Felix Magath - former Bayern coach

[Oliver_Kahn]

Uli Hoeness has backed under-pressure Bayern Munich coach Felix Magath and hinted that the former Stuttgart boss could have a long-term future at the Allianz-Arena.

Bayern won two straight domestic doubles since Magath took the helm in July 2004, but given a poor start to the 2006-07 season, the German media speculated that his days in Munich could be numbered with his contract expiring next summer.

Managing director Hoeness has now moved forward to rubbish those reports.

"We never even thought about it [sacking him]. We knew right from the start that this campaign would be different and we are going through it together," insisted Hoeness.

Bayern needed a dramatic finish to come back from being 2-1 down to seal a late 3-2 win at Leverkusen on Saturday and Hoeness feels that this game could mark the turning-point of the whole season.

"We have the impression that the team has now understood what’s at stake and if they always play like they did on Saturday, Felix Magath might be around for another five years," claimed Hoeness.

The Bavarian giants are currently four points behind Stuttgart, but have the chance to reduce the gap to the Bundesliga table-toppers when they welcome Armin Veh’s team on Saturday.

http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?...ing+for+Magath

[Oliver_Kahn]

Terrible news!
I would love to see Magath out.

[Oliver_Kahn]

Felix Magath has insisted he is happy to remain coach of Bayern Munich, despite his side suffering their worst start to a season for 32 years.

The German league and cup double winners currently lie fourth in the table after suffering four defeats in their opening 12 games, a far cry from the heady days of last years autumn campaign, when they had taken a record 44 points by the Christmas break.

Magath, however, declared his happiness with life in Bavaria, and said he had no intention of leaving the club.

"I feel good here, so does my family," he said. "I intent to stay here for a long time to come. My contract expires in 2008, and I'm not worried by anything.

"Our performances are nothing to get excited about, that's true, but there are reasons for that: the World Cup, the injuries, and the team is yet to gel properly.

Bayern halted a run of three consecutive away defeats with a 3-2 victory over Bayer Leverkusen at the BayArena on Saturday, and Magath is hoping his side have now turned the corner.

"We are going to go on and improve now," he assured.

The 53-year-old also claimed his club are in a unique position in Europe, in that they alone are traditionally the dominant force in their domestic league.

"In Spain there is Real Madrid and Barcelona," he said. "In Italy there is AC Milan and Juventus. In England, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, while in Germany, there's only Bayern.

"Sometimes Schalke provide competition, sometimes Dortmund, sometimes Hamburg: Bremen are the only side that seem to be establishing themselves at the highest level.

"It's not good for us and for the championship, because everybody is concentrated on what we're doing."

Source: www.eurosport.com

[Oliver_Kahn]

I say fire Magath, he isn't certainly the best coach for Bayern.

[TO DEVILS]

It looks like he aint going nowhere!

[Oliver_Kahn]

Yeah...bad call by Rummenigge.

[Oliver_Kahn]

Who, you may wonder, coached VfB Stuttgart the last time they beat Bayern Munich? And who was at the Stuttgart helm, the last time VfB travelled to Bavaria as Bundesliga leaders? The answer is, of course, Felix Magath. The man who now calls the shots at Bayern faces his former club at the Allianz Arena on Saturday, just as developments down in Swabia have become strongly reminiscent of the Magath era at VfB.

Stuttgart have stormed to the top of the league with a team largely comprising dynamic young hopefuls plucked from their own ranks. "VfB have rediscovered their commitment to younger players, and they in turn have repaid it in full. Young teams always play refreshing, attacking football," the Munich coach remarked – and in this case, successfully too, he might have added.

New VfB, same as the old VfB

Stuttgart have only visited Munich as the Bundesliga table-toppers once in their history. That was back in December 2003 and ended in a 1-0 defeat at the Olympic stadium, although VfB avenged that reverse with a 3-1 victory on their home ground the following spring, their most recent win against Bayern.

Two and a half years have passed since that match in May 2004, during which time dramatic change has swept through the Swabian club. Only four of the players who tasted victory over Bayern remain in the current squad, but Magath believes his ex-club has assembled "a group with a real future," as Gomez, Tasci and Khedira take over where Lahm, Hleb and Kuranyi left off.

