It would be wrong to say there are no German lessons for English football

Insideworldfootball

In the next few days we shall hear much about how the all German Champions League Final on Saturday is a game changer. True, the way Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund destroyed Real Madrid and Barcelona suggested a dramatic shift in power from Spain to Germany. But such conclusions, while both common and tempting immediately after the whistle has blown, rarely stand up to more considered scrutiny.

If a couple of matches can produce such dramatic football changes then why did the Manchester United-Chelsea final in Moscow in 2008 not leave an imprint on the game? Why did it not mean a similar fundamental shift in England's favour? The reason is that during a football match, rightly described as the theatre of dreams, the passion and intensity of the game can make us believe that what we are witnessing represents revolutionary, dramatic, changes. In reality what is often happening is that there is change of scenery before the next act. The plot and essential nature of the play does not alter.