The closest thing Europe has to the Super Bowl is happening tomorrow at noon PT / 3 pm ET. The match features two very successful and well-funded teams who are chock-full of superstars, Paris St. Germain and Bayern Munich. They are the reigning champions of France and Germany respectively, and it is the first time PSG have made it to a European Cup/Champions League final in their 50 year history. Bayern on the other hand have won it five times in their history and are looking to add to the trophy cabinet.
This match should be highly entertaining because both teams have amazing attacking players. Neymar, Angel “The Snake” Di Maria, and Kylian Mbappé are all deadly for the French side while Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller, and Serge Gnabry have dominated both Germany and Europe the whole year. Given the fact that both teams can potentially have issues on defense, this could be a very high-scoring affair.
Of course, I said the same thing last year about Liverpool vs. Tottenham and I was proven extremely wrong. Hopefully the final this year is a better match.
What gives me pause about this match is that no matter who wins on the field, the government of Qatar wins financially. Qatar outright owns PSG and have a marketing deal with Bayern via Qatar Airways. A state-run football club such as PSG winning the CL would I think be a negative thing for the sport. When you have the finances of an entire nation backing your club and the club is winning, it could encourage other nations to try the same thing. The waters are further muddied when the country in question has questionable moral principles.
Qatar has an absolutely atrocious human rights record, and it is only because of its financial power (oil money) that FIFA/UEFA even care about the nation at all. They have no football history of their own to speak of due to the fact that they are a small peninsula with a population of only 2.7 million. They incarcerate journalists who are critical of the royal family, punish LGBTQIA+ people simply for being who they are, and are using slave labor to build the stadiums needed for their 2022 World Cup. The rampant and flagrant corruption at FIFA enables all of this because they have all filled their pockets with Qatari money. Qatar is attempt to “sports-wash” itself; meaning they are trying to use success on the athletics field to cover up their human rights violations and bring about an increase in tourism to the country. They know oil won’t last forever and are looking to diversify their economy. FIFA cannot let human rights violations be associated with football, but they do not seem to be interested in doing anything about it. Makes me somewhat depressed, but this is the current state of the sport.
As for the match itself, I think I will have to give Bayern a slight advantage. They have been so dominant all season and I expect that to continue. PSG will give them a run for their money for sure, but I believe Bayern will emerge victorious.
4-4-2 