FC Bayern Munich: A Magical Night in Madrid, a Look Ahead to Stuttgart

When Andries Jonker became the caretaker manager of Bayern Munich last season, he was given a simple task. All he had to do was take Bayern to the Champions League. Bayern at that point was fourth in the league.

Bayern produced four fine performances against Schalke, Leverkusen, Stuttgart and St Pauli and earned a draw against Frankfurt that took them to the qualifying rounds of the CL.

They kick-started their CL campaign in the qualifiers, and 14 matches and one shootout later, Bayern find themselves in the final that was meant to be contested by the two Spanish stalwarts, Barcelona and Real Madrid. Bayern was the outstanding side in the group stages, having finished at the top of the toughest group without even a wince. Yet, they weren't looked at as a possible finalist.

The Bavarians set the record for the largest home win in the history of the Champions League in the round of 16 when they hammered Basel 7-0. The marveling at the Spanish sides continued by the press and fans. Two efficient displays against Marseille in the quarterfinals saw "La Bestia Negra" set up a clash with one of their favourite opponents in Real Madrid.

A very efficient home display in the first leg was followed by a brave, almost reckless display from the Bundesliga giants. In the second leg, Bayern conceded two early goals but only grew in confidence as the match went on. An Arjen Robben penalty brought them back to tie. The two sides could not be separated by 120 minutes of play and penalties had to decide who would go through to the final.

Bayern almost gave the game away, having led 2-0 in the shootout. However, Sergio Ramos' miss proved one too many for Madrid as Bastian Schweinsteiger calmly converted the winning penalty, sending Jupp Heynckes and his teammates to seventh heaven.

Bayern is set to return to the ground where their campaign began with Andries Jonker against Leverkusen more than a year ago.

The only blows will be the absences of their two former youth academy players, the quick-witted David Alaba and the brave Holger Badstuber, as well as tough tackling Luiz Gustavo.

While Viktor Kassai's performance was a good one, he did end up suspending three players Bayern really needs. All three have to be disappointed, especially Badstuber, who was a losing finalist in 2010.

The league title is beyond Bayern. Instead, two cup finals await in May, seven days apart from each other. The first of them will be played in Berlin against arch nemesis Borussia Dortmund.  The second final will be played in Munich against a very gritty Chelsea side.

The fact that the vice-captain and the man who knows no other club except his own slotted in the winner added an extra gloss to the victory for the Munich faithful.

Jupp Heynckes now has three games to decide who he will play in defence and defensive midfield to cover for the three absentees. The first of those three games comes against Stuttgart tomorrow.

Stuttgart will be looking to confirm the fifth spot in the table and will be looking for a win. This match is Bayern's last match at home in the Bundesliga, and the second to last in the season.

This is what the starting lineup will perhaps be:

Hans-Jorg Butt

Rafinha, Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, Holger Badstuber, Diego Contento

Toni Kroos, Danijel Pranjic

David Alaba, Thomas Mueller, Ivica Olic

Nils Petersen

Olic's transfer to Wolfsburg has already been confirmed. The beloved striker will be looking to leave Bayern on a high after finishing a losing finalist in the 2010 Champions League. Jonker, for those of you who don't already know, will be heading out of Bayern this season. He was coaching Bayern II but decided he wanted a different challenge. And now, its prediction time!

Prediction: Bayern 1-2 Stuttgart