FC Bayern Munchen News

The Frenchman has insisted that a summer move is not an option for him as he’s keen to stay at the Champions League winners

Franck Ribery has stressed that he is happy with life at Bayern Munich and added that he is not interested in a move to Real Madrid.

The France international was close to joining the Santiago Bernabeu side in the past and Madrid president Florentino Perez’s announcement that Zinedine Zidane will be in charge of their transfers from this summer fuelled speculation that they could make another move for Ribery ahead of the 2013-14 campaign.

However, Ribery has insisted that Zidane can save himself the time of getting in touch with the 30-year-old as he has no intention to leave his current club.

“If Zidane were to contact me, I would tell him that I’m feeling very good at Bayern and I think that he’d understand me,” the winger told RMC.

“I almost joined Madrid in the past, but it did not happen and I am very pleased that I stayed at Bayern in the end.”

Ribery has a contract with Bayern until June 2015, but he is believed to be close to inking a two-year extension to his current deal.

The FCB supremo is desperate to end the season on a high and bring home the DFB-Pokal to complete a historic treble

Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is eagerly anticipating this weekend’s DFB-Pokal final against Stuttgart and feels the Bavarians will make themselves immortal if they emerge victorious on Saturday.

The Allianz Arena side beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the Champions League final last week after previously securing the Bundesliga title and they are desperate to make history by becoming the first German team to win the treble.

“This team has already entered the history books, but they can make themselves immortal now,” Rummenigge was quoted as saying on the club’s official website.

“Even the most successful Bayern team of all time, the generation including [Franz] Beckenbauer, [Gerd] Muller and [Sepp] Maier in the 1970s, never managed to win the lot.

“The only mistake we could make, and it’s doing the rounds in the media at the moment, is to think we’re approaching the easiest part and we’ll easily beat Stuttgart. We won’t. We have to concentrate 100 per cent, take our opponents seriously and show respect.”

Saturday’s match in Berlin is scheduled to kick off at 20:00CET.

The Netherlands winger insists his side will have to “give everything” if they are to overcome Stuttgart in the DFB-Pokal final in Munich and seal an historic treble triumph

Bayern Munich’s Champions League hero Arjen Robben has urged his team to focus on the DFB-Pokal final as Jupp Heynckes’ men look to secure an historic treble.

The Bavarians take on Stuttgart on Saturday evening as they attempt to add the domestic cup competition to their European and Bundesliga successes, and Robben has warned his team-mates to expect a tough encounter.

“This will not happen automatically, we have to work hard for everything we get,” he told a press conference.

“This is obviously a special game, and of course we now also want the treble as it is something no other German team has managed.

“VfB have made their way to the final, and they are also a strong team. On Saturday we have to give everything.”

The Netherlands international’s 89th-minute strike sealed Bayern’s 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund at Wembley, and the winger revealed he always believed in his own abilities despite suffering criticism for his displays in previous finals – particularly last season’s showpiece when he missed an extra-time penalty against Chelsea.

He added: “I have always believed in myself and have always done everything possible to be in shape. But, I ultimately don’t care who scores the goals if we win.”

Sporting director Matthias Sammer echoed Robben’s sentiments, insisting that the chance for a treble is an opportunity his side cannot afford to let slip.

“We have to understand if we win, we will make history. It’s an opportunity we have to grab with both hands,” he added.

The successful coach has recounted the story of how he told the current Serie A champions to go after the Dutchman rather than the Wolfsburg man

Antonio Conte has revealed that he advised Juventus to sign either Theo Walcott or Arjen Robben in the summer of 2009, but then-sporting director Alessio Secco eventually opted to sign Diego from Werder Bremen instead.

The former Siena boss was one of the candidates to take Claudio Ranieri’s place on the bench at the time and told Secco that he would prefer the signing of a high-profile winger over an attacking midfielder.

However, the Juve director decided to bring in the Brazilian regardless and the Bianconeri eventually picked Ciro Ferrara as their new coach rather than Conte.

“I told Secco that I wasn’t sure about Diego when they asked me about him. A player like him isn’t essential in my style of play. Juventus already had plenty of options in attack,” Conte explained in his biography.

“He did not really react and I understood that he felt different. I insisted that I preferred a high-profile winger, someone like Robben or Walcott. I was after that type of player.

“Secco and the others signed Diego after all, though, to win over the fans. Alessio called me to explain that they signed Diego.

“I asked him if he’d spent €25 million on him and he confirmed that Diego had been expensive, but insisted that everybody said he was a good player.”

