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Bayern wants revenge Spain faces England in two Champions League quarters
Updated: Monday April 02, 2001 11:53 AM
LONDON (AP) -- Bayern Munich had the 1999 European Champions League snatched away in the final minutes by Manchester United, and the Germans are out to exact revenge. The shot at retribution begins Tuesday at Old Trafford stadium in the first-leg quarterfinals of the Champions League. While two of club soccer's longest standing archrivals -- "Best of Enemies" as one English paper called them -- are gnawing away at each other in Manchester, defending champion Real Madrid is the betting favorite to win a record-ninth title. Real is at Istanbul's Galatasaray on Tuesday, the first Turkish team to reach the quarterfinals. Real Madrid eliminated both Bayern and Manchester United last season and -- as a year ago -- its biggest threat could come from the two other Spanish sides left in the fray. Defending Spanish champion Deportivo La Coruna travels Wednesday to England's Leeds. Further south in England, last year's runner-up to Real Madrid -- Valencia -- plays at Arsenal on Wednesday. How badly does Bayern Munich want to eliminate Manchester United? Captain Stefan Effenberg has promised to wear red lederhosen and cowboy boots and dance around Olympic Stadium in the second leg in two weeks if the Munich side pulls off the trick. "Tell them we will knock them out this time," Effenberg said. "Tell them we will concentrate for 95 minutes this time." "We wanted them and now we got them," he added. "Ever since we learned that we were playing Man U, I've been looking forward to it. Old Trafford, a good rival, the whole hype. The match from two years ago doesn't interest me anymore. I live in the present." Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld has injury problems on defense. Veteran starter Thorsten Fink tore a knee ligament against Bremen in a 3-2 loss over the weekend, and Jens Jeremies suffered ankle and knee injuries during the match. Brazilian striker Giovane Elber said the 1999 defeat has been suppressed but not forgotten. "If you live in the past, you belong to a soccer museum. Get a draw away, and then we blow them away at home," was Elber's formula for success. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has a full-strength side after resting Andy Cole, Jaap Stam and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in Saturday 2-0 loss to Liverpool. Paul Scholes and Mikael Silvestre are expected to start after being used as substitutes. Ferguson called Tuesday the day "our season starts." More than the win over Bayern two years ago, Ferguson has been hashing over the loss to Real Madrid at this stage a year ago "I was disappointed with our tactics in that game and that is down to me," he said. "We went for Real's throat in the game at Old Trafford when we should have been more patient." Despite Bayern's quest to get even and Galatasaray's foray into unknown territory, the quarterfinals dish up Spain vs. England and bragging rights over who has Europe's strongest league. Spain gets the nod going in, since all three of its clubs won the group stage in the Champions League with English sides finishing second. The Spanish sides, therefore, will host all the second-leg matches. Italy, the power of European club play in the 90s, is without a team in the quarterfinals for the first time since 1988. Real Madrid is almost everyone's pick to beat Galatasaray, although Real's defense looks a bit shaky and the team could be getting tired. Coach Vicente del Bosque, who just signed for two more seasons, has a fully fit side that includes Brazilian midfielder Falvio Conceicao for the first time in the three months. "It's clear that certain players are showing signs of tiredness. Not just physical tiredness. All the hours we have spent away from home are taking their toll and it's a big worry for us," he said. Del Bosque also recalls that Galatasaray, the defending UEFA Cup champion, beat Real 1-0 last August in the European Supercup. "It has really improved over recent seasons and deserves to be regarded as one of the best eight teams in Europe," Del Bosque said. Galatasaray coach Mircea Lucescu will be without midfielder Emre Belozoglu. He suffered an injury warming up in last week's Turkey-Slovakia World Cup qualifier. Galatasaray wanted to postpone a match with Besiktas give players more time to prepare. Club officials were furious when Turkey's football federation turned down the request. "Until now we thought we were playing for Turkey," he said. "From now on we'll be playing for ourselves." On Wednesday, Arsenal will find Hector Cuper's Valencia -- as always -- a difficult side to score against. A 1-0 loss Saturday to Espanyol was only Valencia's second loss in two months in all play. Valencia could get a boost if Argentine international forward Pablo Aimar has recovered from a muscle strain. Compatriot Kily Gonzalez, who missed Saturday, is available again. Definitely missing is Romanian international striker Adrian Ilie, who has torn fibers in his right thigh and will be out of action for three weeks. When the Gunners are right, they can beat anybody with wins this season over Man United and Lazio. But they are inconsistent, miss Emmanuel Petit at midfield and are not as solid on defense as usual. Arsenal is still alive in the FA Cup, but this is the cup that matters for a side -- like Valencia -- that's never won it. "This is as good an opportunity as ever to get to the semifinals and we're determined to grab it," said manager Arsene Wenger, who has turned down an overture to manage Barcelona next season. Leeds manager David O'Leary has been frank -- he'd rather be playing Bayern Munich and fears the largely unknown Galician side on Wednesday. "I'd have preferred to be facing Bayern. I think the Spanish league is the best in Europe and Deportivo won it last year. They might not have the names of Real Madrid or Barcelona but they are an excellent side." The same can be said for Leeds. Despite bagging another two goals Saturday to take his season's tally to 14, striker Diego Tristan looks set to start on the bench with Dutch international Roy Makaay spearheading Deportivo's attack. Coach Javier Irureta is waiting on the fitness of his two Brazilian veterans, midfielder Mauro Silva and key, rock-solid defender Donato, who has a strained thigh. Leeds striker Alan Smith has a calf strain and could be doubtful to partner Mark Viduka up front. After early season injury problems, Leeds has recovered to move up to third in the standings. Hanging over the team is the trial of three Leeds players -- Lee Bowyer, Jonathan Woodgate and Michael Duberry -- in the beating of an Asian student 14 months ago outside a Leeds bar. The judge in the trial was to conclude summing up this week. Club chairman Peter Ridsdale has said the players would not be allowed to play again for Leeds if they were found guilty of the most serious charge - causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
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