Hitzfeld works the old magic to make Real disappear

Bayern Munich's veteran coach Ottmar Hitzfeld could barely disguise his excitement after the club he returned to a month ago reached the Champions League quarter-finals at Real Madrid's expense.

A 2-1 win at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday left the result 4-4 on aggregate and booked Bayern's place in the last eight by virtue of away goals.

And it gave Hitzfeld, 58, the chance to continue his search for a third European crown after winning the trophy with unfancied Borussia Dortmund in 1997 and Bayern in 2001.

"It is great to be in the last eight, it is good for our image and everything is possible," he said.

"We can be proud of beating Real who are always a major club."

Hitzfeld planned the galacticos' downfall by calling for an aggressive start from his team - and was rewarded with the fastest goal in Champions League history when Roy Makaay struck after just ten seconds.

Brazilian defender Lucio's second-half header seemed to have secured Bayern's victory before Ruud van Nistelrooy gave Real faint hope with a well-struck penalty with ten minutes remaining after Lucio was adjudged to have brought down Robinho.

"The penalty was a gift to Real and put them back in the saddle," Hitzfeld said.

"The last three or four minutes were tough, but we were still trying to attack."

"We had the majority of the chances and we were always looking to score."

Hitzfeld returned to Bayern at the start of February after the surprise sacking of Felix Magath following a handful of poor results.

Bayern stuttered in Hitzfeld's early games, losing to Nuremberg and minnows Alemannia Aachen before hitting their stride.

A 3-2 victory at Hertha Berlin at the weekend left them fourth in the league, six points behind leaders Schalke 04, and was the perfect preparation for the European showdown.

But despite injecting new life into Germany's biggest club, Hitzfeld called for caution from any Bayern fans already dreaming of a fourth continental crown.

"We still haven't achieved anything this season. Everything is at a critical stage."

One thing is for sure - if Bayern do lift Europe's top club prize in Athens on May 23, it will be Hitzfeld's last game in charge. He confirmed last weekend that he intended to step down at the end of the season.