On Saturday at 2:30pm Eastern Time, Internazionale Milan and Bayern Munich will meet for the UEFA Champions League title. Due to some strange anomaly the match will actually get broadcast on basic television in the United States. Will anyone in America be watching? It's hard to say. But just in case there are a few soccer newbies tuning in, we thought we'd offer up a nice little desk reference to make the match easier to understand. Because if all 10 people who read this site tuned in, Fox's ratings would probably double.

THE TEAMS

Bayern Munich - Qualified for this Champions League by finishing 2nd in the Bundesliga in 2008-09. Currently the 2009-10 German champs. Winners of the 2009-10 German Cup. 4-time winners of the Champions League (1974, 1975, 1976, 2001).

Internazionale - (Inter Milan or Inter) Qualified for this Champions League by winning Serie A in 2008-09. Currently the 2009-10 Italian champs and winners of the 2009-10 Italian Cup. 2-time winners of the Champions League (1964, 1965). Defeated defending UEFA Champions League title-holders Barcelona in the semifinals.

THE HOME LEAGUES

Bundesliga - The German League. Efficient, technical, and productive. Just what we'd expect from the country that brought us Mercedes and BMW.  Rated the top league in Europe for most of the mid 1970's through late 80's.

Serie A - The Italian League. Possibly the most corrupt league in all of world sports. In comparison to its last decade alone, Pete Rose, the Black Sox, and Tim Donaghy look as clean as Tim Tebow.  Rated the top league in Europe for most of the late 80's through 2000.


THE COACHES

Jose Mourinho - ("The Special One", "The Translator") Internazionale's manager. Probably the best coach in Europe not named Sir Alex Ferguson. Won the Champions League with FC Porto in 2004 the season after winning the UEFA Cup (Europa League). Led Chelsea to their first Premiere League crown in over 50 years. Missed completing The Treble with FC Porto in 2004 when they lost in the Portuguese Cup final. Now has chance to clinch it with Inter. In just his eighth full season of coaching he's looking for his 17th trophy, which he'll use as leverage to gain the Real Madrid job. (In comparison, Alex Ferguson has 45 trophies in 36 full club seasons)

Louis van Gaal - Bayern Munich's manager. Much like his counterpart, Mourinho, he has previously won both Champions League and Europe League titles with a different team (Ajax). Unlike his counterpart, he wants to stay with his current club next season. By winning the final, he'd clinch his 20^th trophy in 17 seasons.

THE STAKES

Treble - A rare accomplishment where a team wins it's national league, top national tournament, and the continental champions league in the same season. Only been achieved in Europe 5 times: Ajax, Manchester United, Barcelona, PSV Eindhoven and Celtic. Regardless of whether Bayern Munich or Inter Milan wins, a Treble will be accomplished.

UEFA Champions League – Tournament for the best clubs in Europe that runs from July-May. Teams qualify based on their national league placement the previous season, and the coefficient rank of that national league. Runs concurrently with most European Leagues, therefore successful teams must generally be among the deepest and richest on the continent. Features 4 qualifying rounds with staggered entry. The remaining 10 teams from qualifying enter a group stage with 22 pre-qualified teams. 8 groups of 4 engage in round-robin tournaments with the top two teams of each group advancing. The final 16 clubs are bracketed and continue through 3 home-away knock-out rounds until 2 teams are left. The final is one match at a predetermined location, this year at the Bernabeau in Madrid.

#3 Rank in European Coefficient – The coefficient ranking determines how many teams each league gets to send to the Champions and Europa Leagues. The ranking is based on how successful the teams from each league are in either tournament. The top 3 leagues get 4 Champions League spots and 3 Europa League spots. At the beginning of this year Italy was #3. But if Bayern wins the final, Germany will swap spots with them and send 4 teams to the Champions League in 2011-12.

THE PLAYERS AND STORYLINES

Best Right-back in Soccer – Phillip Lahm of Bayern and Maicon of Inter could both make the claim. Will this match settle any dispute? Probably not, but it could add fuel to the fire.

Franck Ribery - One of the top 10-15 players in the world. A French international who stars for Bayern Munich and is sought after by Real Madrid. Sadly he is banned from the final due to a three game suspension for going over-the-top on a tackle against a Lyon player. He is also embroiled in a scandal involving a 15-year old prostitute. And for good measure, he wouldn't be playing in the World Cup except for a bogus handball that allowed France to defeat Ireland.

