Former Brazil captain and 2002 World Cup winner Lucio says he believes his former club Bayern Munich must prioritise winning the Uefa Champions League this season as winning the Bundesliga has become second nature to them.
The German champions kick off their 2015/16 Champions League group campaign with an away trip to Greek club Olympiakos on Wednesday night, and there is increased pressure on coach Pep Guardiola to deliver after two consecutive semi-final exits.
“The Champions League is always Bayern Munich’s target,” Lucio said. “Because in the German league they are always first, so they always think of winning the Champions League.”
The new FC Goa signing, in Dubai as part of the club’s preparations for this year’s Indian Super League, retains fond memories of the club he joined in 2004.
“I follow the team, I have many friends there,” Lucio said from Dubai Sport City’s training ground. “Bayern are one of the biggest clubs, and they still invest in the team to be top. It was pleasure to play five years there.”
Despite collecting a host of domestic trophies with the Bavarian club, it was only after he left Germany that Lucio managed to get his hands on European club football’s biggest prize.
In 2002, he scored a famous quarter-final decider for Bayer Leverkusen against Liverpool before losing the final to a Zinedine Zidane-inspired Real Madrid in Glasgow. Eight years later, he was part of Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan team that beat Bayern Munich 2-0 at the Bernabeu in Madrid, a season after leaving Germany.
“I was very happy with him, it was a great time,” he said in reference to Mourinho. “He always fights to be a winner, to be a champion.”
Lucio is part of a select group of players who have won both the World Cup and the Champions League.
“Winning the World Cup comes top,” he said. “Both competitions are very nice to win and, after the World Cup, for sure, the Champions League is the best for clubs. But to be a world champion was the most important thing in my career.”
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