Bayern will play Olympique Marseille in the Champions League quarter-finals, a manageable task on paper for the Bundesliga side. However, the tie will be far from easy, personalities in Munich warned. “We can take nothing for granted. We should try and score at their place," said chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. “We'll have 60,000 spectators against us," said Franck Ribéry, who played at Stade Velodrome from 2005 to 2007.
Reaction to the quarter-final draw:
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: “We can be satisfied. We have a minor advantage by playing the first game in France, as we saw against Basel. But let me warn against thinking this will be easy. Dortmund lost to them twice. We can take nothing for granted. It would be nice if we could come away with a result from the first leg which pushes the door open. We should try and score at their place. We’d be well advised not to think about the second step, but instead focus totally on the quarter-final. The goal is the semi-final and we will have to work hard on that. Milan against Barcelona is the plum tie, between two top favourites. It means one will be knocked out."
Philipp Lahm: “It's a decent draw. There are no easy opponents once you get to the quarter-finals. We can be pleased it's not Barcelona or Real. Marseille have knocked out Dortmund and Inter, and that should be warning enough. Their strength is their team unity. Playing away from home first is a minor advantage."
Franck Ribéry: “It won't be easy, but we’re Bayern Munich. There are plenty of goals in the Marseille team. They're struggling for now in their domestic league, but they’re very aggressive, and we’ll have 60,000 spectators against us at their place. Marseille is football-crazy. Let's see what kind of reception I get."
Vincent Labrune (OM president): “Bayern are one of the three teams you have to be afraid of, a team with exceptional attacking power. The Louis Dreyfus family [Margarita Louis Dreyfus is Marseille's chief shareholder] is very close to Bayern. And it'll be a joy seeing Franz Beckenbauer again. Playing Bayern won't be fun, but we believe we have a chance. We have two huge games ahead of us."
Didier Deschamps (OM coach): “It's a really tough draw. Naturally, we were hoping to avoid the two Spanish clubs, but I think Bayern are right behind them. Once you've come this far, you expect a very high calibre. It'll be important to take a lead in the first leg, like we did against Inter Milan. But Bayern will be a completely different story."