With the Bundesliga’s finest due to descend on Wembley for an all-German Champions League final this month, Nemanja Vidic believes Manchester United could learn a lesson or two.
Borussia Dortmund brushed aside Real Madrid in the semi-finals, while Barcelona – for so long the team to beat in football – were destroyed 7-0 over two legs by Bayern Munich.
And Vidic believes it may be worth the Red Devils’ while to pick up a few of the Germans’ tricks after they raised the bar in Europe.
“I think it’s something we should look at,” Vidic told MUTV. “Maybe this is the way other teams have to improve.
“Over a few years, people were watching Barcelona and saying this is how you should play.
“If you look at Dortmund and Bayern now, you see that they work as a team and individuals and this is why they are having success.
“Credit to Bayern. I think they play very good football. They play as a team and they closed down the Barcelona players very quickly, going in groups.
“It’s hard to play against these kind of teams. Dortmund played against Madrid in a similar way to show this is the tendency in Germany football.”
United’s own campaign in the Champions League ended in controversial fashion as Nani earned his marching orders before Madrid scored twice at Old Trafford.
Though Vidic has been watching the competition with a keen eye, he admits looking on from afar is tough to take.
“It’s hard to watch these kind of games as you know maybe we could be there,” he added.
“But I think, at the end of the day, we should be satisfied with our season.
“We won the title, which was our priority this season, but we hoped to do better in the FA Cup and Champions League.
“But this is life, this is football. Sometimes you lose, sometimes you win.”
Picture courtesy of Austin Osuide, via Wiki Commons, with thanks.
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