Do Your Homework

Sure, it’s tempting to treat the big game as pure spectacle, but learning a little about narrative about the teams going into the game can make all the difference. For example, after a great start to the season Bayern were unable to keep pace with bitter rivals Borrusia Dortmund: some have suggested an over-reliance on Mario Gomez and Arjen Robben’s inability to regularly play a full ninety minutes contributed to their mid-season dip in form. However the two will meet up in the DFB Cup Final on May 12, and much of Bayern’s attitude and confidence will be affected by their performance in this end-of-season showdown.

Similarly, Chelsea will face Liverpool in the FA Cup final on Saturday, with both teams looking to put some gloss on a disappointing league season. After defeat against Newcastle, Chelsea now look unlikely to qualify for next season’s Champions League, and defeating Bayern may be their only route back into the competition. The team’s aging spine of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba have shown decided creakiness this season, and the final (played at Munich’s home stadium) could be the last chance of European glory for many in the squad. Terry himself will have to watch from the sidelines after a straight red card earned him a suspension; he is joined by six other first team regulars facing disciplinary suspensions.

Clear Your Schedule

It’s a Saturday evening kick off for those of us on Greenwich Mean Time, but if you’re a busy kind of fellow it might be wise to mark it off on your diary. There will doubtless be pub showings aplenty wherever you are, but whether you’re a Blues fan or a follower of Die Roten there’s something special about getting your pals in one place for a big occasion. Remember that if Chelsea do manage to pull off the victory, two out of Arsenal, Tottenham and Newcastle will miss out on Champions League football next year, with all the accompanying implications for ambitious players like Gareth Bale, Papiss Cisse and Robin Van Persie. Oddly enough for a game that doesn’t involve the champions of either league, there are several other clubs with a vested interest: you can exploit this to get your Spurs, Gunners and Magpies fans to come along and get invested.

Stay Connected

Failing that, there are a bunch of ways to keep tabs on your football-loving pals. You can live-tweet the action, fill your Facebook feed with every mundane happenstance until literally no-one is subscribed to your feed anymore, or just keep a simple, old-fashioned sms messaging group on the go. If you’re really crafty you could set up a projector with live-updating entries to your personal hashtag – maybe #CatsEuroParty – with which your friends from the interwebs can do as they please!

No matter how you enjoy this year’s final, never give up! Munich fans will doubtless recall how this final finished:

Catherine Halsey is based in Edinburgh and writes for a digital marketing company. This article links back to https://groupme.com/.