Van Gaal wary of two-faced Fiorentina

Bayern Munich coach Louis van Gaal promised goals to see off unpredictable Fiorentina when the two sides meet for a place in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League in Florence on Tuesday.

Going into the last 16 second-leg match at the Artemio Franchi stadium 2-1 up thanks to Miroslav Klose’s controversial last-minute winner in Germany, the Dutchman was in bullish mood.

“I’ve always coached strong sides so we naturally try to dominate possession,” he told reporters at the pre-match press conference.

“It will be tough for them because we’re a team that scores a lot. It’s going to be an exciting contest I’m sure.”

Van Gaal, whose Bayern side top the Bundesliga after an unbeaten run of 18 games, said he was expecting Fiorentina’s better face to show up for the return leg.

“There are two sides to Fiorentina – one for Serie A and one for the Champions League,” said the 58-year old.

“It’s difficult to explain but as Barcelona coach, I experienced something similar. When I was in Spain, I thought that domestic teams knew our way of playing and adapted but in the Champions League it was different.

“In any case, I think Fiorentina will be a tough adversary tomorrow. The Viola have always given their all in this competition.”

While Bayern have been crowned European champions four times, Fiorentina will attempt to reach the last eight of the continent’s showpiece competition for the first time.

“We’ve done some amazing things already in the competition for which we can be proud but we need to enjoy the moment right now,” said coach Cesare Prandelli, whose side won all three home games in the group stage.

“I’m happy to be representing Fiorentina at this time and tomorrow we’ll try to make history.”

Fiorentina have had a disastrous run since Adrian Mutu tested positive for a banned substance in late January, winning only one in nine matches. In that time, they have lost at home to Roma, AC Milan and, on Saturday, to Juventus, a result that pushed the Viola into the bottom half of the table.

“We’re up against a team fully equipped to reach the final,” said a guarded Prandelli. “We must be able to read the game, which is just as important as being fully committed.

“If you look at the stats in Europe, there aren’t any teams that don’t concede. Football’s changed and now teams playing away from home try to attack. We’ll try to take the game to them though – that’s my philosophy and I won’t change it.”

Bayern have already scored four times in Italy in this season’s competition when knocking Juventus out of the competition in the final group match in December.

“We’ll attack. It’s the way we play and we won’t be changing just because we have an advantage from the first leg,” said Van Gaal, whose side won twice on the road in the group stage.

“It’s something we’d do anyway out of respect for our supporters.”

The first leg in Munich ended in controversial circumstances when Miroslav Klose, yards offside, nodded in to give Bayern a slim advantage. Both coaches though tried to play down the significance of that strike.

“I don’t think the referee’s error influenced the game. It went again Fiorentina but they can still go through 1-0,” ventured Van Gaal.

The Viola boss said it was just embarrassing for the referee: “The match ended with a major error but we shouldn’t let it get to us. We won’t play the role of victims.”

With a full house expected in one of Italy’s more atmospheric stadiums, Prandelli will hope his side turn up on Tuesday showing off their better side.