Van Gaal: United don't scare us

Posted Tuesday, March 30, 2010 by PA

Louis van Gaal insists Manchester United have more reason to be afraid of Bayern Munich than the German giants do of their 1999 Champions League final conquerors.

In the build-up to Tuesday's quarter-final first leg at the Allianz Arena, Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge suggested his team were scared about trying to keep Wayne Rooney quiet.

As the man who must overcome a team who hail from the "level one" station he can only dream of eight months into his work, Van Gaal could have done without the suggestion of an inferiority complex.

And the Dutchman was quick to turn it on its head, even though he accepts Rooney, who has travelled after shrugging off the foot problem which kept him out of Saturday's win at Bolton, has a special talent that will not be easily quelled.

"I never have fear and my players don't have any fear either," said Bayern coach Van Gaal.

"We value Rooney's quality. He is a super footballer.

"When he was younger, I often wondered whether he had the vision in his game.

"He has developed that now and is very hard to mark out of the game.

"But we can manage because we also have quality. Ferguson and his players should be scared of that."

Bayern are sweating on the fitness of former Chelsea star Arjen Robben, who aggravated a groin injury in Saturday's defeat by Stuttgart.

It is the kind of muscular problem that has plagued Robben throughout his career and he has never given the impression of being too keen to try to play through.

Van Gaal will give his fellow countryman every chance, knowing he is capable of the individual brilliance that helped dispose of Fiorentina in the last round.

But he has vowed no chances will be taken.

"We need a player like Robben against Manchester United but if he is not 100%, he doesn't play," Van Gaal said.

"You have always got to be a bit careful with a player who dribbles at such high intensity. He is not injured but his muscle is tired."

Robben's wing twin Franck Ribery is more likely to be involved despite a nagging ankle injury.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson admits the European stage is still the one he loves best.

For a competitive game, the magnificent Allianz Arena is a new stadium for United.

Their previous three trips to Munich were all to the equally glamorous Olympic Stadium, in the days before Bayern took up residence in a futuristic new home built for the 2006 World Cup.

"I have always dreamed about being involved in Europe," Ferguson said.

"When I first went into European football with Aberdeen, we played Real Madrid in the Cup Winners' Cup final in 1983. That was the start of the dream.

"We played Bayern in the quarter-final that year and Liverpool on one occasion. They were nights you wanted to have all your life.

"When they changed the old format of the European Cup to the Champions League, (it was) all the best teams.

"You always hoped to play against the likes of Milan, Juventus, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern.

"They are all in the tournament now. We have got our cake and everyone who is involved in Europe is eating it."

There is certainly a wariness inside the United camp merely because of the history they are facing.

"I respect Bayern Munich," said Ferguson.

"I have great admiration for them as a club. That is what we are playing. We are playing history. A team with history has a certain pride and we have to remember that."

United are boosted by the presence not only of Rooney but also of Rio Ferdinand in the travelling party. The centre-back has shrugged off a groin problem that kept him out of the Bolton game.