Back to the future for beaten Bayern (News Feature)

By Christian Kunz May 23, 2010, 10:17 GMT

Madrid/Munich - Bayern Munich returned home Sunday to the consolation of a motorcade ride to the city hall but without the cherished Champions League trophy which would have crowned their season.

But at the post-match banquet in Madrid after their bitter 2-0 to Inter Milan, chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge praised the team for their outstanding season and recalled another similar low which heralded great things to come.

In 1999, Bayern dramatically lost a Champions League final in Barcelona against Manchester United when they conceded two goals in injury time.

Two years later they captured European club football's most prestigious prize by beating Valencia in a penalty shoot-out in Milan.

'Let's do it like 1999,' Rummenigge said.

'The players were on the ground then in despair. But they went on holiday and bounced right back and started anew. I want us to be in the final again - and then win it.'

Should history repeat itself and Bayern win the 2012 title it would be in their own stadium with the final moving to Munich that year after London next season.

Bayern indeed look well placed to challenge in the years to come. Most of the team are still relatively young, while Bayern are now confident of keeping Franck Ribery at the club.

Club officials indicated that a new four-year contract deal was pending for the France midfielder who missed Saturday's final through suspension.

Honorary president Franz Beckenbauer said Ribery was sorely missed and probably would have won the final had he been on the pitch at the Bernabeau Stadium instead of watching from the sidelines.

However coach Louis van Gaal said Bayern had played well enough without Ribery so often this season that his absence could not be used as an excuse. It was more a collective failure to rise to the occasion.

'Against a team like Inter, and with our attacking orientation, you have to be on peak form. We weren't today, but we're only human,' the Dutchman said after the game.

'The game was exactly as I expected. We attacked, and Inter reacted. It's obviously easier to defend than attack. But despite that, Inter deserved to win. The timing of the goals was decisive, and my players have learned today that the smallest things make the difference.'

Bayern players and officials agreed that Jose Mourinho's Inter were the more clinical side, and while Milito took his two chances with aplomb, 20-year-old Thomas Mueller missed Bayern's best opportunity shortly after the break.

'We were too timid in the first half, we lacked courage. But it was the Champions League final, and you're not going to play that every year, and a number of our players are very young,' said defender Philipp Lahm.

Club president Uli Hoeness said defeat would not ruin a 'terrific season' in which Bayern won the the Bundesliga and German Cup titles.

For Bayern, all are agreed the best could be yet to come.

'There's no reason for our heads to go down. The 2012 Champions League final is in Munich, so the players, the younger ones especially, have plenty of reasons to dream,' Hoeness said.