‘The team sent out a clear signal’

20.03.2008 Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge radiated satisfaction after Bayern beat Wolfsburg 2-0 in the German Cup semi-finals on Wednesday. “I think it was a fully merited win,“ Rummenigge summarised. fcbayern.de picks the highlights of the chairman’s post-match statements to reporters. Interview: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Question: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, was that the kind of display you want to see from Bayern? Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: “It was a good game. We were focused and determined, and very creative in the second half too. After a poor display against Cottbus, the team bounced back and proved its quality tonight. I think it was a fully merited win.“ Question: “Could it be that the defeat to Cottbus was a wake-up call at exactly the right time? Rummenigge: “We were all upset by the performance in Cottbus, so it was vital the team sent out a clear signal today. Sometimes a defeat like the one in Cottbus can be helpful. We’ve beaten everything there’s been to beat since Christmas, so maybe we’d started thinking we’d pick up the title as an afterthought. Obviously that’s not possible, so Cottbus certainly wasn’t counterproductive. We dropped three crucial points, but the team learnt its lesson.“ Question: Martin Demichelis was missing in Cottbus. How did you rate his performance tonight? Rummenigge: “He was world-class. He’s reacted totally professionally to his disciplinary suspension. It was exactly the reaction we were hoping for.“ Question: Were you pleased to see Miroslav Klose return to the scoresheet? Rummenigge: “It was important for Miro to score. We need an in-form Klose. He brilliantly laid on the opener for Franck, and it was obvious that even a player of his class needs that kind of confidence-booster. After that he had the belief you need as a striker.“ Question: What are you expecting from the final against Borussia Dortmund? Rummenigge: “You obviously go all-out to win a final. We’ll probably be burdened with the role of favourites, but we don’t have a problem with that. We’re delighted we’ve made it to Berlin, and now we want the trophy.“ Question: You have a pivotal match on Saturday, when a win against Bayer Leverkusen would effectively see off another title rival. Rummenigge: “I hope we can continue where we left off today. It won’t be easy against Bayer Leverkusen, they’re at least as good as VfL. But we don’t want Leverkusen coming any closer, so we have to beat them. We can’t afford any more slip-ups, because it’s still tight up there, despite our five-point lead.“