New Wembley builds a new legend

Keep your eye on the prize!

Believe me, they give off some heat!

It was a momentous week even for Wembley standards. The Venue of Legends staged the world's two biggest club games in three days, then an international.

Nothing, not even the World Cup beats the Champions League Final for quality and now probably, glory as the pride of the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund squared up.

A winner now, contrast to a year ago

Dortmund togetherness in defeat

The other big game, measured by sheer prize money was Crystal Palace against Watford for the keys to the Premier League and a £145m boost to the balance sheet.

The Champions League Final gets bigger every year. The switch from midweek to Saturday night takes it into the cultural mainstream. From Saint and Greavsie to Ant and Dec, if you like.

The moment the new champions were crowned

The opening ceremony starring a fully-fledged medieval battle between the red forces of Munich and yellow of Dortmund complete with bow and arrows, was kicked off with West End star, the War Horse.

Honestly, ITV missed a huge trick not broadcasting it in their Saturday night output.

Live flares from Bayern fall on fans below

Instead, they stuck with the foursome of drony Philistines pontificating on the irrelevant "could happen" points. While Adrian Chiles and Roy Keane swapped soundings, the choreography outside was literally marvellous. 

And the game didn't disappoint either. Bayern took their chances where Dortmund didn't and the master unlocker, Arjen Robben set one up and scored the other in the 2-1 win.

So often, this was a textbook demonstration of how to attack against how to defend.

Medieval warfare: the opening ceremony

But in Bayern's win, we're witnessing a change of guard at the top of European football. To win it a year after the disappointment of losing to Chelsea in their own stadium is a mark of a mighty setup. Follow that Pep Guardiola! 

War Horse from the West End 

Palace's win over Watford was more cagey. No one was going to be responsble for triggering tears in the boardroom. As it was, the headlines made were more romantic than the match.

39-year-old Kevin Phillips came off the bench to score the most valuable of his 280 career goals against the club where he made his name in his last game before retirement.

Wilfried Zaha was so often the difference for Palace, with his clever touches on the floor and even brainier short-passing. But Manchester United will observe he needs to build on his game, just as Cristiano Ronaldo needed to in his first days at Old Trafford. 

The semi-final vanquished were Real & Barca

England v Republic of Ireland rounded off the crowded fixture list as the FA's 150th anniversary game commemorated darker days between the two countries. It was the first fixture between the two since that ill-fated night in Dublin where crowd trouble brought the game to a premature end.

Frank Lampard's goal-trail continued. His 29th international strike puts him just one behind Alan Shearer in the all-time scoring parade. Who says the Chelsea midfielder can't go on and score half a dozen more for his country? 

New Wembley is building its legend slowly but surely. It's just seven years old, but the atmosphere, particularly in the two club games was noisy, excitable and befitting the occasions. 

For a modern building, it has a soul.

We don't care: football's militants fire a warning signal

We recalled the joy of summer as we drove past the Olympic stadium, chatted about the recent problems of Paul Elliott as we parked the Quattro next to the block of flats where he grew up, turned the corner - and walked into the 1980’s .

Defiance personified

Riot police with snarling dogs postured beside armoured vans, horses and a helicopter hovering overhead. The atmosphere was tense as we made our way into the stadium where thousands of white men shouted at us to fuck off. There was no thrilling, first glimpse of green because the pitch was a waterlogged, brown pudding and it was no surprise when the Championship game between Charlton Athletic and Millwall quickly degenerated into hoof ball.

The south London derby had seemed like a good idea at the time my Addickted pal suggested we go but its charm was fading. Rapidly.

It would've been more intimidating but for the 10,000 empty seats, a reminder there's more football than demand in these austere times. And you can call yourself a supporter without going anymore.

We football fans are resilient though and despite the graphic, aggressive and repetitive abuse from self-appointed pond life the game had its moments.

By the Tower Block behind the Jimmy Seed.

The home side’s 19 year old left winger Callum Harriot caught the eye with his pace, balance and delivery and veteran centre half Danny Shittu was magnificent for the visitors who were fitter and more skillful and deserved to take the lead with substitute Jermaine Easter’s first touch of the ball on the hour. Shane Lowry’s 30 yard free kick six minutes later was Balesque and ended the contest.

After the game both sets of fans were let out simultaneously and we had to take a long detour to avoid the corralled and smug, but no less defiant, visiting fans.

There is always something, even a flick or a tackle, in a football match that makes attending worthwhile for this enthusiast but the scowling Met policemen hungry to restore morale after the riots of two years ago, the thugs among those who follow Millwall and the demise of Charlton who were that rarity, a community focused and well-run Premier League club until double dip relegation, put melancholy one up over pleasure that day at the Valley.

It was how football used to be with its intimidating atmosphere, crap pitches and long balls.

Nah, you might say, that’s just Millwall; their fans have always been the roughest, it was a wet day and Chris Powell has Charlton going in the right direction despite not having a bean to spend.

Maybe.

But reports of some of the old faces, their banning orders having expired, turning up for the England game in San Marino is another reminder that the people who made going to football such an ordeal are still here and, as witnessed at Charlton, there is a disaffected and disadvantaged younger generation who don’t care that no one likes them.