Munich: Former Bayern Munich midfielder Dietmar Hamann has backed Didier Drogba to inspire Chelsea to victory in Saturday`s Champions League final.
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The ex-Germany international, who played more than 100 times for Bayern in the 1990s, is convinced the Blues have what it takes to overcome the Bundesliga side and is adamant that "unplayable" Drogba will play a key role.
"For Chelsea I think that Drogba will be the main man," the former Manchester City and Newcastle player told Goal.com. "On his day Drogba is unplayable.
"He really is a phenomenal player and the way he leads the line is awesome. If he has a good game on Saturday then they will have a very good chance of winning but there will not be much in it.
"He was superb against Barcelona in the semi-final and against Liverpool in the FA Cup final and Bayern will have to be ready to stand up to him because he is so powerful."
Chelsea will be without skipper John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic, Ramires and Raul Meireles although Hamann is certain that the Premier League club have more resources to cope with suspensions than their German rivals. - who will have to make do without Gustavo, Diego Alaba and Holger Badstuber
"I just feel that Chelsea have a slightly bigger squad so they will have a better chance of compensating for those losses," he added.
"It will be a terrific final at a fantastic stadium but all Chelsea’s senior players such as Drogba, who has really been in excellent form, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Petr Cech all playing really well.
"And so I think they have got a great chance of winning even though they will be without key players with Terry, Ivanovic, Ramires and Meireles all being suspended.
"Okay the game is at Bayern Munich’s own stadium but they also have three important players who will be missing so things even themselves out in terms of losing first-team players because [Luiz] Gustavo, [David] Alaba and [Holger] Badstuber are all very influential players.
"It will be close but I think that Chelsea could just do it because they have more resources than Bayern. They can bring Fernando Torres off the bench and have strong back-up players."
Thirty-eight-year-old Hamann, who played a key role in helping Liverpool beat AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul, insists that Bastian Schweinsteiger will have to up his game at the Allianz Arena on Saturday after a recent poor run of form.
"Schweinsteiger is a very strong player for Bayern Munich and for Germany but he has been out injured and he has not really been firing," he continued.
"He did not play well in the German Cup final last weekend and I don’t think that he has been in the form that he showed before his injury. That is bad news for Bayern because he makes them tick with his passing skills when he is playing well."
Hamann, who helped Bayern win the Uefa Cup in 1995, believes that French winger Franck Ribery will be vital to the Bundesliga side’s hopes of capturing their fifth Champions League crown.
"If Chelsea are to win they will have to keep Bayern’s front three players quiet because [Arjen] Robben, Ribery and [Mario] Gomez are all dangerous players," the one-time Newcastle United player said.
"But I would say that Ribery is probably their main attacking threat and so Chelsea will have to make sure that they keep him in check and if they do that then they have a very good chance of winning the final."
Hamann believes that remaining calm will be vital during the biggest game on the club football calendar.
He said: "What does it take to win the final? You have to keep a cool head and keep control of your emotions and just do what you have been doing over the course of the season and do what has made you successful and got you to the final.
"You must not do anything silly or anything special. Just treat it as just another game and just believe in yourself and your team-mates.
"The atmosphere will be great but there will be as many Chelsea fans as there are Bayern Munich fans so it is only that they are more familiar with the facilities and the pitch that will help Bayern but Chelsea will be confident because they have the experience to handle the pressure as they showed against Barcelona."
Goal.com
First Published: Saturday, May 19, 2012, 10:39