Germany’s search for total football

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL:

South against North, Bavarian aristocrats against the workers from the Ruhr, top dogs against the best-supported underdogs — all the trappings of traditional rivalry, and this time spiced with a very modern political row.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, previously bosom pals with Uli Hoeness, has just fallen out with the Bayern Munich president over a tax evasion scandal involving a Zurich bank account and a €2.5 million payment from club sponsors adidas.