The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Bayern Munich

  • Ribery bounces back against Hamburg

    Ribery bounces back against Hamburg

     

     

    Franck Ribery is ready to make his Bayern Munich comeback in Saturday’s Bundesliga encounter with Hamburg after shaking off a thigh injury.

    The former France international has not featured for Bayern since their hard-fought 2-1 win over Werder Bremen in late January, but has been given the green light to feature against Hamburg

    “Franck is ready,” head coach Carlo Ancelotti said at a media conference.

    “He has trained well this week. I have not made a final decision about my starting XI yet, but I think he will be on the bench Saturday.”

    Xabi Alonso, however, will miss this weekend’s clash at the Allianz Arena due to a minor adductor problem.

    “He had a small problem with his adductors and is not at 100 per cent,” Ancelotti added.

    “We do not want to take any risk against Hamburg.”

    Saturday’s clash will be Ancelotti’s 1,000th game in a coaching career that has seen successful spells at AC Milan, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.

    “I am very happy to celebrating that milestone,” he continued.

    “I can remember every game I have been in the dugout for. I still get excited ahead of every game.

    “HSV are a good side. They have quick attackers. We will have to be at 100 per cent.”

  • Bayern Munich eye Dominic Solanke

    Bayern Munich eye Dominic Solanke

     

     

     

    Bayern Munich are showing interest in wantaway Chelsea striker Dominic Solanke.

    The talented 19-year-old is highly regarded by clubs in this country but the financial package he is seeking is considered a risk by many.

    Solanke and his family are looking for wages of around £50,000-a-week while Chelsea could still command a tribunal fee of round £8million.

    The highly-rated striker joined Chelsea in 2004 and has spent his entire career with the Stamford Bridge club.

    He scored seven goals in 25 league games while on loan at Vitesse last season. He has played 17 minutes for Chelsea’s first-team in a single appearance.

    However, should he move abroad, clubs would only need to pay out an initial £300,000 in compensation.

    Bayern’s coaching staff are well aware of England U21 international Solanke who can play as a winger or striker; and like the fact that technically he is very good, is a good size and he has pace.

    The Germans would be unlikely to commit to £50,000-a-week but can offer an incentive-laden contract with Solanke keen to make a first-team breakthrough wherever he goes.

    Chelsea manager Antonio Conte acknowledged on Friday that Solanke is set to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer when his contract runs out.

    Liverpool have been linked but are understood to be weighing up other options instead which include Bayer Leverkusen’s

    Julian Brandt and Demarai Gray at Leicester City.

    Everton, Sunderland, Arsenal, West Ham, Rangers and Celtic have discussed offers for Solanke too.

  • Bayern beat Bremen to stay 3 points clear

    Bayern Munich remain three points clear at the top of the Bundesliga after beating Werder Bremen.

    Arjen Robben opened the scoring for the champions when he drilled home after good work on the wing from Franck Ribery.

    David Alaba made it 2-0 in first-half injury time when he curled a free-kick in.

    Max Kruse pulled one back when he shook off Alaba before finishing, but the 15th-placed hosts could not equalise.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Bayern remain three points above RB Leipzig, who beat Hoffenheim 2-1.

    In other Bundesliga matches played on Saturday, FC Ingolstadt beat visiting Hamburger SV 3-1, FC Koln whipped hosts Darmstadt 98 6-1, while FC Augsburg beat hosts VfL Wolfsburg.(NAN)

  • Vidal in fitness race for Champions League

    Vidal in fitness race for Champions League

     

     

     

    Bayern Munich’s influential midfielder Arturo Vidal is unsure if he will be fit for next month’s Champions League clash with Arsenal.

    The 29-year-old Chilean suffered a rib injury while playing for Bayern against Mainz in the Telekom Cup final on January 14.

    Vidal was deemed fit enough to start Friday night’s 2-1 victory over Freiburg in the Bundesliga but had to be replaced by Joshua Kimmich 10 minutes into the second half after aggravating the problem.

    “I feel bad,” Vidal told tz. “I’ve got severe pain in the ribs. I can’t play like this and must take a break now.

    “Anyway, I’ve already missed a week’s training. Now it looks like I’ll need at least a further two or three weeks’ break.

    “Only by doing this can I completely recover. Then we will see how I feel for the Champions League game.”

    Bayern host Arsenal at the Allianz Arena on February 15 in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie.

