MADRID:
Jose Mourinho blamed fatigue from their ‘Clasico’ win and sheer bad luck for Real Madrid’s failure to reach the Champions League final.
The nine-times European champions had been convinced they were going to reach the final, buoyed by their 2-1 La Liga win at Barcelona on Saturday, and by their arch-rivals’ shock defeat to Chelsea.
With the league title all but in the bag, seven points clear with four left to play, Mourinho in only his second season at the helm looked like he had it within his grasp to steal Barca’s European crown as well.
“There was no luck,” said Mourinho. “It’s difficult to reach two semis in two years and not make the final. We deserved to win. We played with everyone on the weekend and our opponents didn’t.
“Apart from freshness, the team played great though. These players aren’t supermen. That’s just a film. The players went to their very limits.”
Mourinho seemed to end the speculation that he might leave Madrid at the end of the campaign even though he still has two years left on his four-year deal at the Bernabeu.
“If we continue with this empathy, this club and this team has margin to improve and grow. If the club and the players think I and they can keep bringing something to this. I will continue.”
Heynckes hails ‘magical night’
Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes hailed a ‘magical night’ at his former stomping ground in the Spanish capital after leading the Bundesliga side past Real Madrid.
Heynckes won Europe’s premier club competition in his only season in charge at Real in 1997-98 and it was a triumphant return to the Bernabeu for the 66-year-old German. Bayern looked to be heading out when Cristiano Ronaldo put the Spaniards 2-0 ahead inside the first 15 minutes. But they gradually got into their stride, Arjen Robben netting a 27th-minute penalty to make it 2-1 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate before goalkeeper Manuel Neuer saved spot kicks from Ronaldo and Kaka in a shootout to help the Bavarians through to the May 19 final.
“We had big problems in the first 15 minutes and then we played excellent football for long periods,” said Heynckes. “I am particularly happy for my players and all the people who work for the club.”
Bayern fans race for tickets
Bayern Munich have been flooded with more than a million requests for tickets for the Champions League final at their Allianz Arena stadium.
Bayern now face Chelsea in Munich and the Bavarians will hold a ballot to decide which of the million plus requests gets one of the precious 17,500 tickets allocated to the club.
Munich’s vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger hit the winning penalty to seal Bayern’s 3-1 penalty shoot-out.
“Ever since it was announced that the final would be in Munich, we’ve all had only one target - to get there,” he said. “Now we have one more match at home, and we want to win it.”
Mourinho
“Apart from freshness, the team played great though. These players aren’t supermen. That’s just a film. The players went to their very limits to play the kind of football they did.”
Heynckes
“We played a great game against an extraordinary opponent. Our goalkeeper has been great at the end and we’ve had a bit of luck. It was almost an obsession for us to play the final in our stadium.”
Schweinsteiger
“Ever since it was announced that the final would be in Munich, we’ve all had only one target - to get there. Now we have one more match at home, and we want to win it.”
Published in The Express Tribune, April 27th, 2012.
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