Diego would leave Juventus for Wolfsburg in the summer of 2010 after just one season in Serie A.

Robben, meanwhile, swapped Real Madrid for Bayern Munich in 2009 and netted the winner in the Bavarians’ 2-1 Champions League final win over Borussia Dortmund at the weekend.

The veteran coach is on the brink of delivering the club an historic treble and must take credit for their resurgence this season

By Harsh Shah

It’s not a bad time to be a Bayern Munich fan. Fresh from a record-breaking Bundesliga season, the Bavarians sealed their second Champions League title (fifth European Cup) on Saturday and have the chance to complete their treble this week and make up for years of near misses.

And credit must be given to their coach, Jupp Heynckes, who has masterminded their campaign brilliantly.

Just 12 months ago, Munich were reeling. Bayern had somehow managed to finish second in all three competitions, letting a hefty lead slip in the league, losing 5-2 in the DFB-Pokal final and enduring an agonising defeat on penalties to Chelsea in the showpiece of Europe’s top competition.

And the backlash they faced was huge. Branded a team of chokers by the media, the Bavarians’ hegemony within Germany was challenged like never before. They had gone two years without a major trophy, lost in two Champions League finals in three years. So much for German efficiency.

Jupp for joy | Heynckes has led Bayern to something truly special

So, a long, drawn out summer followed and the club did everything they could to put things right in 2012-13. This time, they meant business. Heynckes’ first statement of intent for the season came when he signed Claudio Pizarro, Dante, Mario Mandzukic and Javi Martinez early on in the transfer window.

The quartet joined Xherdan Shaqiri, whose move to the Allianz Arena was confirmed midway through the previous campaign, and their squad, which was threadbare and had struggled to compete with their exertions on all three fronts, finally had some reinforcements.

ONE HORSE RACE | THE 2012-13 BUNDESLIGA

Of course, Bayern’s technical and scouting staff had a major say in finalising these deals, but it was the Borussia Monchengladbach legend who would approve each transfer.

All five players have been indispensable. Mandzukic proved to be a harder worker than Mario Gomez and soon displaced the Germany star from the starting XI and Shaqiri provided able cover for Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben.

Dante was a commanding presence at the back in the absence of Holger Badstuber through injury and Javi Martinez was arguably the last piece in Bayern’s midfield puzzle, complementing the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Toni Kroos all season, giving them the freedom to roam.

And lastly, Pizarro performed brilliantly when he came into the team, giving Gomez and Mandzukic time to rest and contributing 13 goals of his own despite starting many games from the bench.

When the season finally came around, they came flying out of the blocks. Within 10 minutes of the start of their DFL Supercup tie with Dortmund, Bayern were 2-0 up, cruising to an eventual 2-1 victory.

What followed was almost inevitable. They lost just two games in all competitions before Christmas, were Herbstmeister (winter champions) in record time and finished top of their Champions League group.

“Since one year ago, we improved and improved. We modified so many details. I was stricter with the details” – Heynckes

January’s announcement that Pep Guardiola would take over in the summer could have derailed their season, but like on countless occasions in the past, Heynckes’ professionalism was at its highest, ensuring Bayern won every league game until May 4 – when they took a 1-1 draw from their trip to Dortmund.

And they were rewarded in early April. A 1-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt sealed their first title in three years with six games to spare. They finished with 91 points, 98 goals and just 18 conceded. Extraordinary stats.

Their momentum didn’t die down, though. They beat Juventus 4-0 over two legs and Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate to reach the Champions League final, comprehensively outplaying both teams and thoroughly deserving their victories.

And at Wembley, they capped their success with a 2-1 win over BVB. They had finally gone all the way and confirmed the long-awaited power-shift from Spain to Germany.

“Since one year ago, we improved and improved. We modified so many details. I was stricter with the details. I have to say, the players followed and there is harmony. You have to keep the players happy. Nobody wants to sit on the bench. Everyone wants to play,” Heynckes noted. It was all his making.

And so, in many ways, this has been the best season of Heynckes’ career. In his 50 years in football, he has won a host of trophies as both player and coach. He has carried himself with dignity in the face of adversity and he has the chance to end his time as a trainer in Germany in style when Bayern face Stuttgart in the DFB-Pokal final on Saturday.

Whether he decides to call it a day remains to be seen, but this has truly been his campaign. And in typical style, he is keeping us guessing. “Retire? No, you will learn about all that only after the cup final!”

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