Elber magic sends Bayern close to final

Typical German efficiency helped Bayern Munich overcome Real Madrid 1-0 on Tuesday but it was a touch of Brazilian magic from Elber that brought them close to a place in the Champions League final.

The fans in the Bernabeu stadium might have wondered why the Brazilian striker, who lived up to his reputation for scoring important goals, kissed his left knee after hitting the winner in the 55th minute of the first leg of the semifinal tie.

Just 12 days before the match, Elber was lying in a Berlin hospital to have a small fragment of bone removed from his knee.

On Saturday he was back in action for his side's 1-0 win over SC Freiburg, making a lot of running after coming off the bench, and he was unlucky not to mark his return with a goal.

"I could have scored then but I decided it was better to save the goal for the Real match," he said.

"Seriously, I didn't know whether I would score but I knew we would play well. I desperately wanted to be there. The club's doctor and the surgeon in Berlin did a fantastic job."

Defensive midfielder Jens Jeremies, who worked as hard as ever on the Bernabeu pitch, had minor knee surgery on the same day as Elber.

"Congratulations to our medical department," said Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer. "The fact that Elber and Jeremies were fully fit in just 10 days will probably go into the Guinness Book of records."

Elber's fine effort from a loose ball around 20 metres out to surprise a late-moving Iker Casillas in the goal was one of few highlights in Bayern's performance.

GREAT TRADITION

The rest was solid defensive work and no-frills midfield play in the great Bayern tradition, along with a couple of crucial saves from Oliver Kahn.

"A strong defence was the key," Beckenbauer acknowledged. "Real put us under a lot of pressure and it's almost a miracle that we did not concede a goal. Kahn was sensational."

Bayern may not be the most exciting team in the world but they can now dream of another final two years after that dramatic night in Barcelona, when Manchester United scored twice in injury time to beat them 2-1.

But Elber insisted the Munich club still had plenty of work to do if they were to win European club soccer's premier title for the first time since the last of three successive triumphs in 1976.

"We're not through yet," he said. "Real are a super team and they will be dangerous in Munich as well."

The only consolation for Real was the yellow card for Bayern's influential playmaker and captain Stefan Effenberg which rules him out of the return leg.

"It's a great loss because he is our leader and plays a really important role in our game," said Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld.

Effenberg claimed he had done nothing wrong.

"It was never a yellow card," he said of his offence on Real star Luis Figo. "Figo jumped in the air but I hadn't touched him.

"Never mind. The team will reach the final even without me."