  • Xabi Alonso to retire in June

    Xabi Alonso to retire in June

     

     

     

     

    Spanish World Cup winner and double European champion Xabi Alonso is set to retire at the end of the season when his Bayern Munich contract expires, a report in Germany said.

     

    Leaders Bayern kick off the second half of the Bundesliga season at Freiburg on Friday in their bid for a fifth straight German league title with the 35-year-old Alonso poised to end his playing career in June.

     

    It would mean the German giants could lose significant experience for next season with club captain and ex-Germany skipper Philipp Lahm also reportedly considering retiring in June to take over as Bayern’s team manager.

     

    According to Sport Bild, Alonso has already told club bosses he does not want to sign a contract extension.

     

    Having joined Bayern for the 2014/15 season, Alonso is bidding to finish with a third straight German league title with Munich currently three points clear in the table.

     

    Alonso has won 16 titles for clubs and country, including the 2010 World Cup and the 2008 and 2012 European championships with Spain, making 114 international appearances.

    He retired from international duty in August 2014.

    He has won the Champions league twice with two different clubs.

     

    He started out at Real Sociedad and joined Liverpool in 2004 after being named Spanish player of the year in 2003.

     

    He was part of the Liverpool side which famously won the 2005 Champions League title in a penalty shoot-out, coming back from 3-0 down against AC Milan in Istanbul.

    After five years and 143 English Premier League appearances with Liverpool, Alonso joined Real Madrid in 2009.

    He again won the Champions League in 2014 when current Bayern coach Carlo Ancelotti steered Real to a 4-1 win over Atletico Madrid before Alonso transferred to Germany for the 2014/15 season.

  • UEFA: Besiktas draws Napoli

    Beşiktaş on Tuesday evening played a 1 – 1 draw against Napoli in the UEFA Champions League at full time.

    With the draw, Beşiktaş can hold their second place position with Napoli, just one point away in the lead. As Benfica sits in third with four points and facing the last place, F.C. Dynamo Kiev will not be able to catch Beşiktaş.

    Ricardo Quaresma put team Beşiktaş ahead in the 78′ minutes of the game through a penalty kick before Marek Hamšík equalised at the 82′ minutes.

    Other important matches tonight include Ludo Razgd against Arsenal FC 2 – 1, Man City against Barcelona 0 – 1, which are ongoing and PSV Eindhoven 1 – 0 Bayern Munich.

     

  • UEFA: Manchester City draw Steaua Bucharest

    UEFA: Manchester City draw Steaua Bucharest

    Manchester City will face Romanian side Steaua Bucharest in the UEFA Champions League play-off round, following the draw made on Friday.

    Scottish champions Celtic will meet Israeli side Hapoel Beer Sheva while Irish champions Dundalk have been drawn against Poland’s Legia Warsaw.

    Celtic beat Kazakh side FC Astana in the third qualifying round, while Dundalk were 3-1 aggregate victors over Belarusian side Bate Borisov.

    The two-legged play-off ties will be held on Aug. 16/17 and Aug. 23/24.

    Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has won the Champions League twice as a manager — with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011.

    The Spaniard has lost in the semi-finals of the competition in each of the past four seasons, once with Barca and three times with Bayern Munich.

    Manchester City are looking to compete in the group stages of the competition for the sixth successive season.

    Steaua, who won the European Cup in 1986 and were runners-up in 1989, finished second to Astra Giurgiu in the Romanian top-flight.

    Manchester City’s sporting director Txiki Begiristain said: “It’s going to be a difficult tie, because Steaua are on the up again in Europe and have a lot of talent.’’

    Elsewhere, 2004 winners Porto face a tough tie against Italian side Roma, and 1995 winners Ajax will play Russian side Rostov.

    The winners of the ties will progress to the Champions League group stage while the losers will drop into the Europa League.

     

    Full Draw

    Ludogorets Razgrad (Bulgaria) v FC Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)

     

    Celtic (Scotland) v Hapoel Beer-Sheva (Israel)

     

    FC Copenhagen (Denmark) v Apoel Nicosia (Cyprus)

     

    Dundalk (Republic of Ireland) v Legia Warsaw (Poland)

     

    Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) v FC Salzburg (Austria)

     

    Steaua Bucharest (Romania) v Manchester City (England)

     

    FC Porto (Portugal) v Roma (Italy)

     

    Ajax (Netherlands) v Rostov (Russia)

     

    Young Boys (Switzerland) v Borussia Monchengladbach (Germany)

     

    Villarreal (Spain) v Monaco (France)

  • Arsenal seek redemption against rampaging Bayern

    Arsenal seek redemption against rampaging Bayern

    Arsenal will host high flying German side Bayern Munich in a match day three of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night.

