EUROPEAN SOCCER The European Soccer season is broken down into different levels of competition It can be confusing to keep track of it all Here's a handy guide to help you follow the action League Play The 18 best teams in Germany play in the Bundesliga which debuted in 1963 64 Teams play opponents twice every season for 34 total games The worst two teams are relegated to the second division The third worst team plays the third best team in the second division with the winner securing the final Bundesliga spot European Play The top four teams in the Bundesliga qualify for the Champions League a tournament featuring the best club teams from throughout Europe The Champions League debuted in 1992 It replaced the European Cup a similar tournament that had begun in 1955 The next two teams qualify for the Union of European Football Associations UEFA Europa League The Europa League is Europe's second tier tournament It runs in a similar manner to the Champions League but crowns its own winner The Europa League debuted in 1971 as the UEFA Cup but was renamed in 2009 Domestic Cups The best 64 teams in Germany compete in the DFB Pokal This includes every team in the Bundesliga and the second division It also includes the top teams in the third division The 24 other teams are the best teams from regional leagues The competition was founded in 1935 were ready to celebrate Instead English opponent Chelsea tied the game late in regulation Then Chelsea won it on penalty kicks Bayern's fans and players were crushed
Bayern players hoist coach Jupp Heynckes in celebration after clinching the Bundesliga title in 2013 But Bayern bounced back and a year later the club put together a historic season that made its fans forget about its recent woes The Reds won the Bundesliga title for the first time in three years They also made it to the finals of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League They were close to winning all three trophies in the same season for the first time
Champions League Drama The Bavarians had cruised through the Champions League playoffs again Bayern finished in first place in its group The Reds slipped past English foe Arsenal in the Round of 16 In the quarterfinals Bayern beat mighty Juventus of Italy This meant that Bayern would play Barcelona in the semifinals Many people considered Barcelona the best team in the world But Bayern handled the Spanish giants with ease winning 4 0 and 3 0 to progress to the final FAST FACT Bayern is the German word for Bavaria This is the region of Germany that Munich is in Many German teams are named after their regions Borussia is the word for Prussia This explains the names of the Prussian teams Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Mönchengladbach It was May 25 2013 Bayern's opponent for the European championship was Borussia Dortmund It was the first all German final in the Champions League or European Cup as it was known until 1992 Dortmund had won the Bundesliga title the previous two seasons Bayern had lost five of its previous seven games
Mario Mandžukić chips the ball past two Dortmund defenders and into the net to put Bayern on top in the Champions League final against its league rival The teams had developed a healthy respect for each other There was no way the Reds would be overconfident again against their rivals from Dortmund
