Wilson: Bayern Munich, Chelsea square off in UEFA Champions League Final

The favorites may not have made it to Saturday’s Union of European Football Associations… The favorites may not have made it to Saturday’s Union of European Football Associations Champions League Final, the most important match in European professional club soccer, but that doesn’t mean the match lacks appeal for the neutral fan.

The Champions League tournament, which pits the best European soccer clubs against each other, is rivaled only by The World Cup in terms of prestige. And the storylines leading up to this year’s deciding match between Bayern Munich (Germany) and Chelsea (England) make this set to be one of the most intriguing finals ever.

Although it’s common for Americans to call the Champions League Final the “Super Bowl” of soccer, the final’s worldwide viewership routinely dwarfs that of the football competition. The Super Bowl is more like the Champions League Final of American football.

For casual fans that haven’t followed the season — or soccer in general — thus far, here’s a rundown of the two clubs set to compete on Saturday.

Chelsea

The Blues have gone through nine managers since Russian oil magnate Roman Abramovich took over as club owner in 2003.

This year’s new manager, André Villas-Boas, was an assistant at the club from 2004-2007, but that familiarity didn’t spare him from the wrath of the Russian. Villas-Boas was fired in March with Chelsea struggling in the Champions League and sitting at a disappointing fifth place in the English Premier League standings.

But interim manager Roberto Di Matteo has turned things around for Chelsea. He led the club to victory in England’s biggest club competition, the FA Cup, and now he hopes to win his second trophy as the Blues’ manager after just two months in charge.

To make it to the Champions League Final, Chelsea upset defending champion Barcelona, a team widely seen as the best ever for its sustained dominance over the past four seasons.

But the Blues aren’t happy simply to be in the final — they want to win it.

Since Abramovich’s takeover in 2003, Chelsea has won the Premier League three times and the FA Cup four times. All of this success, however, means little to Chelsea’s Russian owner, who continues to send the crystal-clear message that he will not accept anything less than Champions League titles.

After finishing sixth in this season’s Premier League, a defeat would also mean Chelsea would fail to qualify for next season’s Champions League for the first time in a decade. Only the top four teams in the Premier League standings qualify for Europe’s premier club competition each year.

It is safe to assume that if Di Matteo can’t guide the Blues to their first European crown, he too won’t return next season.

Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich is the most successful club in Germany’s history, having won the Bundesliga title 22 times and the Champions League four times.

Munich returns to the final after losing it to Inter Milan two years ago.

Die Roten, which means “The Reds” in German, finished second in the Bundesliga this season, securing Champions League qualification for next year.

But Bayern Munich enters the final on a sour note after an embarrassing 5-2 recent defeat in the German Cup Final to Borussia Dortmund.

Like Chelsea, Bayern Munich also upset one of Spain’s powerful clubs on the way to the final.

The German club beat Real Madrid, winners of this season’s Spanish league, in tie-breaking penalty kicks during the dramatic semifinal.

This Saturday, the Germans will become just the fourth team — and the first since 1984 — to play a Champions League Final in their home stadium, the Allianz Arena in Munich.

Historically, “home teams” are 2-1 in Champions League Finals, with the lone loss coming on penalty kicks, so this record bodes well for Bayern supporters.

With the club functioning as Germany’s predominant professional team, many players also play on the German national team. Joachim Löw, the manager of Team Germany, has voiced concern over the effects that a loss in the final might have on the eight Bayern players who will play for Germany in the European Championships beginning in June.

If there wasn’t enough riding on the match for both Chelsea and Bayern Munich, another English team — Tottenham Hotspur — will also be watching the match intently.

A Chelsea triumph means the Blues will qualify for next season’s Champions League — and Tottenham, a team that finished in the fourth and final Champions League qualifying spot of the Premier League, will lose its place in the lucrative tournament.

Therefore, Tottenham’s players and fans will be huge Bayern Munich supporters this Saturday, because a Chelsea win would send Tottenham down to Europe’s secondary club competition, the Europa League, next season.

The Europa League is soccer’s equivalent to the NIT in college basketball: It has some good teams that just missed out on the big tournament, but that doesn’t make up for the fact that the glory — and more importantly, the money — is lacking. It’s a fate I would never wish on anyone, which is why I’ll be rooting for the Blues to lose.

But if Chelsea somehow does win, I know how to comfort Tottenham.

At least there is no soccer equivalent to the CBI.

Prediction: Bayern Munich 3-1 Chelsea