Bayern Munich coach confident of win over Cluj
Bayern Munich manager Louis van Gaal is aiming to continue his side’s good run of results in the UEFA Champions League group stage with victory over Romanian outfit CFR Cluj on Wednesday, 3 November.
Though the Bavarian club has had a poor start to the defence of the Bundesliga title, they have been performing well on the European stage with wins over Cluj, Basel and Roma lifting them to the top over their group.
Victory in the away match against Cluj will ensure Bayern’s progression to the last 16 of the competition and Van Gaal is extremely confident that his side will pick up three points, which will take them a step forward in their bid to emulate their run to the
final of the tournament last season.
He told UEFA’s official website, "We are very confident — we're not even considering the possibility of losing. I think the motivation to win here comes from reaching the final last year.
"The players are accustomed to being motivated for every game so the gap between the two teams in terms of points is not an issue for me and my players."
While Cluj have a dangerman in Lacina Traore, Van Gaal is certain that his defenders are up to the task of snuffing out the threat posed by the Ivorian.
"We have two central defenders to deal with Lacina Traore — (Martin) Demichelis and (Daniel) Van Buyten — so I'm thinking about them, not the striker."
Past results point to Bayern having an advantage (they have never lost to a Romanian club in the tournament), but Van Gaal is well aware that history does not always repeat itself, "History is very important in football, but it can always change, so we are
taking nothing for granted."
Tags: