Category: News

The influential midfielder has made it clear that the Bavarians want to give their coach a fitting goodbye by winning the treble

Bastian Schweinsteiger says Bayern Munich are determined to win Saturday’s DFB-Pokal final against Stuttgart in order to give head coach Jupp Heynckes the farewell he deserves.

The 68-year-old will make way for Pep Guardiola this summer and Schweinsteiger is eager to give the veteran coach a worthy send-off by clinching a historic treble.

“It will be our last match under Heynckes and that’s another motivating factor. We want to give him a special send-off,” Schweinsteiger was quoted as saying on the club’s official website.

“The game at the Olympic Stadium is very, very important. I know what it’s like to win there, so I’m highly motivated.

“It’s always a wonderful evening in Berlin and the atmosphere and the stadium are something very special. We’ll do whatever we can to win the cup.

“I’m too focused on Saturday’s match to be talking about the treble or anything else. We’re all utterly determined to win this match.”

Bayern clinched the Bundesliga title at the start of May before beating Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final last Saturday, to leave them within touching distance of an incredible treble triumph.

Bayern Munich midfielder Anatoliy Tymoshchuk has claimed that the outgoing Bavarian boss is almost certain to replace Jose Mourinho in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu

Anatoliy Tymoshchuk has revealed that current Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes is “99 per cent” certain to return to Real Madrid this summer.

Jose Mourinho will take charge of his last game on Saturday for the Blancos, against Osasuna, while the Bavarians boss will attempt to achieve an unprecedented German treble in the DFB-Pokal final against Stuttgart on the same day.

With Mourinho en route to Chelsea and Pep Guardiola stepping into Heynckes’ shoes at the Allianz Arena, Tymoshchuk has suggested that Heynckes will return to the Santiago Bernabeu in the coming weeks rather than consider retirement.

“There is a 99 per cent chance that Heynckes will train Real Madrid,” he said to Russia 2.

Heynckes spent a single season at Madrid and lifted the Champions League with the Spanish side, but he was fired after failing to perform domestically as the club finished fourth in the table.

Tymoshchuk confirmed that he would be leaving the Allianz Arena this summer but refused to reveal his destination, while insisting that Arjen Robben – who scored the Champions League-winning goal in the final – is set to stay at Bayern.

“Robben told me he’s certain to stay in Bayern,” the Ukrainian added. “And I’m leaving. I can’t say where until Monday. Not [Borussia] Dortmund for sure!”

The centre-back and holding midfielder will both travel to their native Brazil to gather with the national team ahead of the Confederations Cup

Bayern Munich will have to make do without the services of Brazil internationals Dante and Luiz Gustavo in Saturday’s DFB Pokal final against Stuttgart in Berlin.

Dante and Gustavo have both made the Brazil squad for this summer’s Confederations Cup and will gather with the national team this weekend ahead of the tournament.

Bayern were initially hopeful that the Brazilian football federation (CBF) would allow the pair to travel to Rio after the DFB Pokal final, but they have now been forced to release the duo after all – much to the angst of chairman Karl-Heinze Rummenigge.

“We have decided to release both players. They will travel to Rio this evening,” explained Rummenigge at a press conference.

“The pressure the CBF has exercised on Bayern and the players is inhuman in my opinion and I find it unacceptable that both players are in a situation like this. They are both very unhappy with it.

“We tried everything in our power, but the Brazilians stick by the Fifa regulations.”

Saturday’s DFB Pokal final kicks off at 20:00CET.

The Swiss youngster had been linked with a move from the Allianz Arena to the Westfalenstadion but his representative says he is not looking to leave

Xherdan Shaqiri’s brother and agent Erdin has insisted that there is no truth in the reports linking the Bayern Munich attacker with a move to Borussia Dortmund.

A report in Sport Bild on Wednesday suggested that BVB coach Jurgen Klopp sees the Switzerland international as a good replacement for Bayern-bound Mario Gotze, but Erdin Shaqiri has made it clear that his brother has no intention to leave his current club any time soon.

“This is nothing but a hypothesis. Either the people at Sport Bild know more than I do, or they have a psychic working for them who can predict stuff that clubs and players don’t even know yet,” the winger’s representative told Blick.

“Xherdan has no reason to change clubs. He’s among Bayern’s 14 main players and is on the verge of breaking into the starting XI.”

Shaqiri joined Bayern from Basel in the summer of 2012 and has since made 38 appearances for the European champions, scoring eight goals in the process.

The attacker has a contract with FCB until June 2016.