The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Bayern Munich

  • Ujah Hails Bayern Munich’s David Alaba

    Ujah Hails Bayern Munich’s David Alaba

    Cologne striker Anthony Ujah has spoken of his admiration for Bayern Munich wing-back David Alaba, saying the Austria international is in a league of his own.

    Both players came face-to-face at the Allianz-Arena on Friday night, as Cologne lost 4-1 to the Bundesliga champions, and Ujah has admitted that he was left mesmerized by the skills of the 22-year-old.

    ”David Alaba is a very good player, and for his age he is perfect, fast and calculative, ” said Anthony Ujah to SL10.ng.

    ”I didn’t have the chance to talk with him because I was substituted before the end of the game.

    ”Neuer was the man of the day as he saved two important chances, but I think we gave a good account of ourselves knowing the calibre of players we came up against.

    ”We will take every game as it comes and hopefully we will collect more points as we can, ” the Cologne number 9 concluded.

  • UCL: City to play Barcelona again

    UCL: City to play Barcelona again

    … Real Madrid hooks Schalke 04, Chelsea meets PSG

    Manchester City will play Barcelona in the Champions League last 16 for a second consecutive year.

    Chelsea battles Paris St-Germain, and Arsenal squares up against Monaco in ties to be played in February and March, the BBC reports.

    Champions Real Madrid will face Schalke, with last season’s beaten finalists Atletico Madrid taking on Bayer Leverkusen.

    Bayern Munich plays Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus faces Borussia Dortmund and Basel tackles Porto.

    Manchester City narrowly qualified, needing a final-day win over Roma to progress, but finishing second to Bayern Munich in the group phase has seen the English champions come up against four-time European kings Barcelona.

    In last season’s first knockout game, the Catalans defeated Manchester City 4-1 on aggregate.

    Chelsea, who finished ahead of Schalke as group winners, will play Paris St-Germain for the second consecutive year, having beaten the French champions in dramatic circumstances in last year’s quarter-finals.

    There is added interest in that game as Chelsea sold defender David Luiz to PSG for a reported £40m in the summer.

    Arsenal, who finished below Borussia Dortmund in the group stage, comes up against a side handled by Gunners boss Arsene Wenger from 1987 to 1994.

    The pairings

    Manchester City vs Barcelona

    PSG vs Chelsea

    Schalke 04 vs Real Madrid

    Juventus vs Borussia Dortmund

    Bayer Leverkusen vs Atletico Madrid

    Arsenal vs Monaco

    Shakhtar Donesk vs Bayern Munich

    Basel vs Porto

     

  • Bayern interest in Ramos is pure rumour – Sammer

    Bayern interest in Ramos is pure rumour – Sammer

    Bayern Munich sporting director Matthias Sammer has played down speculation linking the German champions with a move for Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos .

    Reports in the Spanish media have suggested the Bundesliga leaders are keen to add the 28-year-old stopper to the squad, despite splashing out €26 million to sign Mehdi Benatia from Roma in August.

    But Sammer has denied any interest in the Spain international, insisting the rumours that Ramos could be brought into the club to help replace injured duo David Alaba and Javi Martinez are nonsense.

    “If the rumours in Spain were true, we’d be made up of four teams and have another Spanish sporting director,” Sammer told Sky .

    “Ramos has a long-term contract with a pretty club.”

    Austria international Alaba suffered a knee ligament injury during Bayern’s Champions League victory over Roma last week.

    The 22-year-old underwent surgery on Friday and the club are hopeful his recovery will proceed according to plan.

    “FCB chief medical officer Dr Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt said the operation was completed without complications,” read a statement on the club website.

    “Alaba will be discharged form hospital on Saturday and will wear a protective plaster cast on the knee for the next 14 days.”

  • Manchester City in tricky Euro group

    Manchester City in tricky Euro group

    … Meet Bayern Munich, Roma, CSKA Moscow

    .… Liverpool to play holders in Group B

    English champions Manchester City landed in a tough looking group in the 2014/2015 European Champions League draw conducted Thursday at the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco, France.

    The Manuel Pellegrini tutored team will have to navigate past Bayern Munich, Roma and CSKA Moscow to reach the knockout stage, Goal reports.

    Last season semi finalists Chelsea will face Schalke, Sporting Lisbon and Maribor.

    Arsenal overcame Besiktas in a nervy play-off clash thanks to Alexis Sanchez’s first goal for the club to reach the Champions League proper for the 17th consecutive season and will square up against Dortmund, Galatasaray and Anderlecht in Group D.

