Franz Beckenbauer Cup: FC Bayern München 0 - 1 Inter Milan

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Van Bommel Not Worried About Inter Defeat

Mark van Bommel insists that there is no cause for alarm as a result of Bayern Munich's toothless display during a prestige friendly against Inter Milan last night.

Bayern boss Jurgen Klinsmann showed himself to be not overly concerned was not too disappointed following the 1-0 loss to Italian champions Inter, and the Dutch midfield enforcer clearly feels the same way.

"We've lost 1-0 like we did against Barcelona, but I don't think that turned out to be a bad omen," van Bommel told the club's official webiste.

"We played well in the first half. In the second half we spent the whole time attacking but Inter just pulled men back.

"Then we made a mistake and Inter scored, and it was always going to be hard after that."

A second-half Amantino Mancini goal proved too much for the hosts to overcome as Inter won the Beckenbauer Cup.

Bayern will officially begin their title defense with a mouth watering season opender against Martin Jol's Hamburger SV on August 15.

Goal.com - Bayern Munich - Van Bommel Not Worried About Inter Defeat

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Klinsmann: We gave a good account of ourselves

Bayern were a shade unlucky to lose the Franz Beckenbauer Cup for the second year in a row, after Inter Milan repeated Barcelona’s feat last season by netting the only goal of the game. Mark van Bommel remained unconcerned: “We’ve lost 1-0 like we did against Barcelona, but I don’t think that turned out to be a bad omen.“

Reaction to Bayern v Inter Milan:

Uli Hoeneß: “We’ve played a very cunning team with a very clever coach, who’s come here with ten defenders and one striker – so it was always going to be tough if they took the lead. You wouldn’t expect us to put such a packed defence under pressure without Luca Toni and Franck Ribery, so I’m not particularly unhappy. It was a decent game of football, it just lacked goals.“

Jürgen Klinsmann: “You’re obviously looking to win against prestige opponents such as Inter Milan, but I still think we gave a good account of ourselves. We tried to keep the pace high and create chances, but Inter had no ambitions other than to defend and that obviously made it difficult. On top of that, we’re not yet physically strong enough for a comprehensive pressing game with constant pressure. The display was fine, but the result obviously wasn’t.“

José Mourinho: “We have a week to go until the Supercup and three weeks until the league restarts. Obviously we want to use every possible opportunity to improve. I know we defended well, but I’d still like to see my defenders take a more attack-minded approach. Bayern were a little quicker than we were, but we reacted intelligently to that. However, the circumstances were nothing like the best as both coaches were missing so many players.“

Mark van Bommel: “We’ve lost 1-0 like we did against Barcelona, but I don’t think that turned out to be a bad omen. We played well in the first half. In the second half we spent the whole time attacking but Inter just pulled men back. Then we made a mistake and Inter scored, and it was always going to be hard after that.“

Phillip Lahm: “Our supporters have come here to see a good game and watch us win, but we couldn’t do that today. We played some decent football before half-time, but we weren’t as determined up front in the second half. But we’re not at 100 percent yet, so this was a good test. You can’t expect everything to go smoothly yet, the Euro 2008 players came back so much later. But I reckon we’re still in good shape for Sunday’s Cup tie.“

Reaction to Bayern v Inter Milan

[Jager]

Excellent coaching by JM got them this victory. I thought Inter did not have the legs in this game, and I think it showed. We are still not in game shape.

However, I do like our counter, and the defense was not too bad.

MOM was without a doubt Toldone! The old man was excellent, and an Italian legend. Bravo!

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Jürgen Klinsmann matched his players for effort on the training ground this Wednesday, although the main business for the head coach was ensuring every single autograph request was fulfilled. The 44-year-old beamed his way through the mammoth task, earning rousing choruses of “Klinsi, Klinsi“ for his heroic efforts.

No fewer than 3,500 fans turned up for the public training session at the Säbener Strasse. Some 64,000 filled the Allianz Arena for the previous evening’s Franz Beckenbauer Cup clash with Inter Milan, although the Italians’ 1-0 victory ceased to matter for the Bayern squad more or less immediately after the final whistle.

Up for the Cup

“We’d rather have won, but the way we played at our current level of fitness and preparation was absolutely fine,” Klinsmann told the post-match news conference. “It was a good game of football which just lacked goals,” commented general manager Uli Hoeneß. Philipp Lahm insisted little could be read into the result: “I know it was against Inter, but it was still only a friendly.“

German Cup holders Bayern are in any case totally focused on Sunday’s first round tie away to Rot-Weiß Erfurt. “All our plans are geared towards Erfurt,” commented Klinsmann. “We’ll be in good shape for the match,” observed Lahm. “Erfurt are hardly Inter!” remarked Hoeneß, not the only man taken aback by the visiting Italians’ defensive approach. “We’ve played a very cunning team with a very clever coach, who’s come here with ten defenders and one striker,” the board director reflected.

Inter provide good test

Klinsmann reckoned the match had nevertheless provided useful insights: “Teams will often shut up shop against us just like Inter. It was interesting to see how our players handled the situation, and that made it a good test.“

The head coach was satisfied with his team’s build-up play, but felt his men lacked penetration in the final third of the pitch. “It was like handball. We played it from left to right across the box but didn’t make progress,” offered Toni Kroos, closest to scoring in the second half with two 20-yard efforts. A similar Hamit Altintop drive was the home team’s best chance before the break.

Peak form in September

FCB may need even quicker passing and more positional variety against defensive teams, Klinsmann argued, “but we don’t have the power for that yet. We’re not yet ready to apply constant pressure to the likes of Inter Milan.” The coach called for patience as the injured players and Euro 2008 contingent recover their form: “We just have to cope with the fact that some players have catching up to do, and they’ll need a few more weeks for that.“

“We knew we’d be inconsistent at the start,” Hoeneß confirmed. Klinsmann is not expecting the best from his men until late August or early September. “It’ll get better from match to match,” he reasoned, a sentiment echoed by the players. “Once we put into practice what the coach wants, we’ll be very hard to beat,” commented Michael Rensing, “the players and the coach just need time.“

Coach and players turn attention to Erfurt