Category: News

The 39-year-old believes the Bavarians will get a hostile reception in Turin on Wednesday as they look to make the Champions League semi-finals

EXCLUSIVE
By Severin Trompetter

Former Germany striker Oliver Neuville believes that Juventus will be going to “war” against Bayern Munich in Turin on Wednesday.

The Bavarians hold a 2-0 lead from the Germany leg last week and the 39-year-old feels the Italian fans will give Jupp Heynckes’ side a hostile reception.

“It will not be a pleasant atmosphere for Bayern. It will be a war against the Germans,” he told Goal.com.

“I know that in Turin, they have a small stadium and the Juve fans create a really good atmosphere. It is a different game [from the first leg].”

However, Neuville went on to back Bayern to progress thanks to their good work at the Allianz Arena last Tuesday.

“In football, you never know what happens, but I assume that Bayern will do it,” he continued.

“Should Bayern score, then Juve will need four goals [to progress]. I do not think they can succeed. Bayern are too strong this season.”

In an apparent dig at Chelsea, the Germany legend is adamant that the former Barcelona manager has made the right choice in rejecting England for the Bundesliga giants

Germany legend Paul Breitner has hailed Pep Guardiola’s decision join Bayern Munich and snub the Premier League and “a Russian oligarch that would tell him what to do”.

As exclusively revealed by Goal.com back in December, the former Barcelona boss’ preference in England would have been Arsenal but after speculation linking him with both Manchester City and Chelsea, Guardiola opted for the Bundesliga and Bayern Munch.

The Spanish coach agreed a deal to replace Jupp Heynckes at the end of the current campaign and former Bayern star Breitner pulled no punches in claiming Guardiola made the right choice in rejecting advances from England’s top flight.

“Where would a coach like Guardiola go after Barcelona? He could’ve gone to Paris Saint-Germain, to Milan, to Inter, to the Premier League,” Breitner was quoted as saying on ESPN show ‘Bola da Vez’.

“But why would he want to go to a club where a Russian oligarch would tell him what to do? Or where he’d have a rich Qatari family in the power? He chose the only serious club. He chose the right club. He chose Bayern.”

Guardiola won three La Liga titles and two Champions League trophies, amongst many other triumphs and accolades, during his time in charge at Camp Nou and Breitner believes the Bundesliga outfit have landed one of the best managers in the world.

“It was very easy for us to decide to go for Guardiola,” he added. “He’s amongst the two or three best coaches in the world.

“We thought, before we try anyone else, we should try the best first. The worst that could happen is that he might’ve said no. But since the beginning he showed a lot of interest in our approach and at Bayern Munich. He was excited.”

The gap that divides the Italian champions and FC Hollywood on the football pitch is reflected on the balance sheet, with the German side making massive amounts in comparison

By Andrea Ghislandi

The massive hit-single ‘Money Money Money’ by Abba included a lyric which suggested it is a rich man’s world and that certainly seemed to be borne out last week as Bayern Munich overcame Juventus 2-0 in the Champions League quarter-final first leg.

Juve coach Antonio Conte was quick to point out the difference between the two clubs economically after the game as the media asked him to explain why there had been such a gulf displayed over the 90 minutes.

“Bayern spent €48 million on one player, Javi Martinez, and there ends every conversation…” said the Bianconeri boss. “They spend money, and we see the difference it makes. There are not enough buckets and spades to build a squad like that.”

Such words will have made president Andrea Agnelli and director general Giuseppe Marotta somewhat twitchy, but they have really taken the right road in their bid to stand the Old Lady back on her feet. Still, they remain a long way from being a top club like Bayern, who have become a model of virtuosity, ending the last 12 financial years in profit. Juve, therefore, were not just beaten over 90 minutes. Instead it was a defeat that had been a long time in coming thanks to the comparative balance sheets.

Let us compare the financial statements of the two clubs for season 2011-12.

THE ‘SPREAD’ BETWEEN BAYERN AND JUVENTUS

€332.3m	REVENUE 2011-12	€213.8m
€290.9m	REVENUE 2010-11	€172m
+14%	REVENUE GROWTH	+24,2%
€129.2m	GATE RECEIPTS	€31.8m
€139.7m	COMMERCIAL REVENUE	€73m
€37.6m	TV RIGHTS	€90.6m

Bayern Munich’s statement dated June 30, 2012 detailed a record turnover of €332.2m, up 14 per cent on the previous year’s €290.9m. Never in the club’s 112-year history have they previously had such a phenomenal economic base as they do now. Revenues from games came to €129.2m, amounting to 39% of total revenue, while their €82.3m of commercial and marketing revenue accounted for 24.7% of their overall income. TV and radio rights (excluding Champions League) yielded €37.6m (11.3% of total revenue), while player transfers brought €5m and merchandising recouped €57.4m.

