ICF Champions league betting

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BAYERN MUNICH coach Louis van Gaal says neither he nor his players are scared of Wayne Rooney, despite the Manchester United striker’s *phenomenal form. Rooney goes into the first leg of tonight’s Champions League quarter-final as Europe’s most prolific scorer this season with 33 goals, including 18 in his last 14 games. Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge admitted the Germans feared Rooney, while club president Franz Beckenbauer said the United star could inspire England to World Cup glory this summer. But van Gaal cut through the Rooney love-in by insisting his players do not fear the prospect of facing the 24-year-old forward who is in the form of his life. “I’m not afraid of anybody,” said van Gaal. “I’m never afraid and never have been. My players aren’t afraid of anybody either, but we respect Rooney’s qualities. “As a team, we can handle him. We also have good qualities and I think United and Sir Alex may also be a bit afraid of my players. “Rooney is a super footballer and he isn’t even that old yet. He’s really developed as a player, a great player. “He is very difficult to keep out of the game now, but it’s important not to concentrate on one player. We can’t afford to think about just one player.” Van Gaal’s press conference was a masterclass in pre-match psychology, the erudite Dutchman saying Bayern had already achieved their goal by reaching the last eight. The pressure, van Gaal claimed, was all on United, because of their superiority to Bayern and the expectation on them to progress to a third straight Champions League final. But the 58-year-old did pay tribute to United’s efficiency, while playing down his own side’s strengths – more mind games of which Ferguson would be proud. “The organisation within United is very good,” said van Gaal. “I’m jealous of that organisation. If we had it at Bayern, we would be one step further ahead. “We can play at that level, but United are always totally organised and I want that too. “We are the underdogs but we can take advantage of that. Usually Bayern are the *favourites, but we’re not the favourites this time, so we’re allowed to lose. We may be one of the biggest clubs in Europe but I need time, like any manager. “I’ve only been here for eight months. Sir Alex has been at United for 20-odd years. We’re happy we’ve achieved our goal of getting to the quarter-final. “That was our goal, that was what the board told me. We’ve got that, but now we want more and we have to show that in a game against a team who are a level above us.” Van Gaal and Fergie, two of the most experienced managers in football, have 376 European games between them yet have met just twice before. Those occasions came in the 1998-99 campaign, when van Gaal was at Barcelona and the pair presided over two thrilling 3-3 draws at the Nou Camp and Old Trafford. Van Gaal admitted tonight’s game is unlikely to be as open as the previous encounters, with Bayern under him adopting a more pragmatic approach than the free-flowing style demanded of Barcelona. Bayern may be the dominant force at home in Germany, winning a record 21 Bundesliga titles, but they have struggled to transfer that domestic success to the European stage over the past decade. European Cup winners three years in a row from 1974-76, they have failed to get past the quarter-final stage since winning the competition for a fourth time in 2001. And Bayern’s chances of overcoming United tonight and in next week’s return leg at Old Trafford are largely dependent on the fitness of two players. Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben, Bayern’s most dangerous attacking threats, are major doubts for tonight’s game, the latter suffering an injury in last weekend’s 2-1 home defeat to Stuttgart. Ribery, who did not face United here in a pre-season tournament because of injury, was out for four months between October and January with tendonitis and is carrying an ankle knock. Of the two, Ribery has the greater chance of starting, with van Gaal adamant Robben will play no part against United unless his fellow Dutchman can prove he is completely ready. “We’re doing everything we can to make sure Robben is fit,” said van Gaal. “But I don’t want to take even the smallest risk with him. He has to be absolutely fit and only then will I put him in the team. I have to be absolutely sure. We can’t afford to have a player on the pitch for this game who is only 90 per cent fit.”

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