    Liverpool mark its return to the competition for the first time since 2009 with clashes against Real Madrid, Basel and Ludogorets in Group B.

    The Anfield outfit has never lost to the Spanish giants in three previous meetings.

    The pairings:

    Group A: Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Olympiacos, Malmo

    Group B:  Real Madrid, FC Basel, Liverpool, Ludogorets Razgrard

    Group C: Benfica, Zenit St Petersburg, Bayer Leverkusen, Monaco

    Group D: Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, Galatasary, Anderlecht

    Group E: Bayern Munich, Manchester City, CSKA Moscow, Roma

    Group F: Barcelona, Paris St-Germain, Ajax, Apoel

    Group G: Chelsea, Schalke, Sporting Lisbon, Maribor

    Group H: Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Athletic Bilbao, BATE Borisov

     

  • Kurt: I want to play for Bayern Munich

    Borussia Monchengladbach wonderkid Sinan Kurt remains convinced that he can secure a move to Bayern Munich before the end of the transfer window. .

    The potential transfer of the 18-year-old has caused friction between the two sides, with Gladbach vice president Rainer Bonhof convinced he will remain with Die Fohlen for next season.

    Despite being under contract until 2016, Kurt, who is currently playing for Borussia’s U-23 side, is still seeking a move to the Bundesliga champions in this window.

    Bonhof stated in a recent interview: “We will hold on to the boy.”

    But speaking to reporters in Germany, Kurt made his views on the move very clear: “I’ve made my decision in favour of Bayern, and nothing will change. I stand by it!

    “I’ve always been honest with [Director of Sport] Max Eberl about my intentions. Therefore I have nothing to feel guilty about.”

  • Calhanoglu: Why I turned down Bayern Munich

    Hakan Calhanoglu has revealed that he turned down the chance to join Bayern Munich in favour of a move to Bayer Leverkusen as he feels his new club are at the same level as the reigning Bundesliga titleholders.

    The attacking midfielder has acknowledged that most players would have jumped at the chance to sign for the champions, but he has no regrets over his decision to leave Hamburg for the BayArena instead.

    “My agent told me that Bayern wanted me as well. It might be true that nearly everybody wants to join Bayern, but Leverkusen are on par with Bayern for me,” Calhanoglu told Hamburger Morgenpost.

    “Of course, Bayern are the best, but Leverkusen are regularly challenging for a top-four spot as well. We can compete with Bayern, Dortmund and Schalke.

    “And I have the chance to play on a regular basis here in Leverkusen. I simply have better prospects here than at Bayern and that’s important to me as a young player.”

  • Bayern Munich signs Valencia full-back Bernat

    Bayern Munich signs Valencia full-back Bernat

    The Spain Under-21 international, who will wear the No.18 jersey, has penned a five-year contract with the German champions

    Bayern Munich have signed versatile full-back Juan Bernat from Valencia for a reported €10 million.

    The German champions revealed that the left-footed Spain Under-21 international, who can also play on the wing, has penned a five-year contract and will link up with his new team-mates on Thursday.

    “Juan Bernat is an extraordinary young player,” Bayern sporting director Matthias Sammer told the club’s official website.

    “We scouted him for a long time. He is fast, a strong tackler and a real threat to the opposition’s goal.

    “We are sure that he will prove a very good investment in terms of the future of our team.”

    Bernat, meanwhile, admitted that he cannot wait to make his first appearance for Pep Guardiola’s side.

    “I am very happy that I will be able to play for this massive club,” he enthused. “Bayern are one of the biggest teams in the world.

    “I am very excited to play in a team with [Philipp] Lahm, [Manuel] Neuer, [Bastian] Schweinsteiger, [Arjen] Robben and [Franck] Ribery, and to have Guardiola as a coach.”

    Bernat, who is a product of Valencia’s youth academy, will wear the No.18 jersey at Bayern.

  • Bayern Munich president sentenced to three-and-a-half years

    Bayern Munich president sentenced to three-and-a-half years

    • Former German international Uli Hoeness owed €27m in unpaid tax

     

    Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has been found guilty of tax evasion and sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison.

    The 62-year-old, one of the most powerful figures in German football, was charged with dodging €3.5 million in taxes through an undeclared Swiss bank account. But when his trial opened on Monday, he admitted to avoiding €15 million more.

    Then it came out through an examination of documents he provided to investigators shortly before the trial that he owed €27.2 million in total.

    German news agency dpa reported that prosecutors had demanded a five-and-a-half-year prison term, while his defence team was looking for a suspension of sentence on probation, arguing that he had turned himself in for tax evasion and provided details to the court.

