Ribery fired up for return to Marseille

Franck Ribery cannot wait to take to the pitch at the Stade Velodrome tonight as he makes his first return to his former club Marseille since leaving them for Bayern Munich in 2007.

Ribery will be spearheading Bayern’s bid to reach the Champions League final, and will not lack for motivation.

As well as the prospect of featuring in his first final after missing the 2010 defeat to Inter Milan through suspension, Ribery cannot wait to play again in front of his former fans.

And he knows there are plenty of critics he can silence with a stirring performance at his old stomping ground.

“There are certain people around who don’t stop criticising me,” said the winger, one of the scapegoats in France for Les Bleus poor 2010 World Cup.

“Whenever I come to France, I don’t even have time to switch on the TV and they are criticising me already.”

Marseille coach Didier Deschamps, who led Monaco to a surprise Champions League final appearance in 2004, may make a surprise in goal by choosing his third-choice goalkeeper, Elinton Andrade, to replace the suspended Steve Mandanda.