Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
We’ve waited so long to win the trophy
that it did us a lot of good to win it last season.
It wasn’t easy to win against Dortmund.
I think the fact we won everything last season
adds more pressure on us.
It was historic for our club.
Franck Ribéry is unlikely to forget
the last campaign in a hurry.
Part of the FC Bayern München team
that swept all before them to win the treble,
his personal contribution to the club’s success
led to him being crowned the
2012/13 UEFA Best Player in Europe.
Far from resting on his laurels, the French star
now has a new set of targets for the current term.
Helping Bayern become the first team to defend
their UEFA Champions League title is top of his list.
In order to do it again you have to be able
to forget what happened last season, put it aside.
This Champions League title will remain with us for life.
We must go back to work,
be very focussed and always have this will to win
and to work hard but most importantly
to enjoy playing together, that’s crucial.
A philosophy instilled in them by
revered coach Jupp Heynckes,
Bayern’s collective effort was key to their Wembley success.
He departed Bavaria in the summer,
with Pep Guardiola now in charge of a team
who will face a different set of challenges
as holders of the competition.
That’s why it’s now up to us to keep on working hard,
but more importantly, to play as a team.
That’s what we did last season,
we must keep that unity and stick together,
then I think we’ll have no problems.
With new ideas to embrace this season,
qualifying from a group with Manchester City,
Viktoria Plzen and Bayern’s matchday 1
opponents CSKA Moskva is the club’s first task.
There are never any easy groups.
It’s true that we are among the favourites,
and I think that if we remain focused
and start well in this competition,
we’ll have no problems qualifying.
But we’ll need to be cautious against teams
like CSKA Moskva or Viktoria Plzen,
which are difficult teams to play.
The other favourites are Manchester City,
they’re also a strong team.
It’ll be up to us to do things right
and win our games.