(L-R) Bayern Munich's Mario Mandzukic, Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and Luiz Gustavo celebrate after Robben scored against Barcelona during their Champions League semifinal second leg match at Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona Wednesday. — Reuters BERLIN — The current Bayern Munich side is rewriting the club's history after its 3-0 win at Barcelona put it into a third Champions League final in four years in its chase for a historic treble of European, league and cup titles, chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has said. “This team can re-write the club's history and I am convinced that we'll do it, you're a determined bunch,” Rummenigge told the Bayern squad in the early hours of Thursday morning after Barcelona lost 7-0 on aggregate over the semifinal's two legs. For the first time, two German teams will contest a European Cup final after Borussia Dortmund booked its place at Wembley on May 25 with a 4-3 win over Real Madrid on aggregate in the other semifinal. Bayern is bidding to become the first team to win the treble having already won the Bundesliga title with a record six games to spare and have reached the German Cup final, where it will play VfB Stuttgart on June 1 at Berlin's Olympic Stadium. But after losing last year's final on penalties to Chelsea at Munich's Allianz Arena, this Bayern team is determined to win the Champions League at the third attempt, having also been beaten by Inter Milan in the 2010 final. “The joy of reaching the final is huge, but we still have the two lost finals at the back of our minds,” said midfielder Thomas Mueller. Regardless of the winner at Wembley, the Champions League trophy will be won by a German team for the first time since 2001, but coach Jupp Heynckes has said Bayern can win the treble. “We were convinced that we could reach the final, because the team is playing in a magnificent way. We can do the treble,” said the 67-year-old who will be replaced by ex-Barca coach Pep Guardiola in July when his two-year contract expires. Barceldona's bid for a third Champions League crown in five seasons ended in humiliation. There was no way back for a toothless Barca when Arjen Robben cut inside and blasted the ball past Victor Valdes in the 49th minute. A miserable night for the pre-tournament favorite was completed when Gerard Pique skewed the ball into his own net in the 72nd minute and Thomas Mueller, who scored twice in the first leg, nodded a third for a rampant Bayern four minutes later. The Spaniards, last defeated in both legs of a European knockout tie in 1987, were deprived of the talents of Lionel Messi, who has yet to recover fully from a hamstring injury and was left on the bench. Without the talismanic World Player of the Year they barely threatened as forwards Cesc Fabregas, David Villa and Pedro, and later substitute Alexis Sanchez, were helpless against a resolute Bayern defense. After these performances, Guardiola will have a tough time matching the job Heynckes has done this season. Bayern began to lay the foundations for this season's impressive run immediately after its defeat to Chelsea in last year's showpiece, coach Heynckes said. A jubilant Heynckes said the painful reverse on penalties to Chelsea at its own Allianz Arena in Munich had given him the motivation to try to go one better this term. “I was bitterly disappointed after losing the final last season but we started working straight away,” Heynckes told a news conference. “From the first day, you could tell that everyone was determined to change things,” the experienced 67-year-old added. “I think my desire to do better than last season infected the players.” Bayern's humbling of Barca prompted suggestions that the German club is poised to take over as the continent's pre-eminent force. “We are a team that has a tremendous unity,” said Heynckes, who knows Barca well from his time coaching at its La Liga rival Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao. “We work fantastically well together and have a huge hunger for success,” he added. “We play high-speed football, are very well organized, tactically astute, close down space well and the counter attack has also worked very well this season.” After Bayern's success this term, Heynckes will be a sought-after man but refused to be drawn on his future, only saying that he had had no contact with his former club Real. “I know what I am going to do after the Cup final (on June 1),” he said. “I have been in football for 50 years and I think one day you have to think it will be over.” — Agencies
