FCB - General Talk

[Magical20]

FIRST TOUCH

[Magical20]

GREATNESS 8)

[Oliver_Kahn]

Effective football = Goals = wins

[Magical20]

TOUCH + PASSION + GREATNESSS = a LOT of goals + a LOT of wins 8)

[Oliver_Kahn]

Bayern were a bit poor against Spartak but managed to get a point.
2-2 the final score

[Oliver_Kahn]

Bayern Munich coach Felix Magath felt his side dropped two points after being held by Spartak Moscow.

The Russians took the lead through Maxim Kalinichenko's free-kick, but Claudio Pizarro's brace before the interval put Bayern ahead.

However, Radoslav Kovac's leveller meant the Bundesliga champions missed out on clinching UEFA Champions League Group B.

"We won a point but gave up two points," admitted Magath. "But it was a good game. We were very quick and passed the ball well.

"What we missed in the second half was that, while leading 2-1, we didn't control the ball and tried to score a third goal too quickly."

Spartak boss Vladimir Fedotov was full of praise for his charges after likening Bayern to a Mercedes-Benz.

"We played against one of the best teams in Europe," said Fedotov. "Bayern are like a Mercedes-Benz, they never break down.

"Still, I'm very happy about how we fought to get that second goal. We never gave up.

"We still have an outside chance of finishing third, thus we'll fight to the very end."

http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?...eft+frustrated

[Magical20]

Originally Posted by Oliver_Kahn

Bayern were a bit poor against Spartak but managed to get a point.
2-2 the final score

IMO, bayern are always a bit poor (6)

[Oliver_Kahn]

We'll see that when Bayern and Barcelona go head to head in the CL

[Magical20]

Originally Posted by Oliver_Kahn

We'll see that when Bayern and Barcelona go head to head in the CL

how many times do i have to tell you WE'VE already given you guys a good beating there is NO DOUBT in my mind, that we wont do it again but yeah..i'd like bayern and barça to meet

[Oliver_Kahn]

At around half-past midnight local time, as the Bayern party was preparing to board their Lufthansa flight back to Munich from Moscow's Sheremetyevo 2 airport, news of the evening result from Milan began to do the rounds. Internazionale had defeated Sporting Lisbon 1-0 to seal the second qualifying berth in Group B. After losing their first two matches, the Italians have since amassed nine points and could still knock Bayern (11 pts) off top spot when the teams meet in the final group fixture.

"That's a shame. We could have avoided this showdown," general manager Uli Hoeneß mused, voicing the feelings of the entire party at that moment in time. Munich were held to a 2-2 draw by Russian runners-up Spartak Moscow, but the Bavarians know full well they could easily have collected maximum points from an at times enthralling match.

Point gained, two dropped

"We've earned a point but thrown two away," coach Felix Magath succinctly summarised. Munich led until 20 minutes from the end courtesy of a Claudio Pizarro brace (22, 36), yet again coming from behind after Maxym Kalynychenko had opened the scoring on 16 minutes. Unfortunately from a Bayern point-of-view, Radoslav Kovac equalised from close range after a corner.

"We're all pretty down. We're angry at failing to clinch the win," Bastian Schweinsteiger fumed. "We didn't look at all good at two set plays, so we've robbed ourselves of a deserved victory. It would have been easy enough to win here today," criticised chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

Makaay and Van Buyten out of luck

It was not that the visitors had no chances. "Unfortunately, we failed to put away our openings on the break in the second half," Magath confirmed. Roy Makaay was denied by home keeper Aleksei Zuev when he was poised to wrap up the points on 70 minutes, and Daniel van Buyten steered a stoppage time header wide of the goal from point-blank range. "I'm not going to be able to sleep after that," the downcast defender lamented.

Nevertheless, the Bayern camp was generally satisfied with a fluent display on the unaccustomed artificial turf. "Given the playing surface, I think we saw a pretty good game. I'm basically very satisfied. I reckon we deserved to win," Hoeneß stated. "I was pleased at a good performance by my team, but we've not got the reward we deserved," Magath echoed.