Experience could carry the day

"It's a totally different team," the Reds boss commented. The coaching position has seen a few changes too: Magath took the hot seat in February 2001 with the club languishing in 17th place, before leading a resurgence which saw Stuttgart finish second at the end of the 2002-3 campaign and undertake a first-ever Champions League adventure the following season. Magath switched to Munich in July 2004.

The Bayern supremo reckons his current team's greater experience could give them a decisive edge on Saturday. "Young players tend to overdo it, but experienced players have the vision and tactical nous," he observed. "I'm assuming experience will carry the day."

[Oliver_Kahn]

He could return to Stuttgart.

[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

[Oliver_Kahn]

On a monthly basis, Bayern boss Felix Magath takes time out to offer fcbayern.de an exclusive assessment of events over the preceding weeks. Casting his eye back over the month of November, the 51-year-old commented on the campaign so far, Bayern's rivals in the Bundesliga title race, and Sebastian Deisler's fine comeback.

Felix Magath on…

…his side's form over the preceding month: "I think we can definitely say we've got our act together and moved on in November, even if it's often needed us to go a goal down. One of our greatest strengths is our belief in ourselves, our morale, and our ability to bounce back after going behind."

…the campaign to date: "The first half of the season has proved as tough as we expected, because of the World Cup and our limited preparation time. We knew it would happen, we never expected anything else, and I reckon we've got to bear that in mind when assessing the team up to Christmas."

…Sebastian Deisler's comeback: "The match in Hamburg showed how much we've been missing a player like him, prepared to set off on a run and provide the creative spark. But we've already talked to him about taking it easy until the winter break, and keeping the pressure off him. We can't demand he plays as well as that every time. He won't start at the weekend."

…his targets for December: "I'd like us to recover top spot in the league, go through to the next round in the Cup, and take at least a point from our Champions League meeting with Inter Milan, so that we finish top of our group. I think we should be able to handle our league programme, so our goal of spending the winter break in first place is entirely realistic."

…Bayern's Bundesliga title rivals: "We can assume that the top four at the moment will divide the spoils between themselves. For me, the real surprise is VfB Stuttgart, who rate as new arrivals on the scene with a young team. We have to assume they'll get even better."

[Oliver_Kahn]

Reaction to Bayern v Borussia Monchengladbach

Felix Magath: "Obviously we're disappointed. A single point isn't enough for us, although we put them under intense pressure in the second half. We always have trouble against defensively-minded teams. We had our chances as well, but the ball didn't want to go in. We lost concentration for an instant at 1-0 up, and conceded the equaliser."

[Oliver_Kahn]

We need a change

[Oliver_Kahn]

Reaction to Bayern v Internazionale


Felix Magath: "We dictated the pace from the start, although we never intended to open up too much, as we knew a draw would be enough and we also knew Italian teams are extremely good at defending a lead. That's why we didn't play with as much bravado as you can do at home. It was important to avoid conceding a goal, we had a chance or two in the first half, and we were always on top of the situation. We were careless for a moment at the end, as we thought we'd got the game won, but in contrast to what happened last season against Juventus, the goal we let in was only for the record books. The advantage from finishing first is to play the second leg of the last sixteen tie at the Allianz Arena, and last season, seven of the eight group winners made the quarter-finals. There are no easy opponents anymore, looking at a list including Barcelona, Real Madrid and AS Rome. After winning our first three matches, we've drawn the next three, oddly enough, so I'm not totally surprised by tonight's result. There are no grounds for regarding our group stage performance in a negative light, as there were no guarantees we'd qualify so comfortably."

[Oliver_Kahn]

Reaction to Bayern v Energie Cottbus

Felix Magath: "I'm not going to put a spin on today's victory. Yet again, we've struggled against defensive opponents and looks short of creative ideas. You can't fault the team for commitment, but we currently don't look sharp enough to unpick a packed defence. We struggled and Energie played well. Cottbus must be the only team to have more shots on goal at the Allianz Arena than we did, which just demonstrates the scale of our problems. But the three points keep us in touch at the top. We have to accept we've not been particularly good at home up to now, but we're convinced it'll be a lot better after the winter break."

[Oliver_Kahn]

Magath hasn't convinced me yet, Bayern are playing badly.