twitter @jfaphillips