Van Gaal: Bayern are not Europe's elite

Bayern Munich coach Louis van Gaal still does not believe his team are among the elite sides of European football.

Bayern have the chance to join Liverpool as five-times winners of the European Cup when they take on Inter Milan at the Bernabeu stadium in Madrid tomorrow night.

The German giants, like opponents Inter, have the chance to secure an historic treble having already won their domestic league and cup competitions, while en route to tomorrow's final they knocked out highly-fancied Manchester United having trailed 4-2 on aggregate at one point.

Despite all that though, Van Gaal feels they are not yet in the class of teams like United and last season's European champions Barcelona.

When asked if he felt Bayern had reached the highest level with their performances domestically and in Europe this season, Van Gaal said: "I don't think so. As I said before I think that Chelsea, Manchester United and Barcelona are the better teams of Europe. Nevertheless, we can win the title.

"We have shown our level and of course we were also a little bit lucky that time when we played against Manchester United, but it was deserved I believe.

"It's always possible that the lower level club wins, that's sport."

Van Gaal also used this opportunity to appeal to FIFA president Sepp Blatter and UEFA chief Michel Platini to introduce changes to help referees make key decisions due to the amount at stake in top matches.

"I still believe Barca have shown the best football this season in Europe, but details are always deciding the game, and when the referee is not doing what he has to do, then you have a problem," Van Gaal added.

"I've said it before, we have to help the referee as he cannot see everything. And the interest is so high. So maybe Mr Platini, maybe Mr Blatter, we have to change this."

Van Gaal, who won the Champions League with Ajax in 1995, took charge of Bayern last summer but the Dutchman suffered a difficult start to life in the Allianz Arena hotseat.

In their opening three matches Bayern only picked up two points, while in the Champions League group stages they looked destined for an early exit after taking just four points from their first four matches.

However, they scraped through in second place behind Bordeaux following victories in their final two matches against Maccabi Haifa and Juventus, before then claiming away goals successes over Fiorentina and Manchester United in the next two rounds following 4-4 aggregate draws.

In the semi-finals they cruised past Lyon 4-0, thanks largely to Ivica Olic's hat-trick in the return meeting in France.

Speaking about his time in charge, Van Gaal believes it takes time to get a team playing the way he wants.
"From day one the team tried to understand me. I have a specific way of training not only the body but the mind and this takes time," he said.

"When I was at Ajax it also took six months for the team to understand my philosophy, and also at Barcelona and Bayern. The chemistry between the players and coach is very important."

Bayern will be missing one of their key cogs tomorrow as French winger Franck Ribery is suspended.
However, they will still be able to call on flying Dutchman Arjen Robben, a player who will know the Bernabeu well having represented Real Madrid before joining Bayern.

Van Gaal also has plenty of other attacking weapons in his armoury with the likes of Olic, Miroslav Klose and Bastian Schweinsteiger capable of testing an Inter defence which performed heroics in the semi-final second leg against holders Barcelona at the Nou Camp.

Comparing his football philosophy to that of Inter counterpart Jose Mourinho, who was once an assistant to Van Gaal at Barca, the Dutch coach feels he is a more attack-minded coach that the Portuguese, but he is well aware that the Italian champions have plenty of firepower going forward as well.

"I think my philosophy is always to attack. I think Mourinho is more defensive tactically but he has good players who can decide the outcome of a match," Van Gaal said.

"I think Inter Milan are a very difficult opponent and I think their matches against Chelsea and Barcelona have proved that."

Source: ESPN Star 

Treble-chasing Bayern wary of Werder

Dutch winger Arjen Robben says his Bayern Munich side must be wary of defending champions Werder Bremen in tomorrow's German Cup final as they look to take another step closer to the treble.

Bayern secured the Bundesliga crown last weekend at Berlin's Olympic Stadium, but will return there tomorrow to face cup holders Bremen before heading to Madrid for next weekend's UEFA Champions League final against Inter Milan.

Robben has terrorised defences in Germany since his arrival from Real Madrid last October with 22 goals, 18 of which came in the Bundesliga, but says Bayern must be on their guard against Bremen.

The Thomas Schaaf-coached side earned a Champions League qualifying place by finishing third in the German league thanks to a strong finish to the season. Bayern beat Bremen 3-2 in the league when the sides last met in January, with Robben's free-kick winning the game, but the Dutchman says his side must be on their guard.

"That result counts for nothing now," said Robben. "Bremen didn't lose in the league after that and set off on a great run. Werder are a good side with lots of attacking quality, players like Mesut Oezil, Claudio Pizarro, who I know from Chelsea, Marko Marin and so on.

"They were second top scorers in the league after us. I'm not sure we're overwhelming favourites on Saturday, anything could happen, and it'll be about form on the day. We'll have to give it 100 per cent."

Between them, Bremen and Bayern have won eight of the last 12 German Cup titles and Robben says he expects to see the goals fly. "I'd be really surprised if it ended 0-0. I'm sure there'll be goals, and I'm also sure of this: if we keep a clean sheet, we'll win."

Tomorrow will be the highlight of Bremen's season, but Bayern's will come a week later in Madrid. "It shouldn't be a problem, as there's a full week between matches," said Robben.

"Come Saturday, we'll be totally focused on Bremen. At this stage, Madrid might be somewhere in the back of our minds, but once we run out at the Olympic stadium, we'll be thinking only of Bremen. We've shown often enough we're capable of taking each game as it comes."

Bayern have good reason to fear Bremen as their captain Torsten Frings said nothing pleases him more than beating his former club. "There is nothing better than winning against Bayern," said the ex-Germany midfielder. "You only have to look at how much they have invested."

Frings was only 22 the last time the two arch-rivals met in the German Cup final and was on the winning side as Bremen ran out 5-4 winners on penalties to claim their first title under Schaaf. Bayern had already seen their dreams of winning the double crushed as they lost the Champions League final 2-1 to Manchester United in Barcelona a fortnight before.

And Frings says he hopes that will play in Bremen's hands. "Everyone is only talking about Bayern, nobody has us on their minds," said Frings. "It was also like that in 1999, the only question about the result was how many we would lose by."

Source: FIFA