The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Bayern Munich

  • Bayern fined €20,000 for fake notes thrown by fans

    Bayern fined €20,000 for fake notes thrown by fans

     

    Bayern Munich have been fined €20,000 after fans threw fake notes on the pitch during a Champions League clash with Anderlecht last month.

    Supporters threw rolls of mock-up €500 bills at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium in protest against the high cost of tickets.

    They also held a banner apparently criticising UEFA for their pricing policy, which read: ‘Is your gr€€d now finally satisfied?’.

    Travelling fans were angered after some reportedly paid as much as €100 for match tickets.

    European football’s governing body has decided to fine them after they were charged with throwing objects and displaying illicit banners.

    Spartak Moscow have also been fined €3,000 for setting off fireworks in their draw with Maribor.

    Bayern are still basking in the euphoria of their 3-1 Champions League victory over PSG, with manager

    Jupp Heynckes believing that the victory proves the Bundesliga side are back among favorites to win the competition this season

    Speaking to reporters ahead of Saturday’s trip to Eintracht Frankfurt, Heynckes said: “Certainly there are others who are the favourites, but as we have proven ourselves, we belong to the extended circle of favourites.

    “I wanted to achieve with the game, and I also think it’s positive that one or two of the players still wanted to play to make it 4-1 or 5-1.

    “I was always sure that things would work out, but I was not so forward-thinking.

    “It was positive against PSG, but I’m not going to let myself be over-praised and overlook the weaknesses that weren’t exploited.

    “We have to improve further. Some injured players still have to reach their optimum performance. At the moment, I’m still not satisfied as there is still room for improvement and we have not yet reached our peak.”

    Heynckes also spoke about the importance of time with respect to the development of young players and coaches.

    “I became a Bundesliga coach at the age of 43,” he said. “I had to learn a lot.

    “Give the young coaches a chance. A clear plan is important, you give a team structure.

    “There’s good offspring in Germany. You have to give the young trainers the time, even though they do not often get it.

    “Also, players need time to develop. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm were not world-class at 21.

    “Kingsley Coman has been here for three years now, Corentin Tolisso since the summer, and Schweinsteiger played on the left wing in the beginning.”

  • Heynckes reaches record 500th Bundesliga win

    Heynckes reaches record 500th Bundesliga win

     

    Jupp Heynckes became the first person to win 500 matches in the Bundesliga as a player and a coach on Saturday, as Bayern Munich breezed past Augsburg.

    Robert Lewandowski scored twice after Arturo Vidal broke the deadlock in the first half, ensuring the champions moved six points clear at the top of the table, with second-place RB Leipzig drawing 2-2 with Bayer Leverkusen.

    It was a particularly special win for Heynckes, who reached a half-century of wins in Germany’s top flight from 1016 games, with 326 coming as a manager after 174 in his playing career.

    The 72-year-old, who replaced the sacked Carlo Ancelotti in September, is bidding to win his fourth Bundesliga title as Bayern boss this season, having previously guided them to glory in 1988-89, 1989-90 and 2012-13.

    Robert Lewandowski’s double helped Bayern Munich to a 3-0 victory over Augsburg at the Allianz Arena on Saturday as the champions capitalised on RB Leipzig’s failure to win.

    The Poland star took his tally for the season to 13 goals in as many league games, with Arturo Vidal also on the scoresheet, as Jupp Heynckes’ side made it five top-flight wins in a row.

    The hosts struggled initially to break down an Augsburg side who had won only one of their previous six matches, but an incorrect offside call went Bayern’s way to allow Vidal to lash home a loose ball in the box.

    Lewandowski struck following a fast break just before half-time and the 29-year-old netted his second at the end of a superb passing move early in the second half, as Bayern cruised to another three points and put more pressure on Augsburg boss Manuel Baum.

    The victory also gives the champions a six-point lead at the top of the table, with Borussia Dortmund having lost to Stuttgart on Friday and Leipzig held to a 2-2 draw by Bayer Leverkusen.

  • Here comes Robert ‘LewanBLONDski’

    Here comes Robert ‘LewanBLONDski’

     

    Robert Lewandowski isn’t known for being flamboyant and changing up his appearance like other footballers.

    On Tuesday however, the Poland and Bayern Munich striker decided to go for a change to his look as he dyed his hair, going for the light blonde look to head into the winter months.

