Ribery should control his temper – Heynckes

The Bayern boss has admitted that the Frenchman’s foul on Arturo Vidal was over the top, though he added that the Chilean played his part in the incident

Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes has criticised Franck Ribery for his stamp on Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal in the Bavarians’ 2-0 Champions League win over the Old Lady.

The Frenchman caught Vidal on his calf with a late lunge in Tuesday’s encounter at the Allianz Arena, but escaped serious punishment as the referee opted against booking him.

Nevertheless, Heynckes was not impressed with Ribery’s action and has urged him to curb his aggressive streak.

“What Franck did was completely unnecessary. He should have controlled his temper,” Heynckes said at a press conference.

The Bayern boss stressed that Ribery was not the only one who crossed the line, though, as he feels Vidal played his part in the incident as well.

“The way he [Vidal] went in a few times was a bit too much, too. He crossed a line once or twice. But I knew that could happen.”

Heynckes worked with Vidal at Bayer Leverkusen from 2009 until 2011.

Beckenbauer apologises for Buffon pensioner jibe

The former Germany international has made it clear that the didn’t intend to insult the goalkeeper, but still feels his performance was not good enough

Bayern Munich icon Franz Beckenbauer has apologised for calling Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon a pensioner, but stands by his opinion that the shot-stopper should have done better in Tuesday’s Champions League encounter.

Beckenbauer criticised the Italy international after he failed to save David Alaba’s long-range strike early in the game, and though he has stressed he did not intend to insult the Italy veteran, he believes his performance we well below par.

“I am sorry if I have offended Buffon by using the word ‘pensioner’. That was never my intention,” Beckenbauer told Bild.

“But I still feel that Buffon should have done better with the 1-0 as well as the 2-0, when he failed to hold on to the ball.”

Buffon will be desperate to prove his critics wrong in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final in Turin on Wednesday.

Buffon a pensioner? Beckenbauer should show respect to one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time

The Juventus captain deserved better than to be put down in such a public fashion but his response to the insult has merely underlined that he is a class act on and off the field

COMMENT
By Mark Doyle

Two ill-advised outbursts of differing degrees of severity made headlines this week. The first came from a wearily predictable source: Joey Barton, who was ultimately forced to apologise by his club for another attack on a fellow professional, with the one saving grace being that at least this time the assault was of the verbal variety.

However, if Barton’s characteristically crass and witless comments were entirely unsurprising, Franz Beckenbauer’s distinctly invidious appraisal of Gianluigi Buffon’s performance against Bayern Munich on Tuesday night was anything but.

The 35-year-old Juventus goalkeeper had been at fault for both of the goals his side had conceded in their comprehensive 2-0 defeat in Bavaria, failing to change direction in time to keep out a deflected long-range drive from David Alaba before then spilling an equally slow-moving strike from Luiz Gustavo, thus leaving a disbelieving Mario Mandzukic with the rather straightforward task of teeing Thomas Muller up for a tap-in.

The nature of the errors were shocking; Beckenbauer’s reaction even more so.

“Buffon looked like a pensioner,” the Bavarians’ honorary president told Germany’s Sky Sport. “He should have saved that shot [from Alaba]. Maybe, he was not expecting him to strike it from there: Alaba shot from 120 metres!”

Buffon looked like a pensioner. He should have saved that shot. Maybe he did not expect Alaba to hit it from there: he shot from 120 metres!

Franz Beckenbauer

That Buffon appeared to be moving in slow motion as he attempted to scramble back across his goal to keep out Alaba’s bouncing drive was beyond dispute. However, a goalkeeper considered by some as the greatest of all time deserved better than to be the subject of such snide remarks. It was only right, then, that there was a swift show of support for a man who has so often leapt to the defence of others.

“Certain comments made by an icon like Beckenbauer were hurtful,” Juventus director general Beppe Marotta stated. “They concerned another icon called Buffon, to whom great recognition comes from not only Juventus fans, but I believe all supporters of the national team, to whom he has given great satisfaction with his performances.

“Furthermore, he is a special man, a great professional full of humanity who is used as an example to follow by all of our young people and, as such, should be respected.”

Millons across Italy agreed. However, that did not dissuade TV show ‘Striscia la Notizia’ from presenting Buffon with a blanket, a dressing gown and a pair of slippers upon his return to Turin.


