Bayern's 20 year wait is almost over

BAYERN MUNICH, inspired by stand in coach Franz Bechenbauer, rode their luck to see off Bordeaux 2-0 in a thrilling UEFA Cups final first leg tie in Munich last night.

The German club, with Beckenbaur back at the helm after the sacking of coach Otto Rehhagel last week, scored once in each half but had to rely on, goalkeeper Oliver Kahn to keep out the French side.

Kahn produced a series of top class saves during a fine, open game that thrilled a" vociferous 63,000 borne crowd But his brilliance was matched at the end of the game by Bordeaux opposite number Gaetan Huard.

Bordeaux, who went into the game without tops striker Christopher Dugarry and midfielder Zinedine Zidane, defended solidly before looking certain to score after 33 minutes.

Didier Tholot, clean through following an interception, raced 40 metres but hesitated at the crucial moment to allow Kahn to close him down. The next chance, just three minutes from the break, also fell to Bordeaux and again Khan saved the Germans.

Dutch midfielder Richard, Witschge floated a chip to the left, Tholot volleyed back into the centre and Anthony Bancarel lashed in a shot that the goalkeeper somehow flapped one handed over the bar.

Crucially, Bordeaux's players let their guard down following that disappointment and Bayern, who haven't won a European trophy for 20 years, raced back up field, earned a corner on the right and took the lead when Thomas Helmer headed home Mehmet Scholl's cross.

The French, however, refused to fold. It took the unlikely figure of Jean Pierre Papin, Bayern's French striker who will miss the return after being booked in the first half, to save the home side early in the second half by clearing off the line from a header.

Beckenbauer withdrew sweeper Lothar Matthaeus immediately afterwards as Bayern continued to push forward and Scholl soon repaid his coach, cutting in from the right and drilling a savage shot across Huard and into the bottom left corner.

Bordeaux, however, continued to exploit the growing spaces in Bayern's defence, Khan again foiling them with a diving interception when Tholot looked poised to tap in and then beating away a Bancarel shot from the right.

With 10 minutes to go, Huard matched Khan with a smart save to his left and Juergen Klinsmann went close with a header that shaved Bordeaux's left post. Eight minutes later Huard produced his best, palming a Marcel Witeczek shot onto the bar and Klinsmann volleying over the open goal.

. AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi has failed in his attempts to keep Fabio Capello, who guided Milan to their fourth Serie A title in five years last Sunday, from moving to Spanish giants Real Madrid, it was announced yesterday.

The news came as no surprise to Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz, who was in Milan this week after meeting Capello on March 29th to offer him the job. "I'm happy, but I've known since March 29th it would finish like this. I saw Capello yesterday and I knew what his intentions would be, and that's what has happened" Sanz said.