Football: Elber Adds Bright Edge to Bayern's Awkward Squad ; Tim Collings in Munich Finds a Brazilian Adapting Well to the Bavarian Ethic

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WHEN GIOVANE ELBER went under the surgeon's knife in Munich in the middle of April, few of even the most vociferous Bayern Munich fans would have backed him to make a comeback, let alone a significant one, in the German club's Champions' League semi-final against Real Madrid.

The Spanish champions were, after all, the European Cup holders and widely regarded as the highest-quality team in the competition, virtually unbeatable, it seemed, in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, and capable of scoring almost anywhere at will.

Elber, however, made light of all that with his performances in the two legs of the Bavarian side's demolition job on Vicente del Bosque's team. …