If the pre-match musings of Sorin Cârţu and Louis van Gaal are any guide then anything other than an FC Bayern Munich win at CFR 1907 Cluj on Wednesday would constitute a major surpriseCFR Cluj vs Bayern Munich Kick Off Time 20:45 CET 19:45 uk (21:45 local time) – Stadionul Dr Constantin Rădulescu – Cluj-Napoca, If the pre-match musings of coaches Sorin Cârţu and Louis van Gaal are any guide then anything other than an FC Bayern München win at CFR 1907 Cluj would constitute a major surprise. If the German side extend an seven-match unbeaten run against Romanian opposition with victory they will qualify for the knockout stages with two matches to spare. Van Gaal, though, says his men are „taking nothing for granted”, especially after being pushed all the way before winning 3-2 when the sides met a fortnight ago.
Sorin Cârţu, CFR coach
I don’t think Bayern are any less dangerous than they were in Munich. Their team will be similar to last time so we won’t go charging in. We respect Bayern and anticipate a very tough game: they are always very strong in possession games and are very difficult to play against.
Bayern are 90% there in terms of securing a place in the top two and they are going to play their normal game, with lots of possession. The key will be stopping them impose their style – we’ll wait and see. We’ll need a lot of luck to get a draw but even that would be a good result against Bayern.
Louis van Gaal, Bayern coach
We are very confident – we’re not even considering the possibility of losing. I think the motivation to win here comes from reaching the final last year. The players are used to being motivated for every game so the gap between the two teams in terms of points is not an issue for me and my players.
We have two central defenders to deal with Lacina Traoré – [Martín] Demichelis and [Daniel] Van Buyten – so I’m thinking about them, not the striker. As for Bayern never losing to a Romanian team, history is very important in football but it can always change so we are taking nothing for granted.
Team news
• CFR
Gabriel Mureşan has not played since picking up a right leg injury on 24 September. Yssouf Koné is not in the UEFA Champions League squad having suffered knee ligament damage in CFR’s win against FC Victoria Brăneşti on 2 August.
• Bayern
Van Gaal confirmed that Holger Badstuber (groin) would miss the game, but there were no further additions to a lengthy injury list which features Miroslav Klose (hamstring), Franck Ribéry (ankle), Arjen Robben (thigh), Mark van Bommel (knee), Ivica Olić (knee) and Diego Contento (groin). He has a squad of only 15 players.
Weekend results
30/10/10 FC Oţelul Galaţi 1-1 CFR
(Iorga 58; Peralta 90)
For the third away league game this season CFR ended with nine men after Lacina Traoré (69) and Leo Veloso (85) were dismissed. Not in CFR’s UEFA Champions League squad, Sixto Peralta scored his first goal of the season to earn a point against the league leaders.
29/10/10 Bayern 4-2 SC Freiburg
(Demichelis 39, Gómez 61, Tymoshchuk 72, Kroos 80; Reisinger 64, Braafheid og 87)
Danijel Pranjić set up Bayern’s first three goals: the opening two from corners and the third with a pass that allowed Anatoliy Tymoshchuk to score his first Bundesliga goal. Bayern are five matches unbeaten, winning four at home and drawing 0-0 at Hamburger SV on 22 October.
Did you know?
As a young player at AFC Ajax, Van Gaal worked under Romanian coach Ştefan Kovács. Kovács, who played for CFR in the late 1940s, died in Cluj-Napoca 12 days before Van Gaal led Ajax to their fourth European crown in May 1995.
Bayern record gives CFR cause for concern
CFR 1907 Cluj will take heart from their narrow defeat in Bavaria as they welcome FC Bayern München but the Group E leaders’ away form suggests it will not be easy for the hosts.
CFR 1907 Cluj will look to revive their hopes of progress from Group E when they welcome FC Bayern München to the Stadionul Dr Constantin Rădulescu on Matchday 4.
• Sorin Cârţu’s men won their opening home game against FC Basel 1893 but will need another big performance as they look to avenge their unfortunate 3-2 defeat by Bayern in Bavaria on 19 October. That result, achieved by two own goals and a deflection, put Bayern six points clear at the section summit but CFR remain in contention for second place, lying level on three points with Basel and AS Roma.
• To avoid losing further ground, CFR must find a way of stopping a Bayern side with a strong recent away record in the UEFA Champions League. The Bundesliga titleholders’ Matchday 2 victory at Basel, secured by Bastian Schweinsteiger’s 89th-minute goal, was their fourth in seven UEFA Champions League away games since the start of last season.
Match background
• This is the first time CFR have welcomed German opposition while Bayern have visited Romania three times previously. The German side’s most recent trip to the country came in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League group stage when Daniel Van Buyten earned them a 1-0 win at FC Steaua Bucureşti.
• That was their first visit since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, now chairman of Bayern’s board, scored in a 2-0 first-leg victory at FC Universitatea Craiova in the 1981/82 European Champion Clubs’ Cup quarter-final, setting up a 3-1 aggregate success.
• Bayern’s maiden trip to Romania was to face Steaua in the 1971/72 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-final and it yielded a 1-1 draw, Gerd Müller’s goal proving pivotal as the Bundesliga club eventually advanced on away goals after a home stalemate.
Team ties
• As a young player at AFC Ajax, Bayern coach Louis van Gaal worked under Romanian coach Ştefan Kovács. Kovács, who played for CFR in the late 1940s, died in Cluj-Napoca 12 days before Van Gaal led Ajax to their fourth European crown in May 1995.
• CFR owner Árpád Pászkány lived in Munich for several years and still has a house there.
• Philipp Lahm scored Germany’s 88th-minute goal in a 5-1 friendly defeat by Romania in Bucharest in April 2004.
• Christian Nerlinger, Bayern’s sporting director, struck an 86th-minute equaliser for Germany in a 1-1 friendly draw with Romania in Malta in September 1998.
• Franck Ribéry played under one of Romania’s greatest footballers, Gheorghe Hagi, after signing for Galatasaray AŞ in 2005. He scored for France in a 2-2 FIFA World Cup qualifying draw in Romania in October 2008, which featured Gabriel Mureşan in the home lineup.
• Arjen Robben played in the Netherlands’ 2-0 defeat of Romania at UEFA EURO 2008. He had earlier scored in a 2-0 World Cup qualifying win against the same opponents in June 2005.
• Hugo Alcântara was in the CF Os Belenenses side that lost away (0-1) and home (0-2) to Bayern in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup first round.
• Dominique Kivuvu was part of the NEC Nijmegen team that suffered home (0-3) and away (0-1) defeats by Ivica Olić’s old side Hamburger SV in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup round of 32 – the Croatia forward scoring in both legs.