    Following the verdict, defence lawyer Hanns Feigen said he would appeal against the decision to see how a higher court would value Hoeness’s “not ideal” confession. He added that he was convinced the appeals court would come to a “better result” than the Munich state court did.

    Hoeness will remain free on bail pending the outcome of the appeal.

    German authorities have been cracking down on tax evaders in recent years, and have recovered hundreds of millions of euro.

    Their widely-publicised purchase of leaked account information on thousands of investors, as well as high-profile cases such as that against Hoeness and former Deutsche Post AG chief Klaus Zumwinkel, has led to thousands of people turning themselves in.

    Hoeness, who is also part owner of a Nuremberg sausage factory, reported himself to the tax authorities last April — around the same time German media were investigating reports of high-profile tax evaders. News of the case against the national icon prompted even Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman to weigh in and say the country’s leader was disappointed in him.

    As a player, Hoeness was a Bayern star who won the 1972 European Championship and the 1974 World Cup with West Germany, and three straight European Cups — the predecessor of the Champions League — before retiring in 1979 with chronic knee problems.

    He became the Bundesliga’s youngest coach when he was 27.

    Bayern has been enjoying unprecedented success under Hoeness’s presidency. The club stood by him during the investigation, and its supervisory board is expected to meet following the verdict to see what steps to take next. Bayern Munich said it would issue a statement later today.

  • UEFA Champions League: Tough Man City test for Barcelona

    UEFA Champions League: Tough Man City test for Barcelona

    … Arsenal tackles Bayern Munich

    …  Chelsea plays Galatasaray

     

    Manchester City against Barcelona is the pick of the ties to emerge from Monday’s Champions League Round of 16 draw in Nyon.

    Goal.com reports that the Spanish champions will face Manuel Pellegrini’s free-scoring side after being drawn first out of the pot in the proceedings.

    Jose Mourinho faces another reunion with former striker Didier Drogba after his Chelsea side was drawn against Galatasaray, who edged out Juventus last week.

    Arsenal will face Bayern Munich, meanwhile, in a repeat of last season second round encounter, while fellow Bundesliga outfit Schalke meets nine-time champions Real Madrid.

    Elsewhere, Manchester United will face Greek champions Olympiakos, while Paris Saint-Germain takes on Bundesliga high-flyers Bayer Leverkusen.

    AC Milan’s reward for edging into the last 16 is Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid. Finally, Borussia Dortmund – beaten finalists last season, confronts Russian giants Zenit St Petersburg.

    The sides who finished as group runners-up will host the first leg encounters on the February 18/19 and 25/26, while the second legs take place on March 11/12 and 18/19.

    The pairings:

    Manchester City vs Barcelona

    Olympiakos vs Manchester Utd

    AC Milan vs Atletico Madrid

    Bayer Leverkusen vs Paris Saint-Germain

    Galatasaray vs Chelsea

    Schalke vs Real Madrid

    Zenit St Petersburg vs Borussia Dortmund

    Arsenal vs Bayern Munich

     

     

     

  • Thiago Alcantara nets debut goal as Bayern Munich brush aside Borussia Moenchengladbach

    Thiago Alcantara nets debut goal as Bayern Munich brush aside Borussia Moenchengladbach

    The Spain Under-21 captain signed from Barcelona last Monday in a four-year deal with an initial fee of 20 million euros.

    Bayern Munich claimed another title with a 5-1 win over hosts Borussia Moenchengladbach in Sunday’s final of the pre-season Telekom Cup as new-signing Thiago Alcantara netted his debut goal.

    Having beaten Hamburg 4-0 in Saturday’s semi-final, European champions Bayern romped to another win with new signing Thiago scoring in the first-half to claim his first goal for the Bavarians.

    Bayern became the first German team to win the treble of European, league and cup titles last season and they added another trophy to their growing collection.

    “We’re happy, it’s always good to win a pre-season tournament,” said coach Pep Guardiola, who has changed Bayern to a 4-1-4-1 system from the conventional 4-2-3-1 formation.

    Thiago made his Munich debut on Saturday against Hamburg at Moenchengladbach’s Borussia Park, then the 22-year-old chested home his first goal for the European champions on Sunday.

    Having won all six of their pre-season friendlies against minor opposition before this weekend, Guardiola’s team passed their first test against Bundesliga opposition with flying colours.

    Bayern face sterner tests this week as they host Barcelona on Wednesday in a friendly, then travel to Dortmund on Saturday for the German Super Cup final. `