New dawn beckons for Bayern

By Andreas Alf

It was a bittersweet way to say goodbye. They may have lost the tie on aggregate, but late goals from José Paolo Guerrero and Mehmet Scholl against Chelsea FC in the second leg of their quarter-final at least saw FC Bayern München end their 100th UEFA Champions League game and the final European tie at the Olympiastadion with a thrilling victory.

Great performance
Bayern's performance against the soon-to-be Premiership champions was one of their most convincing showings of recent years, but that was little consolation for goalkeeper Oliver Kahn. "We know we played well," he said. "But the tournament will go on without us. That is the maximum penalty for every player."

Moral support
The club's general manager Uli Hoeness was quick to give his players moral support after the second leg of the 6-5 aggregate defeat. "Our team played very fine football and gave their supporters a gala night," he said, concluding: "The worse team went through."

General satisfaction
Nonetheless, there was a general sense of satisfaction about the way Bayern have performed in Europe this season. Coach Felix Magath said: "We can look back on this Champions League season with pride. We proved that we have reached the same level as Chelsea, [AC] Milan and Juventus [FC]."

Passionate fans
Last week's game against Chelsea was certainly a ringing endorsement of the football played under Magath in his first full season as Bayern coach. The supporters at the Olympiastadion also showed complete commitment to the team - a sure sign that Ottmar Hitzfeld's successor is doing something right.

Farewell Olympiastadion
However, perhaps some of that fervour was due to the fact that the Chelsea game proved to be Bayern's last European tie at the Olympiastadion - they move to the newly built Allianz Arena next season - which has been host to some famous nights.

Müller milestones
Bayern forward Gerd Müller scored four goals for Germany in a 4-1 win against the Soviet Union in the stadium's inaugural game in 1972, and the ground also witnessed the Bomber's winning goal against the Netherlands in the final of the 1974 FIFA World Cup.

New life
Moreover, 16 of Bayern's 18 German titles have been won at the Olympiastadion. And with Magath's side riding high in the Bundesliga again, the stadium may yet bear witness to another title celebration after the final home match against 1. FC Nürnberg on 4 May before it begins a new life as an open air cinema and concert venue.

Beautiful stadium
In the meantime Bayern, along with city neighbours TSV 1860 München, will be moving to their new stadium, which will also stage the opening game of the 2006 World Cup finals. "This is going to be the world's most beautiful arena," insisted Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

Renewed ambition
And while there is a sense of sadness about leaving the Olympiastadion, a new venue for next season may yet bring renewed ambition to Magath's squad. "With a great stadium like the Allianz Arena we are determined to win the Champions League in one of the next two seasons," said Kahn.

Magath's pledge
Hoeness was a little dispirited by Chelsea's success this season. Thinking of the London club's finances, he said: "In the long term, we cannot compete with Chelsea." However, Magath disagreed. "There have always been clubs with more money and clubs with less money," he said. "Even with our resources you can still win the Champions League." He may get the chance to prove that in 2005/06.