    The new cut has garnered the attention of social media and unfortunately for Robert, the attention of his team-mate Jerome Boateng who has jokingly accused the striker of copying him.

    The German defender said on his Instagram story: ‘Why u all copy my style? Who’s next?’

    The 29-year-old has even been compared on social media to former team-mate Marco Reus who does bare a striking resemblance to the German forward.

    Even his employers have had their say on the trim as they tweeted: ‘Style-Level 100! #LewanBLONDski #MiaSanMia’

    Lewandowski will get to show his new haircut off in front of the fans on Saturday as Bayern host Augsburg.

    The Polish talisman is currently the Bundesliga’s top goalscorer with 11 goals from 11 games this season and will be looking to keep up his goal-a-game ratio at the weekend.

    Lewandowski is taking Spanish lessons amid rumours that he is pushing for a move to Real Madrid next summer, according to reports.

    That was followed by reports in Spain that Real had made Lewandowski their top target to solve their striker crisis, with the forward ‘obsessed’ by the prospect of moving to Madrid

    And now Bild claim the striker has taken up Spanish lessons, adding further fuel to the speculation that he could agitate for a move to the Champions League holders in the coming months. The 29-year-old is desperate to claim European glory and is becoming increasingly concerned that his goal cannot be fulfilled at Bayern.

    Lewandowski missed out on the Bundesliga Golden Boot last season and was reportedly unhappy that his Bayern teammates did not do more to ensure he beat Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

    Lewandowski already has six Premier League goals this season, in just five games

  • Bayern retain Ancelotti in Christmas plan

    Bayern retain Ancelotti in Christmas plan

     

    Bayern Munich  have released a Christmas advent calendar with their former manager Carlo Ancelloti chewing down on some turkey at No.19

    Ancelotti, who was sacked as Bayern Munich’s head coach the day after their 3-0 Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain last month, has left the manufacturers of the Bundesliga club’s official advent calendars red-faced.

    The 58-year-old Italian can be seen tucking into a turkey with David Alaba on a picnic table, very much front and centre of the cozy Christmas scene.

    Bayern are rectifying the problem by releasing stickers to replace him with Jupp Heynckes, who began his fourth spell by masterminding a 5-0 victory over Freiburg on Saturday. But of course with the battle to correct the  mistake the initial release has already started to trend.

    Bayern host Celtic in the Champions league Wednesday and returnee coach Jupp Heynckes will be hoping to post another superlative performance for compliment his side’s 5-0 demolition of Freiburg. Bayern have five Champions league title in the kitty with the last coming in the 2012–13 seasons.

    Bayern considers itself a national club. The club had 3,202 fanclubs with total 231,197 members in 2012, making it the club with the largest number of organised supporters in Germany. Owing partly to the club having supporters all over the country,all of Bayern’s away games have been sold out in recent years. Despite a large proportion of their supporters having to travel more than 200 km regularly, the club’s home matches in the Allianz Arena have almost always been sold out. According to a study by Sport+Markt Bayern is the fifth-most popular football club in Europe with 20.7 million supporters, and the most popular football club in Germany with 10 million supporters.

    Meanwhile Bayern Munich manager Jupp Heynckes has stressed the importance of player-coach relations after starting his fourth stint in charge with the rout of Freiburg.

    The two-time Champions League winner picked up from where he left off in 2013 as the Bundesliga giants cruised to their first win in four competitive fixtures.

     

  • Lewandowski thriving on and off the pitch

    Lewandowski thriving on and off the pitch

     

    Bayern Munich and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski has obtained a college degree, one day after helping his side secure their first World Cup appearance since 2006.

    The prolific forward faced a panel from the Academy of Sport Education in Warsaw and passed his exam for a bachelor’s degree.

    Lewandowski’s thesis focused on coaching and management and described his own career, from playing football as a child to competing for titles in large stadiums.

    It spoke of ambition and rivalry and of the support Lewandowski got from his parents and wife and the work is set to be published.

    On Sunday, Lewandowski netted in Poland’s 4-2 win over Montenegro, his 16th goal of the qualifying campaign.

    The prolific forward will hope he can carry his form on the international stage with him to the Bundesliga.

    Bayern currently lie in second place in the Bundesliga having replaced Carlo Ancelotti with Jupp Heynckes.

