 |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  | |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  | |  |
Stade Francais - 11-times winners of the French Championship - had a disastrous start to the league, losing their first four matches. They face the proposition of competing in the play-downs, and therefore failing to earn Heineken Cup qualification.
'The Heineken Cup is really important for Stade Francais this season,' Bergamasco said. 'We are not doing very well in the French Championship. We have to win our last four matches if we are to have a chance of Heineken Cup qualification.
'We have to concentrate our minds on the Heineken Cup. Stade Francais Paris is a club whose image is very important, and participating at the top level is right for a club of our standing,' the brilliant backrower added.
'In the European Cup you play against great players. The level of rugby is the same as playing international rugby.'
But Stade's best chance of retaining their place at Europe's top table could be winning the Heineken Cup outright, and Bergamasco knows they have a mountain to climb if that dream is to be realised.
'They are a physical side,' he said of Munster.
'They are really well prepared and full of internationals. I know Ronan O'Gara personally, and know that he is a really really good player.
'For us, it will be a hard game against Munster, but it is really important for us to get the right result because we want to be playing at the highest level all the time. So we need to win.'
