Elber eyeing San Siro repeat

FC Bayern München have made a disappointing start to their UEFA Champions League campaign, but after a fortnight off while his team-mates were on international duty, Brazilian striker Giovane Elber is itching to prove the club's critics wrong.

'We want to attack'
"We can be very pleased with what we have done so far in the Bundesliga," he told uefa.com. "In the Champions League things have not gone the way we had visualised. But now we are facing the match against AC Milan and we want to go on the attack once again."

Deportivo disaster
A 3-2 defeat at home against RC Deportivo La Coruña on Matchday One set the tone for Bayern's wobbly start, and Elber admitted that complacency may have been to blame for the first of their two home defeats at the Olympiastadion.

Troubled campaign
"We were confident that we would win that match and tried to get the three points but unfortunately Deportivo scored three goals in three attacks while we were just able to score twice," said the striker. "So before the second match we were under pressure because we had to win in France against [RC] Lens. We didn't accomplish this either. And of course the third match against AC Milan is no easy match but a match that you can both win and lose."

Fond memories
In the event, of course, Bayern lost 2-1 at the Olympiastadion against Milan, but stirred by the memory of winning the Champions League at the San Siro in 2001 - and the fact Milan was his first club in Europe - Elber is looking forward to facing the Serie A side on home territory.

'It was wonderful'
"It was wonderful," said Elber, remembering the penalty shoot-out win against Valencia CF in the final. "You still can't really realise what happened there. I hope that we will be able to play a good match on Wednesday and win that game. It's very important not just to play good football but to take the three points as well."

'High hopes'
Not winning tonight could prove disastrous for Ottmar Hitzfeld's side and Elber was well aware that Bayern could be knocked out of the Champions League if they lose or draw in Milan and Deportivo win in Lens. "Before the start of the season we all had high hopes of reaching the second group stage," he said. "Being eliminated in the first round would not be easy for a club like Bayern."

Brazilian disappointment
It would not be the first major disappointment for Elber this year if Bayern missed out on the second group stage. The Brazilian striker has already been forced to come to terms with being left out of his national side for the FIFA World Cup, and he admitted that the past fortnight, where many of his Bayern colleagues were away with their countries, had not been easy for him.

Welcome break
"Last season I was on international duty too so I have never been at Bayern when all of the internationals are gone," he said. "But a good thing about it was that we had two or three days off in this week. I haven't had that for a long time."
 
Committed to Bayern
Having celebrated as he watched Brazil's success in the World Cup final this summer, Elber has all but abandoned hope of returning to the national side. "I assume that I won't play for Brazil. So it's better for me that I concentrate on my job at Bayern." Starting tonight at the San Siro.