[Buffon] is a special man, a great professional full of humanity … and, as such should be respected.

Beppe Marotta

Buffon’s reaction to such public ridicule spoke volumes about his character, the World Cup winner exuding a class and humility that were so conspicuous by their absence from Beckenbauer’s comments.

“Making mistakes happens a lot in this type of profession,” the Italy captain mused. “But I’m sorry because I compromised the game. I’m sorry for myself, for my team, for my people.

“I cannot take exception with anything said by the wise old man Beckenbauer. As the old adage goes: ‘When you are the hammer, you hit; when you are the anvil, you stay put.’ … You just have to keep quiet and wait for the next game.”

That Buffon took both the ‘gifts’ and the ‘joke’ with such grace was typical of the man, as Italy coach Cesare Prandelli acknowledged.

“Gigi responded very well, with great composure, with great irony … but then, pensioners are wise people,” the former Fiorentina boss joked.

“All joking aside, though, Gigi has shown and will show a great response; everything will be decided on the field.”

Beggars belief | Even Buffon himself was taken aback by the nature of his errors against Bayern

Indeed, who would now bet against Buffon issuing the perfect riposte on Wednesday night? In that context, Beckenbauer’s outburst was really quite silly. No player should be above criticism and yes, Beckenbauer made his comments with a smile on his face, but they could prove horribly counterproductive.

Der Kaiser has offered similarly harsh appraisals in the past – he called Bayern’s players “pensioners” after a 3-0 defeat away to Lyon during their 2000-01 Champions League campaign but Stefan Effenberg subsequently claimed that the criticism spurred them on to victory that season. However, this was different: these were not barbs aimed at his own players; they were not motivational. At least not for Bayern, with the irony being that rather than invoke a response out of his own side, Beckenbauer now runs the risk of provoking a Buffon-led backlash out of the Bianconeri.

Still, regardless of the outcome on Wednesday night, Buffon has already reminded Beckenbauer, and everyone else for that matter, that a true legend is a class act off the field, as well as on it.

Guardiola's Bayern to take on Barcelona in July

The successful coach takes charge of the Bundesliga leaders after the end of the season and will meet his former employers in the Uli Hoeness cup

Bayern Munich have announced that they will take on new head coach Pep Guardiola’s former club Barcelona in a friendly game on July 24.

The Bavarians will start the 2013-14 campaign with a training camp in Trentino from July 4 until July 12, before taking on SG Sonnenhof Grossaspach in their first game under Guardiola.

Hansa Rostock announced on Friday that they would be Bayern’s opponents in their first game under Guardiola, but it’s now been revealed that the match against the 3. Bundesliga side is scheduled one day after the Bavarians’ season opener against Grossaspach.

Bayern will then take on rivals Borussia Dortmund for the Telekom cup on July 20, with another Telekom cup match scheduled for the following day.

They end their July program with the Uli Hoeness cup match versus Barca on the 24th.

Extra Time: Hamburg fans to be treated to a barbecue following Bayern thrashing

The club is to invite supporters to a gathering on April 21, with beer and bratwurst to be provided as an apology for the embarrassing defeat at the Allianz Arena

Hamburg will host an all-expenses-paid outdoor barbecue for its fans as an apology for last weekend’s 9-2 thrashing by Bayern Munich.

The grilling suffered at the hands of the Bavarian giants equalled the league’s biggest-ever win set by Bayern against 1860 Munich forty years ago, and left Thorsten Fink’s side feeling more tender than the finest T-bone steak.

The event will take place on April 21 at the club’s training ground in a bid to win back the fans following the embarrassing defeat, with most of those who travelled to the Allianz Arena unlikely to watch their side with much relish against Freiburg.

Although the club claim on their official website that the event will not be a complete ‘Grillfest’, they have confirmed they will provide bratwurst and beer as a peace offering for the fans who wish to meet with the players.

Hamburg are not the first club to offer an olive branch to supporters after a humiliating match. In 2011, Arsenal offered ticket refunds to fans who travelled to Old Trafford to watch their side suffer an 8-2 drubbing in a Premier League encounter.

Now if only Extra Time could come up with some convincing puns related to Hamburg and barbecues…