Hitzfeld praises Bayern strength

Hitzfeld was proud of his Bayern Munich players

Bayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said his team's 2-1 win over Real Madrid to secure their place against Valencia in the Champions League final was a testament to their strength at home.

Bayern have lost just three out of 74 home European Cup and Champions League games - and have never lost at home in the competition by more than one goal

"My team put in a fantastic performance. And we are a team that can always score goals at home. We had plenty of chances to win by an even bigger margin," Hitzfeld said.

"It was a sensational performance to beat Real Madrid twice.

"It's a great feeling to be in the final again. Some of the experts might be surprised, but I'm not because I know just what my team can do."

Now Bayern will hope to carry their strength in defence to the San Siro stadium in Milan on 23 May where they face another mean defence in Valencia.

Tough test

Real Madrid coach Vicente del Bosque praised Bayern's performance but said it was difficult to break down the home side's defensive wall.

"That was a notable but not a great performance by us. We had very strong opponents. Bayern played with five defenders and we couldn't get around that," del Bosque said.

Luis Figo's first-half goal against the run of play surprised Bayern's commercial manager Uli Hoeness, who said he never doubted the outcome.

"The counter goal didn't fit into my concept and it was lucky it came in the first half. We played more defensively in the second half," he said.

"Bayern Munich is possibly the best football team in the world," said Hoeness.

Bayern need to hold their defensive nerve to help them make amends for losing 2-1 to Manchester United at Barcelona's Nou Camp stadium in the 1999 final after conceding two goals in injury-time.