In what may be the final act of his Chelsea career, Didier Drogba sealed victory in a tension-packed Champions League final with the last kick of the shootout to clinch victory after he had headed Chelsea's equaliser two minutes from time to force a 1-1 draw and send the game to extra time.
Bayern, just as in 1999 when they lost 2-1 to Manchester United who scored two goals in stoppage time, were within touching distance of the cup thanks to an 83rd-minute header from Thomas Muller.
Even in extra time Bayern had a golden opportunity to seal the win but Arjen Robben's penalty was saved by Petr Cech after Drogba fouled Franck Ribery to concede the spot-kick.
Chelsea's success, built on the millions invested in the club over the last nine years by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, came on another night of unlikely glory in a season that seemed to be going nowhere under coach Andre Villas-Boas who was sacked in March.
The match itself was similar to Chelsea's astonishing semi-final victory over Barcelona with both successes built on solid steel rearguard actions against sides that dominated them territorially and with possession of the ball.
The Barcelona victory followed Chelsea's win over Napoli in the last 16 when they lost the first leg 3-1 in Italy and came back to win 4-1 in the second leg, a result that ultimately set them on the road to their success in Germany.
"I believe a lot in destiny," Drogba said. "It was written a long time ago. This team is amazing and I dedicate this cup to all the managers and players we had before.
"[My equaliser] changed the game. Life is fantastic."
