The winners, Bayern Munich arrived back at the city's international airport in a specially decorated Lufthansa A-380 early on Sunday evening.

Their plane's fuselage had clearly received a special touch following Bayern's victory at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday, with the German word "Gratulation" and "Congratulations" in English visible just behind the cockpit, alongside a painted-on scarf in Bayern's red and white colors.

Shortly after the plane landed, one of the cockpit windows opened and a member of the flight crew hung out a Bayern Munich team flag.

There was a small crowd of supporters to greet the team as they made their way out of the plane and down onto a red carpet laid out on the wet tarmac in Munich, apparently made up mainly of local dignitaries, airport workers and journalists.

The first recognizable figures to to emerge from the aircraft were team captain Philipp Lahm and head coach Jupp Heynckes, carrying between them the Champions League trophy. They were then followed by midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger and the rest of the newly crowned European champions.

Reserved statements from winners

The players had little to say to reporters as they walked a short distance across the tarmac to the team's waiting bus.

Speaking to a waiting reporter from local public broadcaster BR, Arjen Robben, who scored the winning goal, described Saturday's victory as "historic, it was super."

Captain Lahm also had little to say, reminding the BR reporter that "we have another game on Saturday," referring to next weekend's German Cup final against Stuttgart in Berlin.

With a view to the domestic cup final, the club had earlier announced that there would be no public celebration this Sunday, but that this would be put off until after the team's last game of the season in a week's time.

Thousands greet disappointed finalists in Dortmund

Earlier in the afternoon, Borussia Dortmund, who dropped the 2-1 decision to Bayern on Saturday night, arrived back in that western city on a flight from the British capital. They then travelled to their home ground, where they were cheered by several thousand fans decked out in the clubs yellow and black colors.

"We can be very proud of this Champions League season. That was great.," goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller told pay-TV broadcaster Sky. "There is a lot we can build on for the coming season."