FC Bayern Munchen News

The 34-year-old is confused as to why the newly appointed Bavarians boss has opted to deviate so far from the template for success which the former coach had left behind

Claudio Pizarro admits he is surprised to see how many changes Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola has made to the team since succeeding Jupp Heynckes.

The former Barcelona coach failed to secure his first piece of silverware since being appointed at the Allianz Arena earlier this summer, with arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund running out 4-2 winners in the DFL-Supercup last Saturday.

And Pizarro, who was apart of the club’s historic treble-winning team last season under Heynckes, says he is shocked to see Guardiola alter what was a tried-and-tested formula for success.

He told reporters: “I have never seen a coach change so much.”

Meanwhile, Arjen Robben – who netted the club’s winning goal in the Champions League final in May – has hinted that the Spaniard could perhaps aim to keep things simple.

He added: “You don’t have to make football more complicated than it is.”

The Bavarians secured the Audi Cup with a 2-1 victory over Manchester City on Thursday, and now prepare for the DFB-Pokal first round clash against Schwarz-Weiss Rehden and their Bundesliga opener at home to Borussia Monchengladbach.

The holding midfielder is seen as one of Germany’s most talented youngsters and will be looking to gain valuable first team action at his new club

Bayer Leverkusen have announced on their official website that they have secured the services of promising youngster Emre Can from Bayern Munich for an undisclosed fee.

The midfielder, 19, was keen to leave the Allianz Arena due to the stiff competition for places at the club and will now continue his career at the BayArena after signing a four-year deal with the Werkself.

“Bayer Leverkusen are one of the top teams in the Bundesliga and play in the Champions League as well. I want to play my part in helping the team to success in each competition they compete in in the years to come,” Can said.

Bayern have an option to re-sign the Germany Under-21 international for a set fee at some point in the future and chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge feels joining Leverkusen is the right move for Can at this stage of his career.

“Emre Can is one of the biggest talents in German football. We’ve taken this step to ensure he gains sufficient match practice, as we’ve done in the past with the likes of Toni Kroos at Leverkusen, Philipp Lahm with Stuttgart and David Alaba at Hoffenheim,” Rummenigge commented on the move.

Can made his official Bayern debut in the 2012 DFL Supercup, but has since failed to secure regular first team action for the Bavarians.

The attacking midfielder has been out of action ever since late April, but is one step closer to his comeback after setting foot on the training pitch again

Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola has received some encouraging news on the injury front ahead of the start of the new Bundesliga season as Mario Gotze has resumed squad training on Friday.

The Germany international, who joined Bayern from BVB for €37 million this summer, sustained a muscular problem in BVB’s Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid last term and has been out of action since.

Gotze was forced to watch the competition’s final from the stands due to his physical problems and also missed the opening weeks of Bayern’s pre-season.

Nevertheless, it appears to be a matter of time before the 21-year-old makes his first appearance for the reigning Bundesliga champions following his return to regular training action this week.

The attacking midfielder will not yet feature in Bayern’s DFB-Pokal match against Schwarz-Weiss Rehden on Monday and is unlikely to make the match squad for Saturday’s Bundesliga opener versus Borussia Monchengladbach.

A comeback in the away match against Eintracht Frankfurt on August 17 could be a realistic target for Gotze, though.

The successful trainer is adamant that winning trophies is not the most important part of his job as his focus lies on making players better

Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola has insisted that he cares more about improving his players than about winning silverware.

The 42-year-old guided Barcelona to 14 trophies during his four-year spell in charge of the Catalans to become one of the most successful coaches in history.

However, the former Spain international has stressed that improving individual players is a bigger incentive to him than celebrating titles.

“Winning titles is obviously nice, but that’s not what it’s all about in the end,” Guardiola told reporters.

“What matters to me is that your players tell you at some point: ‘Coach, you have really helped me become a better player. I have learned a lot from you’. That’s what makes me happy.”

Guardiola replaced Jupp Heynckes as Bayern coach this summer after a one-year sabbatical following his Barcelona departure in 2012.

The 23-year-old knows his team must improve if they are to have any hopes of repeating last season’s treble success

Thomas Muller conceded that Bayern Munich were simply not good enough in Saturday’s 4-2 Super Cup loss to Borussia Dortmund.

The Bavarians were favourites to retain the trophy going into the game on the back of a fine pre-season, but Jurgen Klopp’s side responded and ran out deserving winners.

“We were pretty disorganised after equalising and that lasted a few minutes after we conceded the two goals as well,” the 23-year-old told reporters. “I noticed that everyone seemed to be occupying a different position. After that, we managed to regain our structure.

“When push came to shove and it mattered most, we weren’t able to do the things that would have won us the match.

“It clearly means we were doing something wrong. I’ll need to take another good look at the whole thing. On the positive side we didn’t let up, just as we hadn’t after going 1-0 behind. After being 3-1 down, we came back again. We pressed forward, got caught on the break and conceded a fourth goal.

“I can live with that, but we really needed to hold our shape better, especially when it was 1-1. I’m not pointing the finger at anyone, but it’s not good enough.”

Despite the outcome, Muller is confident that the game was a one-off result and believes the club will be fine moving forward.

He added: “Which game ever implies anything about the future? Any match can take a turn for the unexpected, however well things have been going beforehand. On top of that, we didn’t play badly against Dortmund. We just weren’t good enough to win the game on the night.

“Up until the Super Cup, our preparations were going really well, also in terms of results. But any team can be beaten if they don’t perform at their best, ourselves included. And that applies even more when you’re playing Dortmund, who are a great team as well.

“If you take last season’s Champions League as the guide, they’re the second-best side in Europe. So we didn’t lose the Super Cup to any old team. Although that said, we’d still rather have won it!”