Real Madrid Outcasts - Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder were sold from Real last off-season because Florentino Perez believed that they couldn't help Los Blancos advance past the 1st knock-out stage of The Champions League. Needless to say, both will be playing in the final: Robben for Bayern and Sneijder for Inter. Coincidentally, the final will be played in Madrid. Whomever wins, Real Madrid loses.

Samuel Eto'o – Internazionale striker who's trying to become only the fourth player in European history to win back to back Champions League titles while playing for different teams. Last season this feat was accomplished by his former Barcelona teammate Gerard Pique.

THE WORLD CUP OUTLOOK

Argentinian National Team – Martin Demichelis should be starting for Bayern Munich and will be at the World Cup. Defenders Javier Zanetti and Walter Samuel will be starting for Inter in addition to forward Diego Milito and midfielder Esteban Cambiasso. Samuel and Milito will represent Argentina at the World Cup. Zanetti and Cambiasso should be, but their national coach was busy doing lines and strippers.

Brazilian National Team – Internazionale goalie Julio Cesar, and defenders Lucio and Maicon will be starting in the final, and for Brazil in the World Cup. Thiago Motta may also be starting in midfield for Inter, but was left off the World Cup roster.

Diego Maradona – Argentina's national team manager. One of the greatest soccer players of all time. Possibly one of the worst managers of all time. (see Isiah Thomas, Michael Jordan) Most famous for the "Hand of God" and doing truckloads of cocaine. Left Inter Milan stars Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso off of his World Cup roster. Will most likely murder Argentina's chances in South Africa despite having the best player in the world, Lionel Messi, at his disposal.

Dutch National Team - Arjen Robben and Mark Van Bommel play for Bayern Munich. Wesley Sneijder plays for Inter.

German National Team - Prominently featured on Bayern Munich. Phillip Lahm, Miroslav Klose, Mario Gomez, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Hans-Jorg Butt, Holger Badstuber and Thomas Muller all made the preliminary World Cup roster for their country.

Top 10 Players To Watch For Who Will Be In The World Cup

1. Samuel Eto'o- Forward: Inter, Cameroon
    Scored 16 times in all competitions for Inter this season. Owns 44 goals with his national team.

2. Julio Cesar- Goalie: Inter, Brazil
    Only gave up 42 goals in 50 matches this season for Inter. Has 47 caps for Brazil.

3. Arjen Robben- Midfield: Bayern, Netherlands
    Bayern's leading scorer in all competitions this season. Has 11 goals for national team.

4. Wesley Sneijder- Midfield: Inter, Netherlands
    Started 36 games for Inter this year. Has 12 goals for national team.

5. Phillip Lahm- Defender: Bayern, Germany
    Leads Bayern with 52 appearances this season. Been capped 64 times by his national squad.

6. Lucio- Defender: Inter, Brazil
    Started 46 games for Inter this season. Has 89 appearances for Brazil national team.

7. Maicon- Defender: Inter, Brazil
    Started 47 games for Inter this season. Has 55 appearances for Brazil.

8. Diego Milito- Forward: Inter, Argentina
    Scored 25 goals in all competitions this season.

9. Thomas Muller- Forward: Bayern, Germany
    Scored 19 goals in all competitions this season.

10. Mario Gomez- Forward: Bayern, Germany
    Scored 14 goals in all competitions this season. Has scored 14 times for German national team.

Top 5 Players To Watch For NOT In The World Cup

1. Ivica Olic- Forward: Bayern, Croatia
    Tied for 2^nd in Champions League with 7 goals this season.

2. Patrick Viera- Midfield: Inter, France
    If he makes it onto the pitch he may be the most decorated player there. Helped France win 1998 World Cup and 
    98-01 International Treble. Won 16 club trophies in England and Italy.

3. Daniel Van Buyten- Defender: Bayern, Belgium
    Sturdy centerback with 47 appearances for Bayern this season.

4. Javier Zanetti- Defender: Inter, Argentina
    Leads Internazionale in appearances this season with 51.

5. Esteban Cambiasso- Midfield: Inter, Argentina
    Has won 15 club trophies in 8 seasons. Started 37 matches for Inter this season. Never been called up during Diego Maradona's reign as national coach.