Van Gaal: United should be scared

(GSM) – Bayern München coach Louis van Gaal has fired the first salvo ahead of his side’s meeting with Manchester United by stating that the Premier League champions should be more scared than their German counterparts

Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge had already suggested that his team were scared about trying to keep Wayne Rooney quiet as the side’s play the quarter-final first leg at the Allianz Arena.

But van Gaal was quick to turn the suggestion on its head, even though he accepts Rooney has a special talent that will not be easily quelled.

“I never have fear and my players don’t have any fear either,” said Bayern manager Van Gaal.

“We value Rooney’s quality. He is a super footballer.

“When he was younger, I often wondered whether he had the vision in his game.

“He has developed that now and is very hard to mark out of the game.

“But we can manage because we also have quality. Ferguson and his players should be scared of that.”

Bayern are sweating on the fitness of former Chelsea star Arjen Robben, who aggravated a groin injury in Saturday’s defeat by Stuttgart.

It is the kind of muscular problem that has plagued Robben throughout his career and he has never given the impression of being too keen to try to play through.

Van Gaal will give his fellow countryman every chance, knowing he is capable of the individual brilliance that helped dispose of Fiorentina in the last round.

But he has vowed no chances will be taken.

“We need a player like Robben against Manchester United but if he is not 100%, he doesn’t play,” Van Gaal said.

“You have always got to be a bit careful with a player who dribbles at such high intensity. He is not injured but his muscle is tired.”

Robben’s wing twin Franck Ribery is more likely to be involved despite a nagging ankle injury, although goalkeeper Jorg Butt seemed to suggest Bayern would adopt a cautious approach, possibly more geared towards preventing United bagging an away goal rather than worrying too much about whether they find the net themselves.

Yet to achieve that, Bayern need the one component he believes United have in abundance and his own squad are still trying to generate, organisation.

“Organisation at United is always good,” Van Gaal said. “I am jealous of it.

“If we had this organisation at Bayern we would be a step ahead.”