Bayern are very good. Should Real be worried?

The Allianz Arena is home to Bayern Munich, arguably one of – if not the most – successful clubs from Germany, and will host the final of the UEFA Champions League on the 19th of May this year: a competition in which Bayern entered the semi-finals on Tuesday, having beaten French outfit Olympique de Marseilles 4-0 on aggregate. The fact that the final of Europe’s most prestigious club competition is being held at the Allianz Arena should give Bayern extra incentive in their semi-final tie against Spanish giants Real Madrid. Jose Mourinho has already begun his mental manipulations, recently stating that “For me the big question is knowing who will play against Barca in the final. It will be a great semi-final, Bayern against Real Madrid, and the best team will go on to play in the final against Barca. “Because they are very good,” he added, before abruptly ending the interview. The last time Bayern faced a side led by Jose Mourinho, it was in the final of the 2009-10 edition of the competition, when Inter Milan beat them 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu, with a brace from Argentina striker Diego Milito. The first leg of the tie will be played in Germany, but Jupp Heynckes’ side will be hoping to avenge their defeat of two years ago. [caption id=“attachment_272881” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Bayern Munich’s Robben and Gomez celebrate goal during German Bundesliga soccer match against Augsburg in Munich. Reuters”] [/caption] Of course, this Bayern are a huge improvement over the side that were defeated in the Spanish capital. As Fox Soccer’s Andy Brassell puts it, “The 2010 Bayern was a thrilling but haphazard beast, as porous as it was potent. Had Luis van Gaal managed to make a team with such a flaky defence European Champion, it would have probably ranked as the finest achievement of an illustrious coaching career.” With a side that was leaking as many goals as it was conceding, football purists might argue that winning the Champions League would have been unjust for Bayern. Not this time around. Bayern Munich were assigned to the Group of Death of the current edition of the Champions League. Against Napoli, Villarreal and Manchester City, Bayern’s class and previous experience in the competition showed, coming away with thirteen points from a possible fifteen in their first five games to guarantee themselves a place in the knockout stages as group winners. In the knockout stages of the competition, Bayern faced off against FC Basel. The Swiss side pulled off a shock (or maybe not) 1-0 win in front of a sold-out 36,000 audience at St. Jakob Park, Valentin Stocker scoring in the 86th minute. In the return fixture Bayern were rampant, slicing their opposition to ribbons. Arjen Robben opened the scoring in the elventh minute before Thomas Muller and Mario Gomez made it 3-0 at the break. Die Roten continued to assault Basel in the second half, when Gomez scored three more and Robben added a second to his tally. Bayern have never done well against French opposition in the past, but Marseilles were woefully out of form. Franck Ribery, once the darling of the city was booed and jeered as he began his warm-up. As Brassell says, “Once upon a time this fiercely insular corner of French soccer would have shielded him against any of the brickbats. Not any more. As he warmed up, Ribéry had to endure obscene chants about his mother from the Marseille fans who once adored him.” But Bayern cantered to a fairly straightforward win. Gomez opened the scoring a minute before half time while Robben doubled his side’s advantage in the 69th minute. After the game, Heynckes said, “It is not easy in Marseille – plenty of other teams will tell you that – so it was important that we didn’t concede.” Those two away goals meant Bayern had all but put the tie to bed. Marseilles skipper Steve Mandanda said his side would try to ‘attempt the impossible’ when they travelled to Germany. “We still believe in ourselves, we still believe in our qualities and in our chances. Tomorrow we will try everything to perhaps still accomplish the impossible.” But fortress Allianz was hardly going to crumble against a team that had failed to win in their last nine games, and a first-half brace from veteran Ivica Olic meant Bayern had made it through to the semi-finals. This Bayern team is so good because of the confidence within the squad. Ribery has described his relationship with Heynckes as ‘a breath of fresh air’, saying, “We’re keeping it very tight at the moment, we’re very disciplined, aggressive, and hard-working. It’s going well and we have to keep it up.” Midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger was also upbeat “At the moment, there is desire in the team, and all credit for that,” said Schweini. The final being played at Bayern’s home ground has fuelled the winning mentality of Robben and Phillip Lahm. The Dutch winger said, “We shouldn’t talk about the final yet, but of course it’s something extra special when it’s in your own stadium. I think it’s something special, the final in your stadium. For the club, it would be something incredibly big. First, we have to do everything to get a round further.” Defender Lahm said that he was dreaming of the Champions League final. “Knowing that the final takes place at our own stadium, our dream is obviously to make it there. Barcelona and Real Madrid appear to be on another level to the rest, but anything is possible in a direct conversation if we are having a good day.” But defeats in the Bundesliga at Hannover, Moenchengaldbach and Bremen make Bayern’s away form slightly unpredictable. Toni Kroos looked out of sorts playing the deep midfield role in Marseille and was rightly booked in the 31st minute for a rash tackle against Mathieu Valbuena. Lahm was extremely lucky to see his desperate lunge at the France international just before half-time go unpunished: a decision that surely would have changed the face of the game had Lahm – who had already received one yellow – been booked a second time. The last time Bayern were chasing a treble which involved Europe’s holy grail, they fell cruelly at the last hurdle. Despite leading at the Camp Nou in 1999 for most of the game through Mario Basler’s sixth-minute goal, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Teddy Sheringham scored in the dying seconds of the game to snatch the trophy – which had already been decorated in scarlet and grey ribbons – to give Manchester United one of the greatest Champions League wins of all time. Sir Alex Ferguson’s first words after the game to the press were ‘football, bloody hell’ while Clive Tyldesley wondered aloud “what must Lotthar Matthaus be thinking? Well, with the greatest respect, who cares?” Germany’s most capped player had been in a similar situation before, having seen his team lead against Porto in 1987, only for the Dragons to come from behind to clinch the trophy. Against United, he had been subbed off in the 86th minute, and took off his runners-up medal the moment he received it. The tie will also be fraught with emotions for Heynckes, who was ruthlessly fired from the Real Madrid set up after winning them the Champions League in 1998. Heynckes remains grounded in spite of Bayern’s future fixtures. “There are some crazy games waiting for us, but we can’t think too far ahead, that’s no good. We should not put ourselves under pressure. Everything else is at the back of my mind and will only be brought out when necessary. So to not be presumptuous, we don’t think of anything which is too far away. I’ll let everything come to me." Bayern have had an excellent season so far, but they will need to up their game a notch further if they are to get past Jose Mourinho’s Madrid team that are unbeaten so far. On the 19th of May, the Allianz Arena will entertain 69,901 fans. Should Die Roten get past real Madrid, Bayern Munich’s dream of walking out on their home turf to contest the final of the 2011-12 UEFA Champions League could well turn into reality.