Bayern Munich manager Jupp Heynckes revealed his feeling over Arjen Robben having a final say in the Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley, while hailing his side's performance as "outstanding."
Robben was the savior for Bayern, scoring the all-important winner in the 89th minute after Ilkay Gundogan had canceled out Mario Mandzukic's opener.
"In the last few weeks, I have been very aware of Arjen, very conscious of how I train with him, taking care of his fitness to make sure he didn't get injured," Heynckes said.
"I'm particularly pleased for him, last year we were all tragic figures, not just Arjen, but today (Saturday) he was crucial.
"Yesterday I said to him: 'Arjen, you're in good form, really good form, and tomorrow that's going to be one of the crucial factors.'"
Bayern already had a stellar season even before the won the Champions League, romping home to the Bundesliga title by 25 points, and they can now make it a treble of trophies if they seal the German Cup with victory over Stuttgart next Saturday.
"What we've achieved so far this season -- because it's not over yet, we still have the German Cup final next weekend -- has been outstanding," Heynckes added. "There's never been a Bundesliga team that's consistently played at such a high level, winning the championship by 25 points, breaking almost all records.
"My team were determined to win. Look at the generation of Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger -- the time had come to win something like this. They've won a lot of caps and domestic trophies, but this was the first international competition.
"I'm really pleased for my team; afterwards I might be a bit more excitable, or relaxed - but I wasn't out there on the pitch. You do your job until kick-off and then it's up to the team.
"They had to take centre stage and do their job tonight. Without top-class players like we have, you can't play the kind of football we have this season."
Heynckes also reserved praise for Dortmund, who gave Bayern a real run for their money in a thrilling game which could have easily ended up 7-6 instead of 2-1.
"In the beginning we didn't quite find our feet and compliments to Dortmund -- they pressed forward and we didn't find our rhythm," he said. "It was a difficult match for us, but we had a couple of chances before half-time and after it we took command. We were more advanced and created more opportunities -- and it's because of that second half that we earned the win.
"It was a very intense match for both teams -- they both went for it and fought hard. They're both tactically of a very high standard and big compliments to Dortmund, this year they've had an absolutely top-class Champions League season, after winning trophies in the other two seasons."
Heynckes, who will step down at the end of the season to make way for Pep Guardiola, believes now this could be the start of a new era of Bayern dominance in both the domestic and European stage.
"We lost the final last year but didn't resign ourselves to our fate," Heynckes said. We upped the ante and worked harder, and this is the result. It's quite possible that a new era in Europe, under Bayern, might have begun."
