Louis van Gaal has admitted his Bayern Munich side are inferior to Manchester United, going as far as publicly commending a German journalist for describ- ing Sir Alex Ferguson's team as "favourites" to reach the Champions League semi-finals.

"That's the first time any journalist has said that and I'd like to thank you because you are right," said the man charged with the task of taking Bayern into the last four of Europe's premier club competition for the first time since they won it in 2001.

Van Gaal described United as one of Europe's elite "level one" teams and Bayern's preparations have been undermined by fitness concerns about key players, as well as a public show of dissent against the manager from the Croatian striker, Ivica Olic. Substituted at half-time of Saturday's 2-1 defeat by Stuttgart, Olic vented his frustrations in Munich's TZ newspaper today, describing it as "unbelievable and hard to understand".

The forward was demanding to see Van Gaal for an explanation. "I am very disappointed," he added. "I cannot understand this decision and I will ask him why this is the case. I cannot be happy."

Van Gaal has other concerns, notably the fitness of his two most creative players. He could not confirm whether Franck Ribéry would be able to start after a season badly disrupted by injuries and Van Gaal seemed frustrated with Arjen Robben as he gave an update on the fitness of the former Chelsea player. The midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger is also absent due to a suspension.

Robben, the outstanding player in the Bundesliga this season, did not train today, having injured his calf at the weekend. "I had said to Arjen that it would be better if he did not start [against Stuttgart] but he and the doctor said he could play. His muscles are tired and I have to be absolutely sure he is 100% fit. It's a big game and we can't have a player who is 80% fit. But we will try everything to get him fit as we will need a player like Robben against a team such as United."

Van Gaal was full of praise for the Premier League champions, even admitting being "jealous", and eulogised the "superfußballer" Wayne Rooney, but he also said he was encouraged by United's first-half performance against Milan in San Siro. Asked if he thought they had defensive weaknesses, he said, "Yes, maybe."

Of Bayern's chances he added: "We have achieved our goal of getting to the quarter-final. That was what the board told me at the start of the season. We've got that but we want more and we have to show that now in a game against a level-one side. We can play at level one in one night. But United show level one on a consistent basis and that's the difference.

"Just being capable of doing something is not enough. You have also got to do it and AC Milan did not do it. You could say that they were lucky, but I think that you also have to force your luck and Manchester United did that. I know one thing for certain and that is that the organisation at United is always good and I am jealous of this organisation. If we had this organisation at Bayern Munich, we would be a step ahead."