|
Re: German football 28-30 April
From BAyern's webby
Quote:
Back-to-back doubles?
Cup favourites Bayern poised to make history
|
|
|
| 28.04.2006
Bayern fully intend to finish this term's DFB German Cup campaign the way they started it, with a convincing victory at the imposing Olympic stadium in Berlin. First-round opponents MSV Neuruppin swapped home advantage for the more lucrative surroundings of the capital, before holders Munich went on to dispose of Erzgebirge Aue, Hamburg, FSV Mainz and St. Pauli en route to Saturday's date with Eintracht Frankfurt. Victory in the final would leave the Reds odds-on to seal an historic second consecutive domestic double.
"We've had a long and challenging route to the final. Now it's our chance to harvest the fruits of our labours," coach Felix Magath intoned ahead of the meeting with one of his former clubs. Bayern are poised to become the first club in German football history to claim back-to-back league and Cup doubles, "so we could make history. And that's our target," the boss declared.
Early arrival in Berlin
Bayern, the most successful club in German Cup history with 12 victories from 14 final appearances, arrived in the capital on Thursday to allow plenty of time for preparation ahead of Saturday evening's clash. Following a painful early exit from the Champions League, the Reds are determined to clean up at home. "This is a very important match for the club," Magath confirmed. "It would be a dream come true if we succeed in defending the double."
Naturally, Bayern must first neutralise the threat posed by Frankfurt. In complete contrast to Munich, relegation-threatened Eintracht have nothing to lose in Berlin, and have already sealed a berth in the Uefa Cup simply by making it to the final. Furthermore, Friedhelm Funkel's men go into Saturday's game on a roll after a 2-0 victory away to Stuttgart last weekend, whereas Magath's team have been below par of late.
Rummenigge demands improvement
"We'll have to play better than we did in Mainz, or we won't beat Eintracht. We have to improve," demanded chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. Captain Oliver Kahn recalled the fact that "we've always struggled against so-called underdogs in Berlin." A fortunate 2-1 victory over MSV Duisburg in 1998 was a case in point - and Funkel was the man in charge of the Zebras at the time. "We'll do everything we can to make it exciting," the experienced boss promised.
Frankfurt are clearly comfortable with their role as underdogs, but Bayern are hardly unused to their billing as overwhelming favourites. "We're used to the situation here in Germany, and we'll definitely live up to the role. We won't allow anything to go wrong," Magath insisted.
Reds at full strength
Apart from long-term casualties Sebastian Deisler, Andreas Görlitz and Ali Karimi, Magath picks his starting line-up from a full squad. "They're all putting themselves forward to be selected," the coach reported, although he declined to give any specific details.
Munich still have three remaining fixtures in the Bundesliga, the first of them on Wednesday at home to Stuttgart, but Magath insisted he had no intention of awarding any of his players a rest at the weekend. "I'll field my best line-up. I'll pick the players who are most suitable for the match." At the end of the day, attitude rather than the names on the teamsheet could prove decisive for the outcome. "We can avoid any kind of nasty surprise, provided we concentrate very, very hard on the job,"Kahn summarised.
Probable line ups:
Bayern Munich: Kahn - Sagnol, Lucio, Ismael, Lahm - Hargreaves - Salihamidzic, Ballack, Zé Roberto - Makaay, Pizarro
Also in matchday squad: Rensing, Lizarazu, Demichelis, Jeremies, Santa Cruz, Scholl, Schweinsteiger, Guerrero
Eintracht Frankfurt: Nikolov - Rehmer, Vasoski, Russ - Spycher, Huggel, Ochs - Lexa, Köhler - Meier - Amanatidis
Referee: Herbert Fandel (Kyllburg)
|
|
|