UEFA Cup, 1/4-finals, 1st leg: FC Bayern München 1 - 1 Getafe CF

[Oliver_Kahn]

Thanks (Trim and Blackness).

I'm hoping some players step up for this one. I agree with Vargas about starting Sosa, I think he deserves another chance. Did ok vs Nürnberg and as Vargas pointed out, his crossing is top class.
If we start Piggy, Ribery will be pushed more to the right, where he isn't as effective, world class nonetheless, but still, I feel he is more comfortable playing on the left wing.

Podolski should definitely start, he has been one of our best players in the Uefa Cup and, after scoring last weekend, he will be motivated for this one. I reckon Toni will start alongside Lukas.

It's crucial to play with van Bommel, because, even though I don't rate him too highly, we don't have anyone better for that position. I prefer to play Demichelis at CB and bench van Buyten, who was a joke vs Nürnberg.

King Kahn is in good form, I think he will be vital today.

Getafe is a good team, but honestly, from what I've seen, they are no giant killers. It's some sort of a myth created around them, since they always beat Madrid and Barça at home. But we are playing in the Allianz Arena, in front of our supporters, so a win is the only result that matters.

Auf gehts Bayern!!

[RunX]

Trim I dream that we win and that will be right !!
Bayern 4 Live

[Trim]

Despite a sobering 2-0 reverse against Osasuna in La Liga last weekend, the attitude in the Getafe camp ahead of the UEFA Cup quarter-final first leg in Munich on Thursday is one of respect but no fear, players and officials of the Spanish top flight club declared confidently after arriving in the Bavarian capital on Wednesday.

“We’ve beaten Real Madrid and Barcelona. We’ll try and take a decent result from Munich, and then seal a berth in the next round at home,” defender Mario remarked. Pedro Castro, mayor of the town of 160,000 in the southern suburbs of Madrid, predicted a 2-1 win for Getafe. “Bayern have been a bit unlucky. They’ve been drawn against one of Europe’s greatest teams.“

Aiming for three trophies

Azulones (Dark Blues) coach Michael Laudrup was slightly less forthright. “Bayern are undoubtedly one of the best teams in Europe. They’ve always been my favourites to win the trophy,” the former Real Madrid and Barcelona star commented. However, he was “very confident” of springing a surprise over two legs, “although we’re obviously aware of Bayern’s quality.“

“We’re comfortable with the underdogs’ role,“ Laudrup continued, pointing to the confidence-boosting wins against Barca and Real. Getafe, just 25 years into their existence as a club and the only Spanish team still in the hunt for three trophies, contest their second domestic Cup final in a row two weeks from now.

Consistent scorers

“I’m very pleased with what we’ve achieved as a team up to now,” the Dane declared, praising a squad largely comprising international unknowns with the exception of Argentine keeper Roberto Abbondanzieri and playmaker Rubén de la Red. “It’s a terrific phase for us, we have important, decisive matches every three days,” a visibly proud Laudrup said.

The next important encounter comes on Thursday at the Allianz Arena, where a knot of 700 travelling fans will back the visitors. “Bayern will go for a good result at home, but they’ll want to stop us scoring. That’ll be hard for them, because we’ve scored in every game in this competition so far,” the coach pointed out.

Injuries hit back four

The man regarded as one of Denmark’s all-time great players has few injury worries, but the selection question-marks are concentrated over defenders. Left-back Lucas Licht is suspended, centre-half Cata Diaz out with injury, and captain Belenguer faces a fitness test at Getafe’s final training session. In the worst case scenario, Laudrup would be without three of his regular back four.

That would rate as a blow against a Munich side which has found goals easy to come by in Europe this term. “Luca Toni, Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski are all top quality strikers,” Laudrup acknowledged. “The whole team is classy, starting with Oliver Kahn in goal, then Lahm and other household-name players. The one I like the most is the Frenchman, Franck Ribéry,” Laudrup respectfully observed.

[Trim]

The UEFA Cup is the focus this week as Bayern continue their quest for a triple trophy haul. “We’ve set ourselves the target of reaching the final,” Ottmar Hitzfeld declared ahead of Thursday evening’s quarter-final first leg at home to Getafe CF. Hoping for a decent result to defend in the return next week, the Bayern boss demanded a better display than last Saturday’s draw in Nürnberg. “We have to improve by 30 percent. These are the games where we have to go to the limit.“

Hitzfeld is extremely wary of the side lying 12th in Spain’s La Liga. “It won’t simply take care of itself. Getafe are a top Spanish club,” he warned, pointing to victories away to Real Madrid (1-0) and at home to Barcelona (2-0) this term. Furthermore, Michael Laudrup’s men have made it to the Spanish Cup final for the second season in a row, and have acquitted themselves well in their debut European campaign. The men from suburban Madrid finished top of their UEFA Cup group ahead of Tottenham and Anderlecht, before breezing past AEK Athens and Benfica in the knock-out stages.