    Lewandowski will hope to impress his new boss and close the five-point gap to Borussia Dortmund when his side welcome Freiburg on Saturday.

    Lewandowski scored a European qualifying record 16th goal as Poland defeated Montenegro 4-2 on Sunday to reach next year’s World Cup, but Scotland missed out on the play-offs after a 2-2 draw in Slovenia.

    Krzysztof Maczynski and Kamil Grosicki struck early as Poland made a dream start, but Montenegro hit back through goals from Stefan Mugosa and Zarko Tomasevic to pull level with just seven minutes left.

    Lewandowski restored Poland’s advantage on 85 minutes before a late own goal from Filip Stojkovic sealed victory, although Denmark’s 1-1 draw at home to Romania ultimately rendered the outcome irrelevant.

    The Danes needed to win in Copenhagen while hoping that Montenegro could upset Poland to finish top of Group E, but Ciprian Deac’s late equaliser cancelled out a 60th-minute penalty from Christian Eriksen.

    However, Denmark are at least assured of a place in next month’s play-offs as one of the eight best runners-up from the nine qualifying groups.

    Slovakia face an anxious wait to discover whether they will advance to the two-legged play-offs after finishing second behind England in Group F following a comfortable 3-0 win over Malta.

     

     

  • Bayern Munich re-appoints Heynckes as coach

    Bayern Munich re-appoints Heynckes as coach

     

    After four years in retirement, Jupp Heynckes returned to Bayern Munich for a fourth stint as head coach on Friday in the hope of bringing the 2013 glory days back to the Bavarian giants.

    This is the 72-year-old’s first coaching job since steering Bayern to the 2013 treble, the first and only time a German side have won the Bundesliga, Champions League and German Cup titles in a single season.

    Heynckes first led Bayern from 1987 to 1991, then briefly in 2009 as caretaker, and from 2011 until 2013.

    He takes over the reins from the sacked Carlo Ancelotti, who lost his job last week after a stuttering start to the season and a 3-0 Champions League defeat by Paris Saint-Germain.

    “There is a strong relationship of trust between Jupp Heynckes and FC Bayern,” said club chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

    “He is at the moment the ideal coach for Bayern.”

    Heynckes will be assisted by the current co-trainer of Fortuna Duesseldorf, Peter Hermann, and the current sports director of Bayern’s youth team, Hermann Gerland.

    It was along with Hermann and Gerland that Heynckes led Bayern to the treble

    “I would not have returned to any other club in the world, but Bayern Munich is close to my heart,” said Heynckes, vowing to transform the team back into a “successful” squad.

    In an interview with Kicker magazine, Heynckes said he was “not making a comeback, it’s a service for a friend”.

    “I’m doing it only because I owe a lot to Bayern.”

    The Bundesliga champions made no mention of former French international defender and Bayern stalwart Willy Sagnol, who had stepped in as interim coach after the shock departure of Italian Ancelotti.

  • Bayern confirm torn knee ligament for Ribery

    Bayern confirm torn knee ligament for Ribery

     

    Bayern Munich have confirmed winger Franck Ribery has torn the lateral collateral ligament in his left knee.

    The 34-year-old appeared to jar his knee when he stood on top of the ball during the second half of his side’s 2-2 Bundesliga draw away to Hertha Berlin on Sunday.

    Tests have since revealed the extent of the damage and initial reports suggest he is facing up to three months out of action.

    “We’re sorry Franck has hurt himself,” Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said via the club’s official website. “We all wish him a quick recovery.”

    Bayern said in a statement that Ribery has already begun rehabilitation work to repair the damage, although he will not require surgery.

    Speaking after the match, the former Marseille star said: “I’m in a lot of pain. The outer ligament is probably damaged. I hope it’s not any worse than that.”

    Team-mate Jerome Boateng tweeted soon after the news: “Get well soon bro!”.

    The winger was quickly replaced by Kingsley Coman in Bayern’s first match since sacking Carlo Ancelotti.
    After a positive start, The Bundesliga champions lost a two goal lead to draw with Hertha Berlin.
    They now sit second in the Bundesliga and are five points adrift of Borussia Dortmund after a difficult start to the season.

  • Interim boss Sagnol drills underperforming Bayern

    Interim boss Sagnol drills underperforming Bayern

     

    Willy Sagnol led his first training session as Bayern Munich’s interim manager on Friday just 24 hours after Carlo Ancelotti was sacked.

