‘We’ve had a magnificent season’

Losing to Inter in the Champions League final naturally sparked disappointment in the Bayern camp. Munich fell agonisingly short of a historic treble, an honour which went instead to the all-conquering Italians. But just hours after the final whistle at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, the mood among the Bavarian party had lightened considerably.

“We’ve had a magnificent season. Before tonight’s match, we said we wouldn’t let that be ruined even if we lost here,” club president Uli Hoeneß reminded reporters afterwards, predicting a “fantastic future” for the current team: “We have a vision and we have targets.”

Uli Hoeneß after the final

Question: How disappointed are you about this defeat?
Uli Hoeneß: “I’m obviously disappointed and sad. Once you’ve made it to a final, you want to win it. But we shouldn’t dwell on our disappointment. We’ve had a magnificent season. Before tonight’s match, we said we wouldn’t let that be ruined even if we lost here, and we shouldn’t start trying to ruin it here and now.”

What made Inter better than your team tonight?
“Inter had more experience, and we just weren’t quite ruthless enough. Inter are a fantastic team and they knocked Barcelona out of the competition. They had three chances and scored twice, but we had a huge chance to equalise at just the right time and didn’t take it. That was the difference.”

Thomas Müller really had to put away that chance just after half-time…
“Thomas is a young man who’s had an incredible season. The last thing he should do now is grieve. This season, he’s achieved everything you can possibly achieve at his age.”

What applies to Müller applies to the majority of the team: he’s young and will learn a lot from this defeat. Would you agree?
“Yes I would. This team has a bright future, because so many of the players are young. Next year’s final is at Wembley in London, and the 2012 final is in Munich. We have a vision and we have targets.”

So you intend Bayern to win the Champions League next season?
“That's easy enough to say. It's a long road and twelve matches until you make the final, you can be unlucky with the draw or have a bad day. I’d need to be a prophet if I was to say we’ll manage it next season.”