    Arsenal, who had lost its two opening fixtures in this competition, needs a positive result against the Bundesliga leaders to return to contention for a place in the knockout stages.

    Arsene Wenger men have won four of their last five games, including a 3-0 rout of Manchester United, a game in which the Gunners scored all three goals in the first 20 minutes of the game.

    Bayern on the other hand had won all its 11 games this season, scoring 37 goals in the process. The German side has scored eight goals without conceding in the opening two games of this season’s UEFA Champions League.

    Arsenal will welcome back Gabriel Paulista squad after he missed the Gunners last match against Watford with a minor injury.

    David Ospina who had started in each of Arsenal’s two previous Champions League games is out due to a shoulder injury he picked up while on international duty for Colombia.

    Arsenal will still be without forward Danny Welbeck and midfielders Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky.

    Bayern will be without Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, and are expected to be replaced by Douglas Costa and Kingsley Coman in the starting XI.

    Mehdi Benatia, Mario Götze, Sebastian Rode and Holger Badstuber are also unavailable.

    In form striker Robert Lewandowksi, who picked up a knock in the recent Bundesliga win over Werder Bremen, is fit to start. The Polish striker has scored 15 goals in his last seven appearances in all competition.

     

     

     

  • Bayern, Man U confirm Schweinsteiger’s transfer

    Bayern, Man U confirm Schweinsteiger’s transfer

    Bayern Munich chief, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, has confirmed that Bastian Schweinsteiger is set to join Manchester United, Goal reports.

    The Premier League giants unveiled Netherlands winger Memphis Depay on Friday and will follow up the capture of the former PSV winger with the signing of the German World Cup winner.

    Schweinsteiger has just one year remaining on his current Bayern contract and has commanded a transfer fee in the region of £12 million.

    “My colleagues at Manchester United have been in touch,” Goal quoted Rummenigge as saying to reporters at a press conference on Saturday.

    “We’ve reached an agreement over a transfer. Bastian wants to do something new at the end of his career. He asked that we meet his wishes.

    “I regret that he wants to leave because Bastian is one of the best-performing players that we have. He has done great things with the club, I can only wish the best for him. The national team can only benefit from this, I’m convinced he’ll play well at Old Trafford.”

    Manchester United subsequently released a short statement on its official website confirming the transfer pending a medical and contractual terms.

    “Manchester United is delighted to announce it has reached agreement with Bayern Munich to sign midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, subject to a medical and personal terms,” the club stated. “A further announcement will be made when the process is complete.”

    United has offered the 30-year-old a three-year deal and wages of £180,000-a-week, a salary in line with his current earnings at Bayern, as well as a £4million signing-on fee.

     

  • UCL: Barcelona to play Bayern Munich in semi final

    UCL: Barcelona to play Bayern Munich in semi final

    … Real meets Juventus

    Barcelona has been drawn against Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals.

    The other last-four tie sees Juventus – playing in its first semi-final since 2003 – facing Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid, the defending champions, the BBC reports.

    The first legs will be played on 5 and 6 May, with the return matches a week later.

    In the Europa League, holders Sevilla face Fiorentina, while Rafael Benitez’s Napoli will square up against Ukraine’s Dnipro.

    Bayern boss Guardiola won 13 trophies as a manager – including the Champions League in 2009 and 2011 – during four years at Barcelona.

    He has reached the Champions League semi-finals in each of his six seasons as a manager, four with Barca and now two with Bayern.

    Ancelotti will also be reunited with one of his former clubs, with the Italian having managed the Turin side from 1999 to 2001.

    The draw leaves open the possibility of a Barcelona v Real Madrid European Cup final, something which has never happened before. The arch-rivals are also battling it out for the Spanish league title this season.

    Real Madrid reached the last four by defeating city rivals Atletico – in a repeat of last season’s final – thanks to Javier Hernandez’s late goal.

    Bayern Munich thrashed Porto 6-1 at home to overturn a first-leg deficit and progress 7-4 on aggregate.

    Things were more straightforward for Barcelona, who beat Paris St-Germain 5-1 overall, and Juventus, who beat Monaco 1-0 over two legs.

    This season’s final will be played at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on 6 June.