By Mark Bennett

Goals from Michael Ballack and Roy Makaay helped FC Bayern München reach the German Cup final at the expense of DSC Arminia Bielefeld.

Schalke waiting
Ballack was on target with only three minutes gone as he rose to meet Bastian Schweinsteiger’s corner, beating Mathias Hain with a powerful header. The Bundesliga leaders made sure of their place in the final against FC Schalke 04 when Roy Makaay scored from the penalty spot late on.

Early lead
The match at the Schüco-Arena got off to an intense start with both teams trying to stamp their authority on the game in the early stages. But Bayern looked more threatening and Ballack’s goal was the reward for the brightness Felix Magath’s team had shown in the opening minutes.

Kahn composure
After the break the home side took control of the action and put the Bayern defence under considerable pressure. Six minutes into the second half Oliver Kahn denied Markus Schuler, and Erwin Skela saw his shot turned around the post by the Bayern goalkeeper 15 minutes later.

Missed chances
With time ticking away Bielefeld threw more and more players forward and Bayern, using the ensuing space, created a string of good chances. Roy Makaay, Martin Demichelis and Schweinsteiger all failed to put the match out of Arminia’s reach having enjoyed good opportunities on goal.

Makaay clincher
Makaay was not so careless in added time as he struck from the penalty spot after a foul on Claudio Pizarro. Arminia’s misery at missing out on the final took a further blow immediately before the penalty was taken as Delron Buckley was sent off after confronting referee Markus Merk.

By Federico Rocha

	The Argentinian seemed to have settled in well at Barça

Javier Saviola has spent his entire career being likened to other great players. As a youngster in Argentina, he was famously described by one pundit as a cross between Pelé and Diego Maradona – an impossible act to follow even for a player of Saviola’s undoubted ability.

‘New Morientes’
So imagine how he felt when, after spending years shedding his ‘Pelé/Maradona’ tag, he was christened the new Fernando Morientes on signing for AS Monaco FC in the summer on a season-long loan from FC Barcelona. It was another daunting act to follow, Morientes having more than proved his worth to his paymaster in a similar deal the previous year.

	Frank Rijkaard deemed Saviola surplus to requirements

Similar trajectory
As a player who prefers to on the floor rather than in the air, Saviola did not appreciate the comparisons with Morientes. "People ask me time and time again about that," he told uefa.com. "His situation was very similar to mine, but maybe he saw things differently to me."

Morientes move
The fact that Morientes failed to settle on returning to Madrid and ended up moving to Liverpool FC is certainly a pattern that Saviola – for whom Barça paid CA River Plate €25m in the summer of 2001 – would not like to see repeated. "My place is at Barcelona," insisted the striker who has scored 15 goals in all competitions this season. "I have two years left and without a doubt I would like to return there."

Prolific record
Whether he will be welcome is more of a vexed issue. Despite 44 goals in 105 games in his first three seasons at the club, the diminutive forward was left in no doubt that he did not fit into Frank Rijkaard’s plans when he took over. He appreciated the coach’s candour, if not necessarily his judgement.

Refreshing honesty
"I had good times at Barcelona, but football is like that – sometimes it is not enough," said Saviola. "They told me I didn’t fit into their plans this season, but the most important part of it is that they were honest to me. It was fair. I was not going to have a chance to play and they told me that. So I went to Monaco where they have treated me really well. I have felt very comfortable here and for the moment things are going fine."

Important presence
Monaco have certainly benefited from Saviola’s presence, and while they are unlikely to be able to catch Olympique Lyonnais in the race for the title, their latest loan ranger’s goals have helped put them in a good position to qualify for the Champions League again next season.

Major occasion
Saviola spoke of coach Didier Deschamps’ qualities as a footballing mentor, but he needed little motivation when it came to competing in the Champions League with Monaco. "When you are part of it," he said drifting off into reverie, "it’s the most important competition you can play in."

Maximum effort
Monaco bowed out of the competition in the last 16, leaving Saviola to concentrate on his future, while keeping busy by playing in Ligue 1. "To be honest here I’m just a player on loan," he said. "But my team-mates have treated me so well that I always try to give everything for them.

Anyone’s guess
"The truth is that you try to play every game as if you were wearing the jersey of the team you respect the most," he added. That team is clearly Barça, but whether Saviola will get the chance to pull on the red-and-blue shirt in anger again remains anyone’s guess.