Rummenigge: Real is a massive ask

Bayern’s “biggest dream" rests on the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid, but achieving the dream will be “a massive ask", Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has said. The FCB chairman used his foreword in the current Bayern Magazin club journal to preview the clash between the most successful clubs in Germany and Spain. fcbayern.de presents the former striker’s thoughts ahead of the last four showdown.

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge’s foreword:

Dear Bayern Munich members and fans,

Tuesday is about our biggest dream, a dream we all share, namely reaching the Champions League final at the Allianz Arena. Simply reaching the semi-finals is a gigantic success. FC Bayern Munich is one of the four best teams in Europe – and even we cannot take something like that for granted.

Naturally, we now want to make footballing history and become the first-ever club to reach the Champions League final in our own stadium. But we're also aware that it'll be unbelievably tough against Real Madrid. We face one of the two best teams in the world, the league leaders from Europe's strongest footballing nation, which is providing five of the last eight teams still in European competition this season.

Rightly, the whole world is in raptures about Barcelona, and their stars Messi, Iniesta and Xavi – but which team is top of La Liga? Real Madrid! José Mourinho has once again succeeded in forming a disciplined, success-oriented team from a group of fantastic individuals. It's a massive ask!

Real Madrid appear to start as favourites, but with our quality, our team spirit and our desire, we have a chance. We need two mia san mia days, when everything works out for us, because if we give it 100 percent, we can take our chance. Secretly, the whole of Spain is certainly already dreaming of seeing El Clasico played out in Munich. However, on two huge Bavarian footballing evenings, we can see to it that FC Bayern contests El Clasico on this occasion.

El sueño sigue vivo. The dream lives on!

With warmest regards

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
FC Bayern Munich AG chairman