The referee officiating this match was Florian Meyer, a renowned Bundesliga referee voted the most popular Bundesliga official by thousands of fans in a Kicker Magazine poll.
Meyer's standards were moderate, but his judgment was extremely accurate, with very few missed or incorrect calls.
Assigning such a famous referee to this match showed just how seriously the German Football Association took it.
Who knew whether Bayern Munich was worried about home officiating and had used its connections in German football to bring him in? In any case, Werder Bremen had never received such treatment before.
Both sides announced their starting lineups before kickoff. Werder Bremen's lineup was:
Number 1 goalkeeper Mielitz; Number 22 center-back Sokratis Papastathopoulos; Number 15 center-back Prödl; Number 8 left-back Fritz; Number 23 right-back Serey; number 16 defensive midfielder Junuzovic; Number 14 central midfielder Hunter; Number 6 central midfielder De Bruyne; Number 10 wide midfielder Lin Quan; Number 11 wide midfielder Elia; and Number 7 center-forward Arnautovic.
Their formation was 4-1-4-1. It shifted into a 5-4-1 while defending and a 4-3-3 while attacking, making it capable at both ends.
But its weakness was equally obvious: there were gaps in the half-spaces on both flanks, making them vulnerable to balls played in behind.
Bayern Munich's starting lineup was: Number 1 goalkeeper Neuer; Number 4 center-back Dante; Number 17 center-back Boateng; Number 28 left-back Badstuber; Number 21 right-back Lahm; Number 31 defensive midfielder Schweinsteiger; Number 30 defensive midfielder Gustavo; Number 7 left wide midfielder Ribery; Number 25 right wide midfielder Muller; Number 39 attacking midfielder Kroos; and Number 14 center-forward Pizarro.
The bench was also packed with stars such as Robben, Martinez, Gomez, Mandzukic, Alaba, and Van Buyten.
In the 2012-13 season, Bayern's most terrifying asset was not their starting lineup, but their bench.
There was a saying: Fear