FCB - General Talk

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Following the draw for the UEFA Cup group stage last Tuesday, establishing the fixture plan for the four German clubs in the competition, the German Football League (DFL) published the final schedule for Bundesliga Matchdays 10 to 17 in Frankfurt on Thursday.

In the remaining weeks before Christmas, Bayern will play five Bundesliga fixtures on a Saturday and two on Sundays. On Matchday 11, the trip to face Borussia Dortmund (28 October), and on Matchday 15, when the Reds visit Arminia Bielefeld (2 December), kick-off is at 5 pm on Sunday. Munich have away UEFA Cup ties three days before the domestic fixtures in question, against Red Star Belgrade and SC Braga respectively.

Calendar year ends in Berlin

Bayern’s Saturday fixtures start with Matchday 12 (3 November) at home to Eintracht Frankfurt, followed by the away clash with champions VfB Stuttgart a week later. Following a break for internationals in mid-November, the Reds entertain Matchday 14 opponents VfL Wolfsburg on 24 November.

The last two Bundesliga fixtures of the year 2007 see Bayern at home to MSV Duisburg on 8 December, followed by the trip to Hertha BSC Berlin a week later. All Saturday matches kick off at 3.30 pm CET. The league season resumes with Matchday 18 in early February. A detailed schedule for the initial matches in the second half of the season is provisionally scheduled for publication in mid-November.

http://www.talksoccer.net/forum/fc-b...s-results.html

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Anstoßzeit in Belgrad festgelegt

Drei Tage nach der UEFA-Cup-Auslosung steht nun fest, wann das erste Gruppenspiel des FC Bayern bei Roter Stern Belgrad am 25. Oktober angepfiffen wird: um 21.15 Uhr. Damit ist für den FC Bayern nur noch die Anstoßzeit des Auswärtsspiels beim SC Braga offen.

The kick-off time for Bayern's UEFA Cup group match,
against Crvena Zvezda (Red Star) in Belgrade, on 25th October, has been set: 21.15h

Now, only the kick-off time for the away match to Braga remains unset.

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ZDF überträgt Auswärtsspiele in Belgrad und Braga

Das ZDF hat sich die Rechte für die Übertragung der beiden Auswärtsspiele des FCB in der UEFA-Cup-Gruppenphase gesichert. Am 25.10. überträgt der Mainzer Sender die Partie der Münchner bei Roter Stern Belgrad und am 29.11. die Begegnung beim SC Braga. Das ZDF hatte bereits das Vorrundenspiel bei Os Belenenses übertragen. Alle Heimspiele der Bayern bis inklusive eines möglichen Achtelfinales laufen exklusiv bei ProSieben.

Germany's 2nd public television 'ZDF' has the rights to broadcast live both Bayern's away UEFA Cup group matches.
On 25 October 'ZDF' broadcasts live from Belgrade, and on 29 November 'ZDF' broadcasts live from Braga.

By the way, all home matches of Bayern are exclusively broadcasted live by 'ProSieben' only.

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As Mark van Bommel demonstrated on Saturday, a weekend without Bundesliga fixtures can provide a useful opportunity to catch up on family commitments. The midfielder’s father-in-law Bert van Marwijk, coach at current Dutch league leaders Feyenoord Rotterdam, is currently spending time with his daughter and son-in-law in Munich. The former Dortmund boss called by the Säbener Straße on Saturday to observe Mark and his Bayern team-mates train.

“We gave our players the weekend off, so I took the opportunity to visit my family in Munich. I don’t get the chance very often,“ Van Marwijk told fcbayern.de. The respected coach described himself as “very pleased” with Feyenoord’s start to the campaign, and the form of ex-Bayern striker Roy Makaay, who has contributed five goals and four assists to the Rotterdam outfit’s 16 goals so far.

Klose making good progress

Miroslav Klose, one of Makaay’s immediate successors in Munich, boasts equally impressive personal statistics. In seven appearances so far, Klose has amassed a sensational eight goals and four assists – and if Saturday’s workout is any guide, the Germany international appears to be recovering well from a recent injury, and may have the chance to increase his tally when Bayern travel to face VfL Bochum next weekend.

Klose returned to the training ground for the first time since sustaining a knee injury in the league visit to Leverkusen on 29 September. “It was a test of his fitness. He managed the programme well and I think he’ll play a full part again on Tuesday,“ reported assistant coach Michael Henke after supervising Saturday’s session in the absence of head coach Ottmar Hitzfeld on business in Switzerland.

