Heynckes' masterplan for Real: Strong wings and James

By Oliver Trust

BERLIN, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes usually prefers not to spend too much time in front of the television as he says it is a waste of time.

In advance of the Champions League semifinal first leg against Real Madrid, the 72-year-old, however, changed his habits and spent some time in front of a TV to find the best tactics to beat the 2017 title holders.

Heynckes has two options for his starting 11 in the Munich arena on Wednesday. To make the right choice couldbe the key to a repeat of the club's best ever year in 2013 when his team won the treble.

While the defense in both options will be made of

right back Joshua Kimmich, central defenders Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels plus left-back David Alaba, the midfield selections will ultimately decide the Bavarian's approach.

Choosing the wingers Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben next to Thomas Mueller behind spearhead Robert Lewandowski contains more offensive power as only Javi Martinez and James Rodriguez are available to do the defensive job in midfield. Chilean Arturo Vidal is injured.

Going for a midfield triangle (Martinez, James and Thiago) would leave Robben on the bench. So far Heynckes has mainly chosen a triangle but this time could change as his side needs to create a cushion to survive in the second leg a week in the Spanish capital.

Not only Mueller seems to favor the more offensive option. "We need to enforce our attacking game and take advantage of Real's weaknesses," the German international commented.

"They have some weaknesses as they lost the second game against Juve by 3-1," Mueller added.

The more open solution will require the strikers do a lot of work tracking back as "the most important thing will be the right balance between offense and defense" as former Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld put it.

Ribery, Robben, Mueller, and James will have to help stop Real's dangerous counterattacks and neutralize their star striker Cristiano Ronaldo.

Hitzfeld said he is convinced the Bavarians have advantages when it comes to their defense.

"They have a better structure in defense," said the former Swiss national coach adding he is optimistic Bayern is in a much better shape than last year when they were eliminated in the quarterfinals (6-3 on aggregate) by the eventual winners.

Robben is convinced his side has learned their lesson from last year "when we did not perform at our best in our home game. We can't play so cautiously as we did back then."

Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and club president Uli Hoeness are convinced the match will be a duel between equals with a "much stronger Bayern compared to last year" (Hoeness).

"Last year we had four to five players not at 100 percent due to injuries," Rummenigge emphasized.

Rummenigge called Real a giant of international football but said: "if there is a team capable of beating them, it's us."

The power constellations have turned in favor of the 2018 German Champions, Rummenigge added.

Now it is up to Heynckes to decide in front of the TV which is the best way to beat Real. No matter how things will turn out regarding Bayern's approach, "the team is ready," Heynckes said.

He is impressed by his team's motivation, determination and team spirit. "A lot of things remind me of 2013, but we're five years on now. Fact is, we can play fantastic and success orientated football with all of our players." Enditem