Bayern and Bremen contest German Cup final

Werder Bremen vs Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich goes after its second trophy of the season when it plays Werder Bremen in the German Cup final on Saturday, a week after winning the Bundesliga title for the 22nd time.

The contest at Berlin's Olympic stadium brings together the two most successful clubs in the competition _ Bayern has 14 titles and Bremen, the holder, has six. Bayern has been in the final 16 times, Bremen nine.

"There is nothing better than beating Bayern," Bremen captain Torsten Frings said.

Although they are the most successful campaigners in the competition, the two clubs have met only twice before in the final _ when Bremen won on penalties in 1999 and Bayern finished up a 3-0 winner a year later, when it also captured one of the record seven German league and cup doubles.

Louis van Gaal's first season as Bayern's coach got off to an erratic start but the club is now chasing a rare trophy treble as it faces Inter Milan in the Champions League final on May 22.

"Now that we've gone so far, we want to win," Van Gaal said of the cup final.

"I want to win everything. We are in a certain rhythm, we are flying high, we had success in all of our games in April.

"And the most important months in football are April and May. When it mattered, we won. We have to remain in this rhythm and that's why we have to win against Bremen, so that we can have a better chance to win the Champions League," van Gaal said.

Bremen recovered from a midseason slump to finish third in the Bundesliga under longtime coach Thomas Schaaf and clinch a place in Champions League qualifying.

"Bremen is a strong rival with a good coach and very good players. They have very creative players in the attack and they can always score," Van Gaal said.

While Bayern scored the most goals in the Bundesliga (72), Bremen was right behind at 71. In the league, the two teams drew 1-1 in Munich, while Bayern won 3-2 in Bremen.

"It doesn't hurt the competition when such two extraordinary clubs play in the final," Schaaf said.

Schaaf was in his first month as coach when Bremen beat Bayern in the 1999 final. Bayern was then coming off a heart-wrenching 2-1 injury time loss to Manchester United in the Champions League final.

"At the time, as now, no one was talking about us. Everyone was just predicting how big we would lose," Bremen's captain Frings recalled.

Schaaf doesn't think Bayern's players will be complacent after taking a few days off to celebrate the Bundesliga title.

"They still have a lot to accomplish. They are in the fortunate position of aiming for a historic treble. That's going to give them incredible motivation," Schaaf said.

Bayern defender Philipp Lahm is sure Bremen won't be lacking motivation either.

"If they beat us, that would be a satisfaction for them because they'd beaten a team that was German champion and shone internationally," Lahm said.

"But if we play the way we can, we'll win, for sure," Lahm said.