While Bayern, had just sealed a third league title in a row, appeared cursed not to win the European Cup again – in contrast to the "Bayern-luck" which was perceived to benefit them in domestic competitions such as their two most recent league titles, won on the final day by the narrowest of margins – their opponents at the San Siro showdown would be Valencia, the team beaten by Madrid in the 2000 final, therefore it was something of a 'battle of the losers' (the first time the previous two beaten finalists had met) with one club to be redeemed and another to suffer a second misfortune in quick succession. The match was a tense affair, ending 1–1 after extra time with both goals from penalty kicks (Bayern's from Stefan Effenberg in the second half after Scholl failed to score from one in the first period), leading to a shootout in which Kahn saved three of Valencia's seven attempts for a 5–4 victory, the end of a 25-year wait to lift the 'big ears cup' for a fourth time, and a sense of both triumph and relief for the players and head coach Ottmar Hitzfeld who had been involved two years earlier (by contrast, for Hitzfeld's counterpart Héctor Cúper it was his third defeat in major European finals in as many years).