Recent entries in Europa League
UEFA Cup Betting: Kahn big-spending Bayern do it for Oliver?
Bayern Munich won the German Cup last Saturday after beating Dortmund 2-1 after extra time. It's the 14th time they've won this cup and, with a 10-point lead over their nearest rivals in the league, a second piece of silverware is almost secure.
To Bayern fans domestic success is a welcome entitlement and another Bundesliga would mean three titles in the last four years. Unfortunately it will never be enough for a team expensively assembled to compete at the top table of European football.
A major blip last year saw Bayern miss out on Champions League qualification but they broke the bank anyway, bringing in top players like Ribery, Toni, van Bommel and Klose. The Uefa Cup is the minimum prize that Bayern will except this year - the pursuit hasn't been easy (Getafe fans are still receiving counselling en mass) but now only Zenit St Petersburg block their way to the Manchester final.
Top-scorer Luca Toni is suspended so Lukas Podolski should deputise as Miroslav Klose is also doubtful with a foot injury. Bayern have plenty of strength-in-depth and will look to build a decisive lead Thursday night.
Dick Advocaat's team seem comfortable cast as underdogs. With poor domestic form (one victory in the last eight games), and little European pedigree to speak of, no one expects the Russian's to win in Bavaria.
Advocaat will look to a previous win in Leverkusen for inspiration. On that night they broke with speed and purpose and will look to replicate that success. With eight goals already in this competition Pavel Pogrebnyak will pose the major goal threat.
Key midfielder Anatoliy Tymoschuk should recover from a thigh injury but Aleksandr Anyukov remains sidelined with a toe injury. Zenit certainly have talented players and a top-draw coach but I can't predict anything but disappointment in Munich.
You can back the visitors to win at [8.8] but it's a long shot. Bayern are [1.51] to win with the draw at [4.5], so the real value appears to lie in the correct score market. Without Toni and Klose I don't see a high scoring win and would back 2-0 at [7.4].
One of Bayern's biggest stars is unlikely to score but if you're looking for someone who perfectly reflects the heart of German football look no further than Oliver Rolf Kahn. Brave, blonde and completely bonkers in his pursuit of victory, he seems to have been around for decades.
Aged 39 in June, Kahn will retire at the end of this season bringing to a close one of the most successful careers of any player. He got his professional start with Karlsruher SC in 1987 before joining Bayern Munich in 1994. Along the way he managed to pack his trophy cabinet with an obscene amount of baubles including seven Bundesliga Championships, six German Cups, a Uefa Cup and a Champions League trophy.
He kept goal for Germany from 1994 to 2006 and gained a reputation as the world's best keeper along the way. Kahn's consistency has meant that he's unlikely to ever receive a Christmas card from chief rival Jens Lehman but he won'tl lose any sleep over that. His talent and obsessive desire to win have made him an iconic figure in the game - he could even out-crazy Lehman when necessary and was once sent off for a deliberate handball after punching the ball into the net from a corner. Unfortunately he was in the opposition area at the time and received a second yellow card.
Anecdotes aside, Kahn remains a symbol of Bayern's success. Yes, he did experience a slump in form in 2004 but he was plagued by injuries and personal problems that year. No one watching his performances over recent seasons could doubt his contribution to the pre-eminent team in Germany. If you looked up the equivalent word for "winner" in a German dictionary it would probably display a picture of King Kahn with all his medals so expect a clean sheet Thursday night.