Demanding programme

Klose could be joined in the squad for the Bochum clash by Jose Sosa, after the Argentine schemer completed a full week back in training following a long injury lay-off. By contrast, Brazil star Zé Roberto was still absent on Saturday. “He’s got a bad dose of the flu and it’s pretty much knocked him flat,“ reported Henke, hoping a weekend off would enable Ze to shake off the illness.

Despite the reduced numbers for training with ten players away on international duty, Henke declared himself pleased with the work achieved in recent days: “We’ve been working very hard. I think the players who’ve been here will benefit from that over the coming weeks.“ The next session has been set for Tuesday: “We’re having two days off now for mental and physical regeneration.“ The perfect chance indeed for footballing families such as the Van Bommel/Van Mawijks to enjoy time together even during the bustle of the season.

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Germany celebrated their best-ever European Championship qualifying campaign by claiming a EURO 2008 berth with three games to spare, courtesy of a goalless draw with Ireland in Dublin on Saturday night. Joachim Löw’s team thus become the first nation apart from the joint hosts to book a place at next summer’s tournament in Switzerland and Austria.

A depleted Germany line-up struggled for rhythm in a physical encounter at Croke Park, a situation partly attributable to the early departure of Bayern playmaker Bastian Schweinsteiger following an 18th-minute collision with Kevin Kilbane. The 23-year-old Munich man required seven stitches to repair a four-centimetre cut. “He’s fine again now,” reported assistant boss Hansi Flick at half-time. The midfielder is expected to be fit for Germany’s top-of-the-table clash with the Czech Republic in Munich on Wednesday.

Podolski as super sub

The 68,000 crowd saw Schweinsteiger’s team-mate Marcell Jansen complete the full 90 minutes, delivering a clutch of dangerous crosses from the left wing. Lukas Podolski started from the bench before replacing Stuttgart’s Mario Gomez after 64 minutes. “He had a few good moments and looked dangerous,“ head coach Löw said in praise of the Bayern striker.

Elsewhere, Franck Ribery and his France team-mates completed a routine 6-0 victory away to the outclassed Faeroe Islands. Nicolas Anelka opened the scoring on six minutes after fine build-up play from Ribery, before Thierry Henry (8), Karim Benzema (50), Jerome Rothen (66), Karim Benzema (81) and Hatem Ben Arfa (90), who came on for Ribery in the 64th minute, rattled up the remaining goals. The World Cup runners-up now require victories against Lithuania in Nantes on Wednesday and away to the Ukraine on 21 November to be sure of progressing from Group B.

Held up by fog

The game in front of 8,076 spectators at the Torsvollor stadium may have been a mismatch, but the French squad’s trip to the Faeroes proved eventful. Dense fog prevented the party from travelling to the islands on Friday, compelling Ribery and Co to spend an unscheduled night in Norway before making another attempt to travel on Saturday. Even then, the two-time European champions only landed in Torshavn three and a half hours before kick-off.

World Cup winners Italy ran up a crucial 2-0 victory over Georgia in Genoa courtesy of goals from Andrea Pirlo (44) and Fabio Grosso (84) to move onto 23 points in the hotly-contested Group B, one ahead of France but still one behind Scotland, 3-1 winners against Ukraine. Munich’s Luca Toni played the full 90 minutes and was unlucky to see a first-half header come back off the post, although Luca did provide the assist for Grosso’s decisive late strike.

Full game for Van Buyten

The evening ended on a less positive note for Hamit Altintop, suspended for Turkey’s disappointing 1-1 draw in Moldova. The result leaves Turkey second in Group C, just a point ahead of Norway going into Wednesday’s showdown with leaders and reigning Euro champions Greece in Istanbul. Finally, Daniel van Buyten will have been delighted to complete the full 90 minutes for Belgium at home to Finland, although the goalless draw finally extinguished the Red Devils’ already slender hopes of qualifying for next summer’s tournament.

Over in South America, Martin Demichelis and Argentina made a successful start to their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-0 home win against Chile thanks to free-kick goals from Juan Roman Riquelme (27/45+1). Demichelis earned plaudits for another solid display at centre-half. “It was very important to start with a win,” Micho declared after the match at the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires. The Albiceleste now travel to face Venezuela in Maracaibo on Tuesday.

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Bayern began preparing for the weekend Bundesliga trip to Bochum on Tuesday, with Luca Toni a surprise member of the squad which reported for training at the Säbener Strasse. The 30-year-old chose to return to Munich early from international duty with Italy, 2-0 winners over Georgia in a Euro 2008 qualifier last Saturday and now scheduled to play a friendly against South Africa in Genoa on Wednesday.

