Pep Guardiola is not the only connection between Bayern Munich and Barcelona, who meet in their Champions League semi-final, first leg at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.
Chelsea's caretaker manager Roberto Di Matteo is hoping to avoid what he described on Tuesday as the "worst-case scenario" with reserves and youngsters on the bench for the Champions League final against Bayern Munich on Saturday.
Empoli beat Juventus 4-2 on penalties to advance to their first ever Coppa Italia semi-finals on Wednesday after a resilient performance helped them to hold the defending champions to a 1-1 draw in regular time.
A late Leon Goretzka goal salvaged a 2-2 draw for Germany against Hungary on Wednesday night, in a whip-saw contest that sets the Germans up for a June 29 Round of 16 match against England at Wembley.
Chelsea begin their quest to become the first team to win back-to-back Champions League titles on Wednesday when they entertain a Juventus side still getting used to matchdays without their coach.
Barcelona centre half Gerard Pique acknowledged his team were thoroughly second best as Bayern Munich romped to a 4-0 win in their Champions League semi-final first leg at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has recovered sufficiently from a hamstring strain to feature in Tuesday's Champions League semi-final first leg at Bayern Munich, sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta said on Monday.
Chelsea stunned Bayern Munich to win the Champions League for the first time after a penalty shootout in the Allianz Arena after a tension-soaked final had ended 1-1 after extra time on Saturday.
A look at how the Chelsea and Bayern Munich teams compare tactically and where the game might be won or lost ahead of the Champions League final at the Allianz Arena.
Chelsea have nothing to fear when they face Bayern Munich in the Champions League final next week as their semi-final win over Barcelona proved they can beat the best in Europe, caretaker boss Roberto Di Matteo said.
Mario Gomez scored four opportunist goals as Bayern Munich shattered Champions League records and ruthlessly ended Basel's surprise run with a 7-0 win on Tuesday to reach the quarter-finals.
Holders Barcelona will play Bayer Leverkusen, a team famous for fading in the final straight, while their arch-rivals Real Madrid face a trip to icy Moscow in the Champions League round of 16 following the draw on Friday. Bayern Munich, whose Allianz Arena will host the final, take on FC Basel, the underdogs who spectacularly ousted Manchester United, in another of the top ties.
Bayern Munich made it seven wins out of seven in the Bundesliga on Saturday as two goals from Franck Ribery led them to a 2-0 win over a toothless Hoffenheim in an embarrassingly one-sided match.
Manchester City players who were sitting next to Carlos Tevez in the dugout will tell investigators that they did not hear him refuse to play at Bayern Munich.
Bayern Munich cantered into the Champions League group stages after a 1-0 victory at FC Zurich on Tuesday while two goals from Giuseppe Rossi rescued Villarreal against Odense.
Chelsea cleared the final hurdle in a season of never-ending challenges when they beat Bayern Munich 4-3 on penalties in the German team's Allianz Arena stadium to be crowned European Champions for the first time on Saturday.
From Juanito stamping on Lothar Matthaeus' head to an entire team storming off the pitch in a friendly, there is no love lost between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, who resume their bitter rivalry on Tuesday.
Bayern Munich's party was wrecked by Borussia Moenchengladbach who hit back for a 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena on Saturday, forcing the Bavarians to wait at least a week to clinch a fourth straight Bundesliga title.
Last season's top scorer Robert Lewandowski found the net with a 31st-minute penalty to become the first player to score in 10 successive appearances against the same Bundesliga opponents.
Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich achieved record turnover figures for 2013/14 on Friday, matching their success on the pitch by breaking through the 500 million euros (398.05 million pounds) barrier for the first time.
Indian football captain Baichung Bhutia will play under Michael Ballack or Clarence Seedorf in the 'Goal 4 Africa' charity match in Munich.
Fans carried rainbow flags to show their support for LGBTQ rights.
Frank Lampard began to think there was no way back for Chelsea in the Champions League final as the minutes ticked down with Bayern Munich leading 1-0, but when the match went to a penalty shootout he had no doubts the trophy was coming to London.
Visitors Schalke put a dent in Bayern Munich's Bundesliga title hopes by snatching a 1-0 win over the champions in a bad-tempered game on Saturday.
London's Wembley Stadium will host the Champions League final in 2011, European football's governing body UEFA said Thursday. The 2012 final will be held at Munich's Allianz Arena, UEFA said in a statement.
Bayern Munich weathered a fierce Manchester United onslaught on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League on away goals after a 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford.
Mario Goetze scored twice as world champions Germany outclassed rivals Poland 3-1 to take over the top spot in European Championship qualifying Group D at Allianz Arena on Friday.
They were joined in the second knockout round by Bayer Leverkusen, who enjoyed a 5-1 demolition of Galatasaray, and now meet league rivals Hamburg SV, who dispensed with FC Zurich. Werder Bremen cruised through 4-0 on aggregate against Braga.
In Moscow, Russia rallied to beat England 2-1 and keep their hopes alive for a berth in the finals.
Baichung Bhutia sizzled on a starry night with a spectacular brace in the 'Goal 4 Africa' charity match between two all-star international teams at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
Bayern Munich were held to a 1-1 home draw by Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg in the first leg of their UEFA Cup semi-final on Thursday. The Bundesliga leaders led through Franck Ribery's 18th-minute goal but, Brazil defender Lucio deflected a cross from Viktor Fayzulin past Bayern goalkeeper Oliver Kahn for the shock equaliser on the hour.
Getafe scored a 1-1 draw at Bayern Munich on Thursday to improve their hopes of reaching the UEFA Cup semi-finals in their debut European season. Bayer Leverkusen were routed 4-1 at home by Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg, while Fiorentina were held to a 1-1 draw at home by PSV Eindhoven and a bad-tempered clash in Glasgow ended goalless between Rangers and Sporting.
Bayern Munich beat Hanover 96 3-0 to make it three wins from their first three games.
Croatian forward Ante Budimir scored twice to help Osasuna earn a shock 4-2 home win over leaders Barcelona.
'This protest was never intended to disrupt the game or injure people.'
They opened their Bundesliga title defence with a 2-0 home win over Borussia Dortmund.
New Bayern Munich manager Carlo Ancelotti has no plans to rip up the foundations laid by predecessor Pep Guardiola and says he will look to continue the club's tradition of attacking football when the season kicks off in August.
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