By Terry Baddoo, CNNSI.com

Unromantic as it may seem, the Champions League final will not produce a fairytale ending for the Cinderella team, Valencia. Granted, Real Madrid hasn't beaten Valencia in two meetings in the Primera this season. But let's face it, this has hardly been what Real would regard as a vintage domestic campaign.

But on the European stage, coach Vicente Del Bosque has been able to instill in his team a real sense of belief, which resulted in Real playing with the pride and conviction that befits one a footballing aristocrat.

Particularly in the two quarterfinal games against Man United, the second of which I believed they'd lose, and in the semis with Bayern Munich, where I again favored the opponent, Real was outstanding.

In the revitalized Nicolas Anelka, it has a brilliant striker hungry to prove his credentials on the big stage after previously prompting so many questions about his ability to cope with the limelight.

Should Anelka not find his touch, Raul and Fernando Morientes had hit 29 goals between them this season at the time of writing, so the potential for goals is not a problem.

The midfield engine room is also on song, with Steve McManaman playing with more purpose than in his Liverpool day, when he often used to run head down into blind alleys. Real's lethal attacking fullback, Brazilian Roberto Carlos, is also less gung ho than in the past, meaning his defending seems a lot more reliable.

Finally, in its young keeper Iker Casillas, Real has a solid last line of defense who could go on to become one of the greats.

This is Real's 11th final, and against a team playing its first, experience will count for an extra man.

By Phil Jones, CNNSI.com

Valencia, accustomed as it is this season to the image of a wolf in sheep's clothing, will win the the first all-Spanish Champions League final by emerging from its seemingly harmless woolly fleece to devour Real Madrid.

It has taken large bites out of some of Europe's biggest clubs on an improbable run to the final -- and still it will enter the showdown with Spanish rival Real Madrid as the outsider. Will its rivals never learn?

In this wonderful campaign, which has taken Hector Cuper's team from the qualifying round to within a victory of the European title, Valencia has defeated Bordeaux, Rangers and Hapoel Haifa home and away; had two draws with last year's runner-up Bayern Munich; a home win and an away draw with PSV Eindhoven and emphatic home victories against the powerful trio of Fiorentina, Lazio and Barcelona.

That is not a season of fluke, my friends.

Real Madrid, which will detest being saddled with the favorite's tag, knows failure isn't an option for a team that already has won seven European championships.

Valencia knows it has been an option all along. It finished only fourth in Spain last season after all. What did they have to lose?

While I can't help feeling nostalgic for those days when the European Cup would end up in the hands of true champions and not plucky runners-up, Valencia has enhanced the tournament in many ways with its Cinderella-like tale.

Every piece of carefree progression for the team has been a triumph.

But the crowning glory is still to come.