Heynckes homework pays off for Bayern
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
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Having studied Juventus at length, Jupp Heynckes was delighted to see FC Bayern München's tactical approach pay off in style thanks to an "outstanding display".
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Jupp Heynckes, Bayern coach
Our preparation was very good and you could clearly see our tactical plan. We attacked very early and so managed to take [Andrea] Pirlo out of the equation. My team showed a lot of confidence at times; stretches of the game were outstanding. I liked how everyone had tried, in recent days, to tell me who to pick [calling for several players from Saturday's 9-2 Bundesliga win against Hamburger SV to be included tonight] but I had a distinct plan for Juventus and I believe it worked.
I've studied Juve intensively and came up with the tactic we employed today. Our aim was to put pressure on them early and take Pirlo out of the game, which worked really well. It's a fantastic achievement to keep a clean sheet against an Italian team. The way we did it especially impressed me.
At times we witnessed football of a very high standard. We always controlled the game. Considering we played against a team about to retain the Serie A title, we have seen an outstanding display by my side.
Antonio Conte, Juventus coach
Bayern played a great game. We just came up against a great team tonight. I have to be honest and admit that we simply faced a better side. We knew it would be a difficult game but we also know that football is unpredictable and that we'll have to do something great against such a strong team in the return leg.
Bayern have great quality but also a great physical condition and a great fighting spirit. They are up there with Barcelona and Madrid in terms of quality yet they are also very "angry" after losing last season's final at home on penalties. And they proved all their grit tonight.
Bayern played with great tempo, they won almost every challenge and did not allow us to play our game. It's difficult for me to get angry – I can just say that we faced a great team, better than us. Our project started only 16 months ago, so this can be an important lesson, especially to understand what it takes to play at this level. We can just be proud to already be here at this stage.