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Heynckes celebrates Bayern's 'magical' evening

Jupp Heynckes reflected on one of the most memorable nights of his long coaching career as FC Bayern München ousted Real Madrid CF, with José Mourinho generous in his praise.

Heynckes celebrates Bayern's 'magical' evening
Heynckes celebrates Bayern's 'magical' evening ©UEFA.com

José Mourinho, Madrid coach
I'm fine. This is football. You have to be level-headed when you win and when you lose. The boys were fantastic against a great team. We lacked a bit of potency. It was a very tactical game. At 2-1 both teams were afraid to make an important mistake.

After two hours at your limit, it is not easy to score a penalty. A player who takes a penalty is a player without fear. I am proud of my players. The best players, such as Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, also fail – football is like that, that's life. We wanted to reach the final and I am sadder for the players than for me. We must be strong. Last year we won the Copa del Rey and if we win the league this season then that is a new step forward.

My players worked very hard for two hours. We played to the limit. Both Chelsea and Bayern were able to rest players [between the two legs], but not Barcelona and Real Madrid. Today I want to congratulate Bayern. They will play the final against Chelsea and I hope it will be a great match.

Bayern won, they were luckier than us and I've learnt to be happy for them. Two years ago I was here jumping and now it's their turn. Chelsea are one of the teams of my life and I want them to win, but I wish Bayern a good final. This is the beauty of football. Nobody knows what is going to happen. I expect a good final that everybody enjoys. For Chelsea it's the second time. For Bayern it will be a second final in three years and it's fantastic for them.

We have to react with pride. These players wanted to win the trophy. Reaching two consecutive semi-finals is not bad, but we want more. The club is growing. If the club and the players want to continue, I'll follow.

Jupp Heynckes, Bayern coach
It was a magical night. We had big problems in the first 15 minutes, but afterwards my team took over and dominated the match. We played a sensational match and it is a special victory. The players wanted this final so badly. I am very happy for my players and for the fans. Manuel Neuer was fantastic, he saved two penalties and steered the third one over the bar with his eyes.

The team gave a great performance after the early deficit. Arjen Robben missed a big chance, but Madrid were the better team in the first 15 minutes. We improved afterwards and it was an outstanding display. We knew before that we would need one or two goals to be safe. It was a great performance at this stadium, if you take into account that Madrid won against Barcelona at the weekend.

We did well offensively before half-time, but we weren't well organised in defence. That is very dangerous against a Madrid side with several excellent attackers. I told my team during the break that we had to improve our performance in defence. We did really well in the second half, just as we had practiced.

It is very important that we reached the Champions League final. We played against the Spanish champions-elect and, if you take the 120 minutes into account, we deserve to be in the final.

[David] Alaba, [Luiz] Gustavo and [Holger] Badstuber did a great job today so it's really bitter [that they will miss the final through suspension]. I talked to them in the dressing room and they were obviously very sad. But Chelsea are without four regulars as well, so both teams will be weakened. I don't know our team yet, but we have alternatives. The most important thing is that we reached the final. That's outstanding, historic. Nothing else matters at the moment. I guess a glass of red wine is OK today.

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