In his indomitable style, Tigres UANL coach Ricardo Ferretti declared yesterday: “Bayern Munich are a winning team, but it does not mean that they are invincible.” The straight-speaking Ferretti may have to eat his words after today’s FIFA Club World Cup final against the European champions at the Education City Stadium, but it’s an approach that has made the Mexican side the first CONCACAF team to reach the title clash of the global showpiece.
Tigres have reached the final against all odds so far in Qatar, having stunned Copa Libertadores winners Palmeiras in the semi-finals and Asian champions Ulsan Hyundai in the second-round match. But against a Bayern side, who are arguably the best team in the world at the moment, Ferretti and his men will have to put in a performance of their lives to snatch the title away from the Bavarians.
The last time Bayern played in the Club World Cup was in 2013, when they went on to win the title. Since that triumph, not a single European team has been beaten in the competition. While their form, like always, is ominous, the Germans are also chasing a rare record-equalling six titles in a season.
They hold the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, German Super Cup, Bundesliga and German Cup titles, and if they can stay true to their heavy favourites tag today against Tigres, then they will become the second club after Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona in 2009 to win all six domestic and international titles.
In their 2-0 semi-final victory against Al Ahly, Bayern never hit top gear but still had enough class to outwit the African champions comfortably.
Robert Lewandowski scored both the goals on Monday, while having netted 24 times in the Bundesliga this season.
“The title at the Club World Cup would be the cherry on top,” the Poland striker told a virtual news conference. “We can write history but it is also a big challenge. When you are that close to a title then you want to win it.”
Coach Hansi Flick admitted yesterday that he would field a strong side in the final, even though defender Jerome Boateng will miss the game due to personal reasons.
“We are happy that we made it to the final. That was our big goal. We’ll have the best team for that,” the 55-year-old said yesterday. “In every game, and especially in the final, it is important that we start the game with the right attitude from the start. The team has shown what it can do for a long time. We have to be wide awake,” he added.
Flick was adamant that his side would not take Tigres lightly despite a huge gulf in quality between the two sides. “They are a very dynamic team, very athletic with a lot of power. We have to counter that well,” he warned.
“They have a strong mentality and great attitude, they are a world-class club. I watched their semi-finals and I was very impressed with how they played. They perform well on the wings and in the middle of the field, they also have players who score goals. We have to be in full force from the beginning and take advantage of our scoring opportunities,” the Bayern coach added.
Bayern captain Manuel Neuer was wary of the threat of Tigres striker Andre-Pierre Gignac. The Frenchman has scored all three of the Mexican side’s goals in the Club World Cup so far — two of them from the penalty spot. The former Toulouse and Marseille forward has been at Tigres since 2015 and is a legend at the Liga-MX outfit.
Goalkeeper Neuer already knows what it is like to face Gignac and remembered a bullet header that the forward scored in a friendly game for France against Germany in 2015. “I have bad memories of Gignac, but he is not the only player in Tigres, the key will be collective performance. We will try to move Gignac away from the penalty area and not give him scoring opportunities,” Neuer said.
Ferretti, meanwhile, laid out his plan ahead of the final with the confident Tigres coach saying his team would try to counter-attack Bayern. “We have analysed Bayern’s skills and seen them play many times. We know exactly who we are dealing with. We have to counter and become dangerous,” the Brazilian said.
“Bayern have great skills and won great titles. We have also won a lot of titles in recent years. We know what strengths the German team has. We don’t want to underestimate anyone, but we won’t overestimate anyone either. We will go into the game with the necessary respect for Bayern, but we are certainly not afraid of them. We want to give everything to become world champions,” he added.
For Tigres, it is their first-ever participation in a FIFA Club World Cup. After three unsuccessful final appearances in the CONCACAF Champions League in 2016, 2017 and 2019, Ferretti’s team finally won the tournament at the fourth time of asking last year. They beat Los Angeles FC 2-1 in the final to qualify for the tournament.
Under Ferretti, who is coaching the team for the third time and has been at the helm since 2010, Tigres are enjoying their most successful era. They have won their domestic league seven times, with five of them under Ferretti’s leadership.
Robert Lewandowski scored both the Bayern Munich goals in the semi-final against Al Ahly.
