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Basler's blow carries Bayern Dominant Munich elimates Dynamo Kiev with home win
Posted: Wednesday April 21, 1999 05:35 PM
MUNICH, Germany (AP) -- Eccentric midfielder Mario Basler, left home for the first leg, responded with a beautiful goal Wednesday as Bayern Munich dominated Dynamo Kiev 1-0 to coast into the Champions Cup final. Basler, left home because of poor conditioning, danced past two Kiev players in the 36th minute in the second leg semifinal matchup, then blasted a powerful shot that sailed into the far side of the goal. The shot highlighted a commanding performance by Munich, which advanced 4-3 on aggregate. The Germans, a three-time winner of the Cup, are returning to the final for the first time since 1987. "It was a great goal," said Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld of the solo run of Basler, who also had been dropped from the national team. "Basler has had to take a lot of criticism in recent months. Today he was our driving force," added Hitzfeld. The German team, needing two late goals, had been fortunate to eke out a 3-3 result in a dramatic first leg draw in Kiev two weeks ago. But this time Munich turned the tables on the Ukrainians, who could neither disrupt the German offense or beat the Munich defenders as they did in Kiev. Bayern Munich dominated the second half, taking complete control of the match. Passing by Basler and striker Carsten Jancker repeatedly threaded the Kiev defenders, springing their teammates free for open shots. But lanky striker Alexander Zickler and Iranian international Ali Daei squandered wide-open shots that could have padded the final result. Kiev had two early opportunities by Alexandre Khatskevich and Valiantsin Bialkevich, but was held to just one threat in the second half. "Except for the first 10 minutes, we played exactly how we wanted too," said Jancker. Andrii Shevchenko was the player that earned Kiev's only chance in the second 45 minutes, slipping past two Munich defenders in the 80th minute before sending a harmless roller into the arms of keeper Oliver Kahn. But the striker star, who had ripped Munich and quarterfinalist opponent Real Madrid for five goals in the previous three matches, had just two other harmless shots during the match. Kiev was knocked out of the competition in the semifinals for the third time after 1977 and 1987, while Munich remains on course to win a historic triple for a German team -- the Champions League, Bundesliga title and German Cup in the same season. Kiev started strongly with Bialkevich, beating three Munich players, unleashing a powerful short-range shot that Kahn had to bat away with one hand. In the 15th minute, Alexandre Khatskevich was completely unmarked on a header off a corner, forcing Kahn again into a lunging save. Basler missed wide left in the 24th minute, then began to baffle the Kiev defenders with one good scene after another. For Basler, criticized for his smoking and drinking, the performance was an answer to his constant detractors. "I'm not an uncomplicated player. I don't like to run a lot," said Basler. "But all the criticism got to me."
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