“Luca arranged it with the coach,“ Ottmar Hitzfeld reported, after Toni personally asked Italy supremo Roberto Donadoni if he could be released early from national squad duty. “Obviously, we’re very pleased with his attitude. It’s a great help to Bayern Munich,“ Uli Hoeneß commented.

Focus on fitness and stamina

“We’re delighted to have Luca here for a week of intensive training,” said Ottmar Hitzfeld, ordering his players through a series of skill routines, weight training and stamina-building exercises on Tuesday morning. Eight-goal Toni’s return was not the only reason for the Bayern boss to be pleased, as a number of injured stars also resumed the squad workout.

Miroslav Klose played a full part in the team session after two weeks on the sidelines with a knee injury. “It was very good,” the club’s top scorer declared after the one-hour session. The striker reported no trace of pain. “We’ll have to wait and see how the leg reacts, but I have a good feeling about it,” Klose reported.

Focus on Bochum

Hitzfeld reckoned Klose had trained “extremely well” and voiced hopes that the 29-year-old might enter the frame for Saturday’s away trip to Bochum. Klose himself is keen to appear in the fixture. “I’m confident of playing in Bochum,” he remarked. The same applies to Zé Roberto, who resumed training on Tuesday after shaking off a heavy bout of flu.

Long-term absentees Willy Sagnol, Philipp Lahm and Valerien Ismael will have to wait a little longer before contemplating match action. The trio featured in Tuesday’s team session, but none is rated close to resuming first-team duty. “They all need plenty of time on the training ground,” Hitzfeld reported, although the injury situation at the club has eased considerably in recent days, with only Oliver Kahn restricted to an individual training programme after surgery on his elbow.

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Lothar Matthäus won the Bundesliga six times with FC Bayern München. bundesliga.de asked him to take a close look at 2007's FCB.

bundesliga.de: Is the current team the best FC Bayern ever?

Lothar Matthäus: You can't compare today's football to the football that was played when Bayern had the great team around Franz Beckenbauer. But it's definitely great fun to watch FC Bayern. At FC Bayern the team is always better than the year before, in every season.

bundesliga.de: Are the signings of Franck Ribery, Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose the only reasons for the upturn?

Matthäus: Bayern have learned from last season. They rested on the success of the previous years for too long. But it was an eye opener for the people responsible. It was a good thing to draw a line and to invest. That benefits not only FC Bayern, but the Bundesliga, too. And not only because of the results. The way they play football makes them popular with fans of other teams, too. That's why the cut was very positive for FC Bayern, not only sportingly but also for the image.

bundesliga.de: Do you see a team that could be dangerous for FC Bayern this season?

Matthäus: Bayern can only beat themselves this season, especially in the league. You can always have a bad day in the cup and be eliminated, but they won't get beaten in the league. They have the best team and have started the season outstandingly. The rivals have already dropped points. Defending champions VfB are already 13 points behind Bayern.

bundesliga.de: What makes Bayern so strong, compared to last season?

Matthäus: They act as a team again, play refreshing football and have fun. That's the most important thing, to not only see football as a profession. Ribery for example is a real joker, be it in training or on travels. At the moment everything fits at FC Bayern.

bundesliga.de: Could Karlsruher SC be a threat for Bayern?

Matthäus: No, KSC are not strong enough to stay at the top. But I didn't rate them as relegation candidates before the season. They will end up in midfield, everything else would be a surprise. They're on a run at the moment and live on euphoria. And they've strengthened very well with minor financial funds.

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Anstoßzeit in Braga festgelegt

Gut eine Woche nach der Auslosung der UEFA-Cup-Gruppenphase stehen alle Anstoßzeiten für die Partien des FC Bayern fest. Am Mittwoch wurde der Beginn des Auswärtsspiels beim SC Braga am 29. November auf 21 Uhr MEZ (20 Uhr Ortszeit) terminiert. Der Anstoß der Partie in Belgrad (25. Oktober, 21.15 Uhr) sowie der Heimspiele gegen Bolton (8. November, 19 Uhr) und Thessaloniki (19. Dezember, 20.45 Uhr) hatte bereits zuvor festgestanden.

The kick-off time for Bayern's UEFA Cup away group match,
against SC Braga, on 29th November, has been set: 21.00h (20.00 Portugal time)

Now, the kick-off times for all the group matches are set.

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Four days after sealing a berth at Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, Germany returned to earth with a painful bump in a sobering 3-0 defeat to main Group D qualifying rivals Czech Republic at the Allianz Arena. It was Germany’s first competitive defeat under coach Joachim Löw, the first European Championship home loss in 24 years, and the three-time European champions’ biggest-ever reverse in the qualifying competition.