Chairman: We'll win group

The result means Bayern remain undefeated on the European stage this term. "Three wins and two draws ain't bad," Hoeneß declared. Rummenigge remains convinced his men can avoid a first defeat in the winner-takes-all clash with Inter at the Allianz Arena on 5 December: "We only need a draw, and I'm absolutely certain we'll get at least that."

[Oliver_Kahn]

Felix Magath would never realistically claim Hamburg SV is just a club like any other from his personal point of view. The Bayern boss spent a full decade of his playing career with the northerners, clocking up a total of 306 Bundesliga appearances and winning the championship three times, before the crowning glory of a European Cup triumph in 1983. The winning goal in the final was scored by a certain Felix Magath.

After hanging up his boots, he filled the general manager position before taking charge as head coach, thus spending half of his time in the game associated with HSV. "Yes, I have done a few things at the club. After Bayern, Hamburg are the German team I look out for first," the 53-year-old acknowledged. However, all affectionate and nostalgic thoughts will be put aside at the weekend when he leads Bayern to face his former club. "We want to win and continue our progress up the table," he declared.

Hamburg in crisis

The northerners were serious title contenders last term and did the home and away double over Munich, but their fortunes have plummeted this season. HSV are out of the German Cup, have lost all five of their Champions League fixtures, and lie 17th in the Bundesliga, deep in the relegation mire.

Despite all this, Magath warned his troops not to underestimate Saturday's opponents, as he regarded Thomas Doll's team as "dangerous, like a wounded boxer. They stood up and fought in London." HSV resisted mighty Arsenal until the closing stages in midweek, before losing 3-1 to two late goals. The Bayern boss is assuming his former charges will soon turn the corner and begin climbing the table, although he would prefer that to happen after the next round of matches. "We want to win the league, so we need the points," he reasoned.

Kahn targets clean sheet

The Bavarians have yet to keep a clean sheet away from home this term, but Oliver Kahn has vowed to stop that poor run. "We mustn't let them have too many chances, we have to be more disciplined. Spartak had too many openings on Wednesday," the club captain observed. At the other end of the field, Magath called on his strikers to make more of their opportunities: "We need to repeat the performance we gave in Moscow, and shift up another gear as well."

Bayern welcome back Philipp Lahm and Lucio to the matchday squad, but the Germany international is the more likely to start, as Daniel van Buyten and Martin Demichelis have formed a rock-solid centre-back partnership of late. "Daniel was outstanding in Moscow," Magath opined.

Magath expects cauldron of noise

On balance, the Reds coach is unlikely to make wholesale changes and will probably restrict himself to re-introducing Lahm. Whichever line-up takes the field, the boss knows the men in red face a stern task. "The ground will be full and the fans up for it. We have to be prepared for that," he warned.

Probable line-ups:

Hamburg SV: Wächter - Benjamin, Reinhardt, Mathijsen, Atouba - Fillinger, Wicky, Van der Vaart, Trochowski - Sanogo, Guerrero

Bayern Munich: Kahn - Sagnol, Van Buyten, Demichelis, Lahm - Van Bommel, Ottl, Schweinsteiger, Salihamidzic - Makaay, Pizarro
Also in matchday squad: Rensing, Lucio, Lell, Santa Cruz, Karimi, Deisler, Dos Santos

Referee: Thorsten Kinhöfer (Herne)

Bayern's record in the fixture: P41 W19 D10 L12 F 70 A49

[Oliver_Kahn]

Bayern travelled to Hamburg and came back with a 2-1 victory.
Bayern are now in 3rd place, 3 pts behind Schalke and 2 behind Bremen

[Oliver_Kahn]

Comeback specialists Bayern came from behind for the third league game in a row to down crisis club Hamburg and keep the pressure on leaders Schalke.

A boisterous 57,000 full house at the AOL Arena saw the double winners concede the opener for the fifth time in their last six matches, Dutch dynamo Rafael van der Vaart netting an 18th-minute penalty after referee Thorsten Kinhöfer ruled Martin Demichelis had fouled Cote d'Ivoire hitman Boubacar Sanogo in the box.