As Juve bounced back to win their first post-Calciopoli title, their own revenues increased by 24.2% to €213.8m. While that may be a big jump, their receipts remaining minuscule in comparison to the Bavarians. In 2010-11 they recorded revenue €118.9m shy of Bayern, and the following year it was still €118.5m short of what FC Hollywood could boast. All the same, Juventus’ much improved balance sheet came thanks in part to Juventus Stadium, which helped to the tune of €20.3m, while there was also a big step forward in sponsorship and marketing, with revenues of €10.2m.

The Germans are unrivalled in terms of their virtuosity. Their 2012 balance sheet ended with a surplus of €11.1m, an increase of €9.8m on the previous year. This was to the delight of shareholders, who received record dividends to the tune of €5.5m.

The Turin side have also made huge strides, but their accounts remain in the red. In fact, their statements showed a loss of €48.7m last year, albeit a significant improvement on 2010-11’s €95.4m losses.

The huge difference between the two clubs comes largely from gate receipts and from advertising and marketing. Die Roten, who had sold out all 17 Bundesliga home games even before the season had begun – even with a phenomenal capacity of 69,000 at the Allianz Arena, earned €129.2m from the box office. A further €139.7m was earned in sponsorship and advertising, representing the largest portion of their revenues.

According to the Deloitte Money League, however, Juventus earned just €31.8m from the gates at Juventus Stadium, and €90.6m more from TV rights. Another €73m came from sponsorship and advertising. You can tell by the numbers that the two models are completely different; the Germans being focused on marketing and merchandising, while the Bianconeri rely on TV rights.

Bayern also sell almost twice as many replica shirts – 830,000 against 480,000 – while they earn double the revenue from their main title sponsor and kit manufacturer contributions. Bayern’s contracts with Adidas and Deutsche Telekom earn them €50m compared to Juve’s €25m from Nike and Jeep.

It is clear which is the more desirable financial model of the two.

The Bianconeri were lucky to escape from Bavaria with just a two-goal deficit to overturn in Turin and their task has only been made all the more difficult by some key absentees

COMMENT
By Mark Doyle

The manner of Juventus’ beating at the hands of Bayern Munich last week is reason enough to hold little hope of a dramatic turnaround on Wednesday night, but the loss of Arturo Vidal and Stephan Lichtsteiner to suspension merely heightens the sense of doom and gloom ahead of the second leg, depriving the Bianconeri as it does of two of their most influential players.

Vidal is the Italian champions’ renaissance man, bailing out his back-line one minute, surging forward in support of his forwards the next. The Chilean is an indefatigable force, a classic box-to-box midfielder who, despite being nowhere near his best in the 2-0 defeat in Bavaria, was one of the few players clad in black and white to offer any kind of resistance in the face of a relentless Roten onslaught.

It was Vidal, remember, who took time out from snapping incessantly at the heels of Franck Ribery to unload the only two shots on goal Juventus managed in Munich. Therefore, the significance of his unavailability cannot be overstated.

Still, in Paul Pogba, coach Antonio Conte does at least possess a player capable of softening the blow. The Frenchman has already underlined just why Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was so frustrated by his departure for Turin last summer with a string of dynamic displays. However, while Pogba undeniably boasts some of Vidal’s virtues – wonderful stamina, an eye for a goal – the young Frenchman also betrays some of his failings, with his discipline still a cause for concern for both club and country.

The main problem for Pogba, though, is that not only must he prove an adequate replacement for Vidal, he will also have to take on some of Andrea Pirlo’s playmaking responsibilities. The veteran regista was suffocated into submission by Bayern’s incredible pressing at the Allianz Arena last week, completing just 28 of his 54 passes, thus preventing the visitors from establishing any sort of rhythm or fluidity in their play.

Pogba, therefore, needs to not only protect Pirlo, but, at times, also play like him – given his team-mate is likely to be targeted once again. Encouragingly, Pogba performed the role of playmaker to good effect in Saturday’s Serie A success over Pescara. However, whether a 20-year-old can replicate such a display against two of the best midfielders in Europe in what will be his first Champions League start remains to be seen.

Still, while Juve do at least have a player of undoubted world-class potential to call upon to fill the void left by Vidal, they are nowhere near as well stacked when it comes to replacing Lichtsteiner. The Swiss represents one of the finest examples of just how important full-backs/wing-backs have become in the modern game.

Vidal Void | The Chilean will miss Wednesday’s second leg after picking up a booking in Bavaria

With the long-term absence of Simone Pepe having robbed Juve of not only a winger, but also the option of playing an effective 4-3-3, Lichtsteiner has effectively become responsible for the entire right-hand side of the field. He performs the role with remarkable effectiveness, so often proving his side’s most dangerous attacking threat, while at the same time never failing to neglect his defensive duties. His unavailability is a colossal blow; taken in conjunction with that of Vidal, with whom he dovetails so well, it appears fatal.

Udinese’s Mauricio Isla would have made for a decent deputy, but Juventus’ version of the same player is merely a pale imitation of the man who shone so brightly for the Zebrette. As a result, Conte will put his trust in Simone Padoin, a competent utility player, but little more.

The left flank should be filled by Kwadwo Asamoah, who will be preferred to the more defensive Federico Peluso as Juve seek to put Bayern under far greater pressure out wide than they did in the first leg.

