When Bayern play tonight (20:45 CEST) at the intimidating Karaiskakis stadium of Olympiacos, Guardiola and his team will have the long term target of the Champions League final on 28th May 2016 in mind.
Guardiola wants to follow in the footsteps of Jupp Heynckes and earn Bayern‘s second treble. In Munich, he said "only the treble counts". Guardiola will have to go without the injured Arjen Robben. "With so much quality in the team, we must demand from ourselves the very best."
Rummenigge wants "to start with a win"
Bayern, who have made it to the semi-final the last two years in a row, want to go into the heated atmosphere in Greece with cool heads. "We want to start with a win. We’re an experienced team, but the crowd will certainly get behind our opponents," said chairman Rummenigge while waiting to board a plane to Athens.
Rummenigge, however, refused to consider the prospect of the final before the first group stage game. "That is a long way away. We need to take it step by step and first think about getting to the last 16. We can’t allow ourselves to underestimate our opponents in this group," said Rummenigge. He also mentioned that "there have been a few teams like Dortmund and Manchester United who have been shocked in Athens."
Ten of Olympiacos’ last 13 home Champions League games have finished wins for the Greek champions. Last year, Olympiacos won all their home Champions League fixtures, including victories over Juventus and Atletico Madrid.
"We are wary of our opponents. We must give 100%, otherwise we can easily be punished," said captain Philipp Lahm. Germany international Thomas Müller, Bayern’s current in form goalscorer, is not feeling the pressure too much. "We will go into the game with a lot of self confidence and we are well prepared."
Robben: "You can’t get away with making mistakes in the Champions League"
Alongside Robben, Franck Ribéry, Medhi Benatia and Holger Badstuber will miss the game through injury. Götze, who missed the Augsburg derby at the weekend, is back in the squad ahead of the match in the sold out Olympiacos ground. "The fans there go crazy, so we must be switched on right from the off," said Jerome Boateng. For fear of riots, there will be police protection at the station for the away fans.
Although Group F includes the opponents of Arsenal and Zagreb, Lahm says that it shouldn’t be too big a task. "We want to do as well as possible. But we must concentrate and take the group stage seriously."
When Bayern play tonight (20:45 CEST) at the intimidating Karaiskakis stadium of Olympiacos, Guardiola and his team will have the long term target of the Champions League final on 28th May 2016 in mind.
Guardiola wants to follow in the footsteps of Jupp Heynckes and earn Bayern‘s second treble. In Munich, he said "only the treble counts". Guardiola will have to go without the injured Arjen Robben. "With so much quality in the team, we must demand from ourselves the very best."
Rummenigge wants "to start with a win"
Bayern, who have made it to the semi-final the last two years in a row, want to go into the heated atmosphere in Greece with cool heads. "We want to start with a win. We’re an experienced team, but the crowd will certainly get behind our opponents," said chairman Rummenigge while waiting to board a plane to Athens.
Rummenigge, however, refused to consider the prospect of the final before the first group stage game. "That is a long way away. We need to take it step by step and first think about getting to the last 16. We can’t allow ourselves to underestimate our opponents in this group," said Rummenigge. He also mentioned that "there have been a few teams like Dortmund and Manchester United who have been shocked in Athens."
Ten of Olympiacos’ last 13 home Champions League games have finished wins for the Greek champions. Last year, Olympiacos won all their home Champions League fixtures, including victories over Juventus and Atletico Madrid.
"We are wary of our opponents. We must give 100%, otherwise we can easily be punished," said captain Philipp Lahm. Germany international Thomas Müller, Bayern’s current in form goalscorer, is not feeling the pressure too much. "We will go into the game with a lot of self confidence and we are well prepared."
Robben: "You can’t get away with making mistakes in the Champions League"
Alongside Robben, Franck Ribéry, Medhi Benatia and Holger Badstuber will miss the game through injury. Götze, who missed the Augsburg derby at the weekend, is back in the squad ahead of the match in the sold out Olympiacos ground. "The fans there go crazy, so we must be switched on right from the off," said Jerome Boateng. For fear of riots, there will be police protection at the station for the away fans.
Although Group F includes the opponents of Arsenal and Zagreb, Lahm says that it shouldn’t be too big a task. "We want to do as well as possible. But we must concentrate and take the group stage seriously."
Müller, who is in the form of his life, thinks that the beginning of this stage is "always the hardest, as you have to start as you mean to go on". Robben said that "you can’t get away with making mistakes in the Champions League."