Both Lucio and Sebastian Deisler appeared for the second half as Munich boss Felix Magath shuffled the deck, and Deisler it was who delivered a slide-rule angled pass for Roy Makaay to level twelve minutes after the restart.

World-class Basti

There was only one team in it after that, and in-form Claudio Pizarro sealed the outcome with his fifth goal of the season, his tenth in 12 appearances against HSV, again from an inspired piece of play by the resurgent Deisler.

The result moves Bayern up to third in the Bundesliga standings with 26 points from 14 matches, three points off leaders Schalke and one behind Werder Bremen, although VfB Stuttgart can leapfrog the champions with a win against Monchengladbach on Sunday.

Lahm for Lell

Boss Felix Magath reverted to the line-up from last Saturday's 2-1 victory over Stuttgart, restoring Philipp Lahm at left-back in place of midweek stand-in Christian Lell.

That meant another start in the central playmaking role for Bastian Schweinsteiger, but with Andreas Ottl preoccupied in containing the midfield threat posed by van der Vaart and Iran star Mehdi Mahdavikia, the Germany starlet was unable to stamp his authority on the opening exchanges.

Toothless in first half

Former Reds Piotr Trochowski and Paolo Guerrero combined to prompt a goalmouth scramble on ten minutes, but it was Demichelis' misjudgement and ill-advised challenge on Sanogo which led to the penalty award and cool finish from van der Vaart.

A Claudio Pizarro drive across the face of Stefan Wächter's goal apart, Bayern struggled for fluency and it took until the 43rd minute for Pizarro and Mark van Bommel to conjure up a chance for Roy Makaay.

A team transformed

Lucio replaced the unfortunate Demichelis and Deisler took over from Ottl as Bayern emerged for the second half with vastly more energy and resolve. The reward came on 57 minutes when Deisler brilliantly turned three defenders before offering the ball on a plate for Makaay to slot home the equaliser.

It was one-way traffic now, but Pizarro fired wide and Makaay saw Wächter block a thunderous drive with his face, before Trochowski twice cleared off the line in an almighty scramble provoked by ex-HSV man Daniel van Buyten's header.

Pizza delivers

A goal looked only a matter of time, and again it was Deisler who turned up trumps. Schweinsteiger spotted the midfielder's ghosting charge down the inside right channel, Deisler oozing vision and skill to pick out the unmarked Pizarro on the penalty spot for a routine finish.

Hamburg sub Fillinger drove narrowly wide as the home side attempted to stage a late rally, but Bayern could have added more of their own in a victory which rates as deserved on the basis of a dramatically improved second half.

[Oliver_Kahn]

Bayern consider pulling out of 'selfish' G-14

Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has accused Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich of stifling the competitiveness of European football.

Rummenigge blames the Russian billionaire's spending on players and sky-high television rights deals for opening up a gap, even among Europe's top clubs.

And, in a separate attack, he opened up a split in the ranks of the G14 group of elite clubs by branding the English, Italian and Spanish members as 'selfish'.

Rummenigge, whose side lost Michael Ballack to Chelsea this year, told Kicker magazine: 'I doubt whether in the next 10 years there will be a German club in the final of a European competition.

'Given what Abramovich does every summer in the transfer market, how can German clubs stay competitive?

'If Bremen get past Barcelona in the Champions League, that would be the eighth wonder of the world.

'Bremen earn 23 million euros (£15.6m) from television rights and Barcelona get 143m (£97m).

'I just hope the European Union puts a stop to these excesses of Abramovich and foreign television.'

Rummenigge said Bayern, one of the founder members of G14 - which includes Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United - are now contemplating pulling out of the group altogether.

He added: 'Everybody in the G14 thinks only about themselves.

'I will say it absolutely clearly - [Ramon] Calderon [Real Madrid president] and his colleagues only fight for themselves.

'So do the Italians and the English. In football it is pure selfishness that rules. There is little common ground among the clubs.

'The way it is at the moment, we would have to think if it is still worth staying in G14.

'I am very unsatisfied with the way it is developing. There is no communication with FIFA, none with UEFA and there are too few common projects.'

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...393907&cc=5739

[Oliver_Kahn]

Rummenigge is totally right