Thomas Tuchel, a coach who recognizes himself as a disciple of Pep Guardiola, stopped by the Bernabéu press room with a very measured and moderately optimistic speech. He believes Bayern’s good performance in the first leg in Munich strengthens their chances and the fact of playing at the Bernabéu only gives the whites a small advantage: “Madrid has a 51% chance,” he says.
The Bayern coach does not want to think of Madrid as a myth: “We do not talk among ourselves about the myth, but about the content of the match. Nothing is impossible. We had a great first leg, we played better but we didn’t win. I remember, when there was no Internet, that I would look through the World Cup books and Butragueño would always appear, and now when I return to this stadium that image comes to me. Madrid is one of the greats in Europe, but so are we. It is a gift to play here, but it is also an obligation. We did not play the semifinal to enjoy it, but to advance to the final,” he stated.
The German coach defined the match he expects: “There will be waves that pass. We will both have to defend and attack. We can both keep the ball for a long time; It is difficult to take it away from Madrid. We will try to have it ourselves all the time. We are both good at quick transitions. It will be a very complex match. It takes conviction and precision.”
Tuchel once again spoke highly of Toni Kroos: “He has achieved many successes, he has an impressive career, he dominates the game in his own way, he takes advantage of those spaces. He sets the pace and takes the reins of Madrid’s game. Tomorrow we will try to make his life a little difficult and stop him. But we don’t just play against Kroos, but against all of Madrid, which works very well, with a very flexible game,” he said.
For Tuchel, the key will be whoever imposes the pace of play: “The key may be in the pace of play. I don’t think there is one team dominating all the time. We will need to recover and hurt the opponent when he has the ball. But you also have to be sure of Madrid’s transitions. And the theory is one thing and applying it in the field is another.”
And he added: “We have to have faith in ourselves and faith in the details. Madrid plays at home and still acts more offensively. And the starting situation is a tie: whoever wins will be at Wembley. And that’s it.”
Tuchel was also asked about Harry Kane and what had surprised him most about him: “What has surprised me is how much water and coffee he drinks, he is in the machine all day. He is in very good shape, we knew that he has a great personality, beyond all his qualities. And tomorrow he has to give everything.”
Asked how to stop Vinícius, Tuchel responded: “It’s difficult, many try and don’t succeed. You can’t stop all the passes from Kroos, Valverde… they can come from anywhere, from 60 meters. Vini can receive long, he can dribble, he can appear in the area. Can it be done better than the first leg? Yes, and let’s try it. An important part is accepting that not everything is going to be perfect for us. You have to have the right mindset,” he concluded.