    After resting on Thursday following their 3-0 Champions League Group B away defeat at the hands of PSG, Bayern’s first team were back at the Saebener Strasse performance centre to prepare for a weekend visit to Hertha Berlin.

    Despite their thrashing in Paris and the subsequent dismissal of their former leader, Bayern’s players appeared to be in good spirits as they were put through their paces.

    Joshua Kimmich, Corentin Tolisso and Sebastian Rudy were seen sharing a joke, while James Rodriguez and Arjen Robben watched on amused as David Alaba and Thiago Alcantara tried to prise the ball out of Franck Ribery’s grasp.

    But the players did give Sagnol their full attention as the 40-year-old addressed his squad for a team briefing.

    Sagnol, who won five Bundesliga titles and one Champions League during his playing days as a right back for Bayern, dished out some one-on-one advice to midfielder Arturo Vidal.

    Vidal has been a busy man this season and has already picked up five yellow cards in just eight matches.

    Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who won three league titles in as many seasons as Bayern boss between 2013 and 2016, has expressed his disappointment at Ancelotti’s premature departure from the Allianz Arena dugout.

    Guardiola said: ‘I have a big appreciation for Carlo Ancelotti, also for Bayern Munich. When a manager is sacked from a team we are close to the other manager.

    ‘I am regretful. Where I am now is thanks to Bayern Munich. I am grateful to them for giving me the opportunity.

    ‘And for Carlo Ancelotti, I wish him a lot of luck for the future.’

  • Bayern Munich sack Ancelotti

    Bayern Munich sack Ancelotti

    Carlo Ancelotti has been sacked as Bayern Munich’s manager.

    Following Wednesday’s 3-0 Champions League defeat by Paris St-Germain, the club’s board decided to dismiss the Italian, who replaced Pep Guardiola at the start of last season.

    Ancelotti, 58, helped Bayern win the Bundesliga last term, but the club only reached the last eight of the Champions League and the German Cup semi-finals, the BBC reports.

    Assistant boss, Willy Sagnol, will take temporary charge at the five-time European champions.

    Bayern, champions in each of the past five seasons, lies third in the German Bundesliga table, three points behind Borussia Dortmund, with four wins, one draw and one defeat from the first six matches.

    The club plays Hertha Berlin on Sunday.

    “The performance of our team since the start of the season did not meet the expectations we put to them,” said Bayern’s chief executive, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

    “I would like to thank Carlo for his cooperation. Carlo is my friend and will remain my friend. But we had to make a professional decision. The game in Paris clearly showed that we had to draw consequences.”

    Former Chelsea, PSG, Real Madrid and AC Milan boss Ancelotti has won the Champions League three times – with Milan in 2003 and 2007, and with Madrid in 2014.

    That return makes him the joint most successful manager in European Cup history, along with former Liverpool boss, Bob Paisley, who also won three titles, in 1977, 1978 and 1981.

    Ancelotti also led Milan to the Champions League final in 2005, but the Italian side lost on penalties to Liverpool, despite having led 3-0 at half-time.

  • Rodriguez splits from wife Daniela Ospina

    Rodriguez splits from wife Daniela Ospina

     

    Bayern Munich midfielder James Rodriguez has split from his wife after six years of marriage, amid claims of an affair with a model.

    It has been confirmed Rodriguez, on loan from Real Madrid, has parted with Daniela Ospina, sister of Arsenal goalkeeper David.

    This comes amid reports in Colombia and Spain that Rodriguez has been involved in a love triangle with model Helga Lovekaty.

    Marca report that an affair with Lovekaty is the reason for the end of the footballer’s marriage to the mother of his only child.

    A statement from Ospina’s manager confirmed the pair, who have a daughter together, had made the decision amicably.

    The message, shared on social media, said: ‘Daniela Ospina and James Rodriguez, parents to Salome Rodriguez Ospina, are making official their separation after six and half years of marriage.

    ‘It is done in the best possible terms and it is a mutual decision. They’ll maintain a relationship of love and of respect, always with Salome’s well-being at heart.’

    The couple, both Colombian, had married when they were teenagers, with Rodriguez aged 19 and Ospina just 18.

    The separation comes just after Rodriguez moved to Munich on a two-year loan, having struggled for game time at Real.