Czechs through to Euro

The 66,000 capacity crowd generated an atmosphere reminiscent of the 2006 World Cup before kick-off, but goals from Libor Sionko (2) and Marek Matejovsky (23) prompted delight only among the estimated 10,000 Czech fans packed into the superb ground.

Bastian Schweinsteiger, Marcell Jansen and Lukas Podolski all started for the Germans but were unable to disrupt the efficient and determined Czechs. Schweinsteiger fired narrowly over from 25 metres after 26 minutes and warmed keeper Petr Cech’s gloves with a 57th minute free-kick, before the Bayern midfielder made way for striker Mario Gomez seven minutes later. Jaroslav Plasil’s strike a minute earlier had in any case ended the game as a contest as the powerful Czechs claimed their own place at next summer’s tournament.

Going to the wire in Group B

The situation is far less clear-cut in Group B, where Franck Ribéry and World Cup runners-up France registered a hard-earned 2-0 home win over Lithuania, assuming the lead in the section on 25 points ahead of Scotland (24), surprise 2-0 losers in Georgia, with world champions Italy a further point back.

With a game in hand on their rivals, FCB hitman Luca Toni and his Italian team-mates now travel to face the Scots in a potentially decisive showdown on 17 November. In Nantes on Wednesday, the French struggled for long periods against their Baltic opponents and only claimed the points in the closing stages with a quick-fire Thierry Henry brace (81/82), Ribéry playing a part in the build-up to the opener.

Altintop with it all to do

Hamit Altintop completed the full 90 minutes for Turkey, but the Munich man is also far from certain of a place at Euro 2008 after reigning continental champions Greece made off with the points in the biggest Group C game of the night. Frankfurt hitman Ioannis Amanatidis’ strike was enough to separate the sides in Istanbul and see the Greeks through to the finals, whereas the Turks drop to third in the section on 18 points, seven points off the leaders. Norway now occupy second place on 20 points after a 2-0 victory in Bosnia.

Over in Group A, Belgium and Armenia played for pride with both teams already out of the Euro 2008 running. Daniel van Buyten played the first hour before giving way to Hamburg’s Vincent Kompany as the Belgians completed a morale-boosting 3-0 victory with goals from Sonck (63), Dembele (69) and Geraerts (76).

First success for Lucio

The fortunes of Lucio and his Brazilian comrades looked up after the Seleçao bounced back from an unexpected goalless World Cup qualifying opener against Colombia at the weekend to demolish Ecuador 5-0 in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday evening. An 80,000 capacity crowd at the Maracana was treated to goals from Vágner Love (19), Ronaldinho (72), Kaká (77, 83) and Elano (82).

The five-time World Cup winners, once again captained by Bayern centre-half Lucio, go second in the South American qualifying standings behind Martin Demichelis’ Argentina, 2-0 winners away to Venezuela the previous evening and top of the table with maximum points from their two matches.

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After FIFA nominations for 'FIFA Player of the Year 2007', magazine France Football have announced their shortlist of 50 candidates for the Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball) trophy.

This prestigious award signifies the World Footballer of the Year, given to the a winner who is judged by a panel of footballing journalists to be the best of all those playing in global football today.

Among 50 other nominees are three Bayern stars: Franck Ribéry, Miroslav Klose and Luca Toni.

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TV-Quote: FCB schlägt Champions League

Mit 6,56 Millionen Menschen lockte das UEFA-Cup-Spiel des FC Bayern bei Roter Stern Belgrad am vergangenen Donnerstag mehr Zuschauer vor den Fernseher als der Champions-League-Auftritt des FC Schalke beim FC Chelsea einen Tag zuvor, bei dem in der ersten Halbzeit 5,73 Millionen und in der zweiten 4,88 Millionen Menschen einschalteten. Die Partie des FC Bayern in Belgrad erreichte einen Marktanteil von insgesamt 24,3 Prozent (Schalke: 17,5 Prozent).

With 6,56 million TV viewers, the UEFA Cup match of FC Bayern away to Red Star Belgrade has 'beaten' the Champions League match of Schalke away at Chelsea. 5,73 million people watched the first half, and 4.88 million the second half.

In total, 24.3%, compared to Schalke's match 17.5%.

[cezaris_lt]

Originally Posted by Trim17

With 6,56 million TV viewers, the UEFA Cup match of FC Bayern away to Red Star Belgrade has 'beaten' the Champions League match of Schalke away at Chelsea. 5,73 million people watched the first half, and 4.88 million the second half.

In total, 24.3%, compared to Schalke's match 17.5%.

In Germany or all world?

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Originally Posted by cezaris_lt

In Germany or all world?

In Germany, I guess.