#7 Franck Ribéry

[Vargas_4]

When Miroslav Klose’s ambitious 25-yard pass sailed out of the training ground and landed on the roof of Franck Ribéry’s Audi on Monday, the France star initially responded with an irate glare and an exclamation in a curious mixture of his native tongue and English: “Mon car!“ But when Klose started to laugh, Ribéry at once grinned back. Even during a tricky phase at the club, the summer signing is the last man likely to suffer a sense of humour failure.

Addressing the post-training news conference, the player confessed to “a degree of frustration“ about recent matches. “Obviously it’s been a bit difficult in terms of results. But we’re still a good team, and the mood is good,” he continued, “although you can’t help feeling the extraordinary pressure here. I have a suspicion we descend into panic too easily. We should remain focused, stand together and show solidarity.“

Grateful to the club

Nevertheless, the 24-year-old remains delighted about opting to come to Bayern, responding with a flash of temper when the corresponding question was put. “Non! I don’t regret coming here at all. In fact, I want to thank the club. Whenever I’ve had a problem, someone’s always helped me out.“

The Frenchman confirmed he has settled comfortably in Munich, both professionally and privately. “My first six months have gone well,” Ribéry commented, “my family and I feel very good about being here. I’m satisfied professionally as well. I’ve been able to entertain the fans and I’m enjoying myself.“ This despite the fact the gifted midfielder is the object of close attention from all Bayern’s opponents. “I often find two men on me and have practically no room to manoeuvre,” he explained.

Honoured at home

That has not stopped Ribéry making a decisive contribution to Bayern’s success so far. In 16 Bundesliga appearances he has registered four goals and three assists, with three strikes in the pre-season League Cup. Munich supporters voted him Bayern Player of the Month in both August and November, but the crowning glory of an excellent first half of the season arrived on Sunday when Ribéry was named Player of the Year in France.

“I’m really delighted I won this award as a Bayern player. It’s recognition for me and for the club. It means we’re working successfully here,” Ribéry remarked, ascribing the accolade largely to his displays in the last six months. “But I’ve not lived up to my own expectations recently,” he admitted. “We’ve had lots of matches and lots of travel, and I’m a little tired. Maybe the cold weather has something to do with it too.“

Vacation beckons

Ribéry is determined to sign off for Christmas with a flourish when Bayern meet Aris Salonika in the UEFA Cup on Wednesday. “A win is incredibly important for us. For the club, the team, the fans and the management,” the France star acknowledged, “winning would do us all the power of good.“

Following the match at the Allianz Arena, the squad will be released on Christmas vacation. “It’ll be a time to enjoy ourselves, relax and recover, before coming back and doing everything in our power to win the championship in the second half of the season,” the 24-year-old summarised. “I think the break will do us good.“

Working on the language

The player is also keen to improve his command of German over the remainder of the season. He has mastered the necessary vocabulary for football, “but I’m playing around with the words for everything else. I’d like to learn as quickly as possible, but to be frank, it’s hard to study regularly when you’re travelling every three days.“ However, Ribéry insisted he was still up to the task – possibly in order to produce a fruitier riposte the next time a ball lands on his car.

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Fuck the press who write Ribéry ain't settled, atmosphere at the club sucks, bla-bla-bla.

Ribéry just owned them all.

Good read.

[toni87]

he deserved it!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pupesh]

Originally Posted by BlackNess

Ribery strikes again!

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3 assists and started one other action that lead to a goal.

Brilliant, fantastic player to have.

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Ribéry a father for the second time

...Ribéry was not even in the country after leaving Munich on Wednesday for the suburbs of Paris, where his wife gave birth to the couple’s second child three weeks early.

Mother and child are both reported to be doing fine, and Ribéry himself has also shaken off a cold. The midfielder is due back in Munich on Saturday, ready to board the plane to the Marbella training camp on Sunday. The player is currently working out with fitness coach Thomas Wilhelmi in France.

Very active in football, very active in personal life..

Congratulations, Franck!

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Bayern Munich midfielder Franck Ribéry picked up a thigh injury in his side’s 2-1 win over Rostock last night, which makes him a doubt for the French friendly with Spain on Wednesday.

The attacking midfielder opened the scoring for Bayern at the DKB-Arena against Hansa Rostock after just 11 minutes as he converted a Zé Roberto cut-back.

However, he didn’t reappear for the second half being replaced by Hamit Altintop.

Ribéry will join up with his international team mates on Monday as they prepare for the double header against DR Congo and Spain on Tuesday and Wednesday, but be withdrawn if the injury is deemed serious enough.

“It was wise to replace him because there was a risk he could have made it worse” explained Bayern assistant coach Michael Henke.

If fit, Ribéry is likely to feature in Wednesday’s full international against Spain, which comes a day after the ‘A’ international against Congo.

Ribéry has thigh problem « Bayern Lounge

[Podolski]

not too serious then I guess
he can spend some time with his kid

[Poldi]

Not a good news... but good is that he will be quickly back.

[vullkan]

I hope he will back soon

[Oliver_Kahn]

Portuguese press says he is out for 3 weeks.

Which means he'll miss the match with Werder

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CLAIREFONTAINE, France (AFP) - Midfielder Franck Ribery will be out for three weeks after picking up an injury in his German club Bayern Munich's Bundesliga win at Hansa Rostock over the weekend, according to France coach Raymond Domenech.

"Franck is injured, and he's gone back home," Domenech said from the national team's training camp here. "He has a problem with his thigh, and will be out for at least three weeks."

Ribery's injury rules him out of France's friendly international against Spain in Malaga on Wednesday.

News - Ribery out for three weeks, says France coach Domenech - Soccerway

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Terrible news.

[Ylli_Bayern]

Damn

This is very bad news. Sunday Bayern have the chance to go 6 points clear and it is one of the matches which has to be won. Without Ribery it is going to be harder but I'm confident we will win the game .Bayern are a very big Team and should not be dependant to one player. We have the chance to see how much the team is ready to do in big matches when they miss a big player like Ribery.

[kaiserzizu]

I want us to be without Ribery for Bremen, HSV and Shalke. It's time the team learned the hard way that they are overreliant on him. Perhaps a bad result in this string of games will give them the reality check they need and spur a change. It should also motivate the rest of the team to work harder and not play so predictable from thereon.