After losing two of the last three Champions League finals, Bayern Munich are out to prove they are not serial chokers.
Bayern star Thomas Muller says that he and his team-mates are determined to shed their loser’s tag against Borussia Dortmund in this season’s final at Wembley tomorrow night.
Losing to Barcelona and especially Chelsea last season was painful for Bayern, and their rampant path to the final this time around has been some consolation.
But Muller admits that Bayern's heartache will not be fully healed unless they bring the big-eared Champions League trophy home to Bavaria this weekend.
"Every sportsman wants success. It is very important," Muller said ahead of the final.
"What would happen if you don't win? Well, everyone has to cope with that themselves.
"It's important for us to win because if you lose three times you get the loser tag and we don't want that stamped on us. It's a spicy game and I like spicy food. It's great we're playing Dortmund. Everything is about this final. Everything is big. Excitement is big. You can win and lose a lot.
"We were runners-up three times last season so we know where we want to go. In football you always look forward and it's about the next game you play. Of course, you look back also but last year's final and the one of three years ago has nothing to do with this game, apart from the players that played in those two games."
Bayern should start as slight favourites against Dortmund on neutral territory in London.
Ironically, they were the heavy favourites against London club Chelsea in their own backyard last season, and failed to win the trophy.
With that painful defeat in mind, Muller says Bayern are ready to move on.
"Last year we'd loved to have won it. We have to win this cup - whether it is in Munich or London is not so important to me," he said.
"It seems this season we've been stronger away from home than we have been at home so it's looking good for us.
"The pressure is always there with Bayern but we can cope with it. We're a stronger team now. The players developed and we made great signings that improved the team."
