|
|
 |
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Bayern hangs on Champions League holder Madrid falls 2-1, goes out
Updated: Wednesday May 09, 2001 9:53 PM
MUNICH, Germany (AP) -- Giovane Elber and Jens Jeremies' first-half goals lifted Bayern Munich past Real Madrid 2-1 Wednesday as the German club earned a trip to the Champions Cup final for the second time in three years. Munich gained revenge for being ousted by the Spanish club in last year's semifinals, advancing 3-1 on aggregate after a 1-0 opening leg triumph in Madrid two weeks ago. Bayern will face FC Valencia in the May 23 final in Milan, Italy, after having ousted the defending champions. Elber, a Brazilian forward, stunned Madrid with an 8th minute header on a warm night in front of 62,000 at Munich's Olympiastadion, while Jeremies' 34th minute roller inside the right post -- which came on a trick free kick -- took the drama out of the match. Portugese star Figo scored Madrid's goal in the 18th minute, temporarily lifting the Spanish hopes by side-footing a cross from Raul inside the left post to even the score at 1-1 after Elber's early goal.
Madrid's stars, which didn't have much luck in breaking down the German defense in either leg, vainly chased the two goals it needed to advance for the rest of the match after Jeremies' score. Mehmet Scholl had surprised the Spanish players with his quick side pass to Jeremies on a left-center free kick and the German midfielder's flying kick produced a roller that slid just inside the right post. Munich also has a chance to wipe away the memories of the 1999 final, when Manchester United stunned it with two-injury time goals in a 2-1 victory that produced one of the Champions Cup's most memorable end matches ever. Hitzfeld praises solid home recordBayern Munich trainer Ottmar Hitzfeld said his team's "fantastic" 2-1 win over Real Madrid to secure their place against Valencia in the Champions League final was a testament to their strength at home. Bayern have lost just three out of 74 home European Cup and Champions League games -- and have never lost at home in the competition by more than one goal. "My team put in a fantastic performance. And we are a team that can always score goals at home. We had plenty of chances to win by an even bigger margin," Hitzfeld said. "It was a sensational performance to beat Real Madrid twice. It's a great feeling to be in the final again. Some of the experts might be surprised, but I'm not because I know just what my team can do." Now Bayern will hope to carry their strength in defense to the San Siro stadium in Milan on May 23 where they face another famously mean defence in Valencia. Real Madrid trainer Vicente del Bosque praised Bayern's performance but said it was difficult to break down the home side's defensive wall. "That was a notable but not a great performance by us. We had very strong opponents. Bayern played with five defenders and we couldn't get around that," del Bosque said. Real Madrid put Bayern under a lot of pressure, particularly in the second half. While Bayern occasionally found the pace and trickery of Roberto Carlos hard to counter, solid defending by Ghana's Sammy Kuffour, Germany's Thomas Linke and Sweden's Patrik Andersson kept Real out. Luis Figo's first-half goal against the run of play surprised Bayern's commercial manager Uli Hoeness, who said he never doubted the outcome. "The counter goal didn't fit into my concept and it was lucky it came in the first half. We played more defensively in the second half," he said. "Bayern Munich is possibly the best football team in the world," said Hoeness. Brazilian striker Elber joked about the rash of injuries which have plagued Bayern in recent weeks and almost ruled out himself, Jens Jeremies and Mehmet Scholl. "My goal is dedicated to the medical team. A big fat kiss to [team doctor] Mueller-Wohlfahrt. Without his excellent work Jeremies and I wouldn't have been there," Elber said. Bayern need to hold their defensive nerve to help them make amends for losing 2-1 to Manchester United at Barcelona's Nou Camp stadium in the 1999 final after conceding two goals in injury-time. Scholl warned against getting too excited ahead of the final, particularly with the 1999 result in mind. "We haven't done it yet. Valencia are a dangerous side with excellent players. We have a brutal game ahead of us," Scholl said. SummaryScorers: Bayern Munich - Elber 8, Jens Jeremies 34 Real Madrid - Luis Figo 18 Halftime: 2-1; Attendance: 60,000 Teams: Bayern Munich: 1-Oliver Kahn; 4-Sammy Kuffour, 5-Patrik Andersson, 25-Thomas Linke; 2-Willy Sagnol, 16-Jens Jeremies (10-Ciriaco Sforza 70), 23-Owen Hargreaves, 3-Bixente Lizarazu; 7-Mehmet Scholl (24-Roque Santa Cruz 59), 20-Hasan Salihamidzic, 9-Elber (21-Alexander Zickler 85) Real Madrid: 25-Iker Casillas; 2-Michel Salgado, 18-Aitor Karanka (9-Fernando Morientes 66), 4-Fernando Hierro, 3-Roberto Carlos; 6-Ivan Helguera, 24-Claude Makelele, 10-Luis Figo, 8-Steve McManaman (11-Savio 61); 7-Raul, 14-Guti Referee: Kim Milton Nielsen (Denmark).
Reuters contributed to this report.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
