Bayern dream of home final

Midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger said Bayern Munich are desperate to make it to the Champions League final at the Allianz Arena this season.

The German giants made it to the same stage in 2010 when they were beaten 2-0 by Inter, while the Italians proved to be too strong in the round of 16 last term.

Nevertheless, Schweinsteiger is aware of the fact that they have to qualify for the group stage of Europe’s elite club tournament first and admitted that the road to the final at their home stadium is long.

“It is our goal to qualify for the Champions League final in Munich,” Schweinsteiger said. “However, we know that it won’t be easy. We have to qualify first.”

“We don’t have any influence on who will be our opponents in the play-offs. Nevertheless, I think that our upcoming opponents have more reasons to be disappointed than we with the draw.”

“I think that we can go a long way once we’ve managed to progress to the group stage. We don’t feel any pressure to go all the way though.”

“We dream of making it to the final and it’s our objective, but we realise that it’s still a long way to go.”

The midfielder then went on to discuss his side’s domestic ambitions and made it clear that Bayern want to regain their Bundesliga trophy after a disappointing campaign last season.

“The domestic trophies are very important for us,” he said. “Everybody expects us to win the Bundesliga again this year.”

“That won’t be easy though and we have to take it one game at a time.”

Bayern will learn their Champions League play-off opponent after the draw on August 5, with their Bundesliga campaign kicking off two days later with a home match against Borussia Moenchengladbach.