Fielding the attack-minded Asamoah and the limited Padoin will only increase the defensive burden upon the shoulders of Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli in terms of attempting to subdue Bayern’s wide men, who did so much damage in the first leg. Chiellini should cope but Barzagli buckled under the pressure so incessantly applied by Mario Mandzukic and company in Munich; Juve simply cannot afford a repeat showing in Turin.

Of course, the same goes for the Bianconeri as a whole. Too many key players failed to perform last week. Indeed, confirmation that Fabio Quagliarella and Alessandro Matri were playing only came when they were withdrawn. The return of Mirko Vucinic should help in that regard, though, as the enigmatic Montenegrin offers the kind of creativity and guile that were so conspicuous by their absence at the Allianz Arena.

Vucinic has already spoken of Juve’s need to go to “war”. That may be overstating matters but there can be no doubt that having lost Vidal and Lichtsteiner during the heat of the battle in Bavaria, they have little chance of winning the war should anyone else to go missing in action in Turin.

The Dutchman has a chance to reassert himself in the Roten first-team after Toni Kroos’ injury and make up for two key penalty misses last season

COMMENT
By Enis Koylu

Just 12 months ago, Arjen Robben had the chance to make himself a Bayern Munich hero. The team’s talisman, he stepped up to take a penalty in a key league clash against Borussia Dortmund which would have kept his side in the title race. Ever-reliable from the spot, it seemed certain that he would score, but Roman Weidenfeller saved his effort.

A few weeks later, he had the chance to redeem himself from the spot against Chelsea in the Champions League final, having netted vital penalties against BVB in the DFB-Pokal final and their European semi-final meeting with Real Madrid.

Again, though, he missed, and Bayern would have to wait to get their hands on Europe’s biggest prize for a fifth time. Days later, when he represented Netherlands at the Allianz Arena, he was booed by the Bavarians’ fans.

Mia San Meister | Robben has traditionally enjoyed playing against Italians

Robben’s fall from grace since then has been spectacular. One of those blamed for Oranje’s horrendous Euro 2012 campaign, he lost his place in the Bayern team thanks to injuries, the form of others and a marked dip in his own performance levels.

From being a hero for club and country, he was public enemy number one. Netherlands full-back Gregory van der Wiel was quick to bemoan Robben’s unwillingness to “sacrifice himself for the wing-back” or “track back to help me out”.

More worryingly, an anonymous international team-mate remarked that everyone in the Dutch camp was happy he had fluffed his lines against Chelsea. “Imagine how he would have arrived if he had scored. He would have been even more arrogant and never passed the ball to team-mates,” the whistleblower revealed after their group-stage exit.

It seemed as though his time at the Allianz Arena would soon be up. A player of his pedigree and stature would have no interest in warming the bench, particularly with Pep Guardiola, who was very reluctant to use old-fashioned wingers during his time at Barcelona, set to arrive in the summer.

Amid his loss of form and first-team place, the thought that Robben could become an unlikely hero in Bayern’s treble pursuit this season seems a strange one, yet that is the prospect we are now facing.

While he had been showing some spark in his sporadic Bundesliga appearances in recent weeks, there didn’t appear any realistic chance of him displacing Thomas Muller, Franck Ribery or Toni Kroos without a stroke of fortune, but the latter’s injury has handed him the opportunity to prove himself in a key part of the season.

“Imagine how he would have arrived if he had scored against Chelsea. He would have been even more arrogant” – An anonymous Netherlands player

In some ways, the 23-year-old’s knock against Juventus helped the Bavarians. Despite David Alaba’s early goal, the Bianconeri had come back into the game, and with Bayern sloppy in possession, his arrival announced a change in tactics which ultimately benefited his side.

As Juve pushed for an equaliser, he was able to run at their defenders and pen them back into their own territory, which ultimately aided Bayern in their pressing game, with Mario Mandzukic in particular defending from the top.

And the truth is, it wasn’t even a vintage Robben performance. While he created several chances, his side could have scored far more than their two goals were it not for his own wasteful finishing.

By his own admission, though, he relished the fight against Serie A’s finest. “I like to play against Italian teams because they are not used to wingers and they do not like it,” he said during his time with Real Madrid.

Having made the difference in the Pokal quarter-final against Dortmund, with a spectacular long-range effort which helped his side to a 1-0 win, Robben can lead treble-chasers Bayern to another key triumph in the return Champions League trip to Turin on Wednesday.

Kroos’ injury will ensure his place in the first-choice Roten XI until the end of the season, and Robben remains as eager as ever to prove his critics wrong. “Without being arrogant, I think I add something to Bayern,” he said after the 3-1 win over Arsenal in February.

With Guardiola arriving in the summer, doubts remain over his long-term future. He will not be content to play second fiddle much longer and may well consider his options as Galatasaray and Inter continue to monitor his situation.

For the time-being, though, Robben is back in the Bayern first team and could yet have another chance to redeem himself for those two penalty misses.

Love him or loathe him, the fact is, Robben makes things happen.

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