Tough but manageable

“It can’t be an accident and it tells you everything about their quality,” opined Hitzfeld. The Bayern stars are well aware of Getafe’s track record this term. “They’ll be the hardest opponents we’ve faced so far,” Bastian Schweinsteiger warned, a sentiment echoed by Franck Ribéry: “They’ll be very hard to beat.“

For all that, Bayern are brimming with confidence. “We’re at home and we’re favourites,” insisted Schweinsteiger. “It’s a tough but manageable task,” summarised Hitzfeld. FCB scouts have observed the Spaniards on four occasions, reporting a hard-running, technically able, disciplined, well-organised and aggressive team, “with a portion of belief and excitement,” Hitzfeld added. Chief scout Wolfgang Dremmler also noted Getafe’s strength at set-pieces and on the break.

Schweinsteiger for Altintop?

But Laudrup’s men are far from unbeatable. “They have a few problems in defence, and we should exploit that,” commented Hitzfeld, calling on his team to tackle early and attack down the flanks. “We have to find the right balance between attack and solid defence,” the coach said.

“We’re aiming to win while keeping a clean sheet,” offered Schweinsteiger, reckoning the men in red would need to be patient. “Getafe won’t necessarily come here looking to win,” he felt, “finding the gaps won’t be easy. It might be that nothing happens until after the 70th minute.“ Hitzfeld declined to say whether Schweinsteiger would definitely feature against the Spaniards, “although Bastian has a good chance of playing,” he revealed.

Van Bommel doubtful

Otherwise, José Ernesto Sosa could stand in for the injured Hamit Altintop in right midfield. Mark van Bommel missed final training with the flu and is a major doubt. “He’s not 100 percent better,” Hitzfeld reported, “and I don’t pick players who aren’t totally fit.“

Munich urgently require a good result at home ahead of next week’s return at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez in Getafe, a difficult place to visit, according to Ribéry’s Spain-based France team-mates. What would be a decent score at the Allianz Arena? “1-0 would be good, 2-0 or 3-0 would be perfect,“ Lucio declared.

[GhostFromAbyss]

Why PRO7 channel dont televise match?

[Oliver_Kahn]

Bayern:

..................Kahn
Lahm....Lucio...Demichelis....Jansen
.............MvB........Ze Rob
...Schweini.......................Ribery
..............Toni...Podolski


Getafe:

...................Ustari
Cortes....Mario...Tena....Signorino
.......Casquero...De la Red
Granero...................P. Hernandez
.............Albin........Uche


Match underway!

[Oliver_Kahn]

Lucaaaa TONI!!!!

Corner kick from Schweinsteiger, Toni jumped higher than Getafe's defender and headed home.

1-0 Bayern!!
25 minutes in

[YaFCBoy]

Great goal from Toni... Amazing header.

On a side note, I really like what I'm seeing from Podolski (In comparison to what Klose would be doing)

[Dragoen]

Good game from podolski so far he works alot

[Oliver_Kahn]

Originally Posted by Dragoen

Good game from podolski so far he works alot

Indeed I agree. He is running all around the field, sending in crosses and taking shots. Shame he hasn't yet hit the target, but he will eventually.

Btw, what did you guys think about Toni's goal disallowed ?

I thought it was a clean goal, no foul whatsoever, Toni didn't touch Ustari.

[YaFCBoy]

I would have given it to him, but that's a biased opinion.
Very clever on Toni's part to even think of sticking his leg in.

[YaFCBoy]

Bayern is looking at little TOO comfortable right now after the goal. I'd like to see the same pressure we saw in the first 25 min.

[Oliver_Kahn]

Originally Posted by YaFCBoy

Bayern is looking at little TOO comfortable right now after the goal. I'd like to see the same pressure we saw in the first 25 min.

Yeah and Getafe almost scored from a corner, but Lahm saved on the line.

Loved Kahn's elbow on De la Red
Take that you bastard!

[Oliver_Kahn]

Is it just me, or Ribery looks exhausted ?

[Oliver_Kahn]

HT 1-0. We're doing a Getafe since we scored, meaning, defending and trying to hit them on counterattacks.

We need another 20 minutes of complete domination in the second half, so that we can scored the second. After that, we can play Italian style.