Ancelotti insists Bayern ready for Dortmund test

The Bundesliga champions have only had their Germany international stars back in training for a week, but the Italian says they are good to go

Carlo Ancelotti is confident Bayern Munich are fully prepared for Sunday’s match against rivals Borussia Dortmund, despite a difficult pre-season.

Bayern had to make do without a number of key players as they got ready for the 2016-17 campaign due to their involvement in Euro 2016, but Ancelotti has little doubt they will give a good account of themselves at the Signal Iduna Park.

“It’s the first game of the new season and we are ready for it. It will be a difficult, but important game,” Ancelotti said at a news conference.

“We are playing for the first title of the season and they are all important to us. We want to win it all. Dortmund have a good team, but we are in a great spirit. We are high on confidence.

“Courage and confidence are very important factors, as is experience. We want to be in control, even if it is an away game in a fantastic stadium. We will not focus on individuals, but on their whole team. We want to play our own game, though.

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“The Germany internationals have been here since August 5, but are ready to play.

“I have not decided who will potentially take penalties. It is very important to be confident in such a situation. It is often hard to find five players who are up for it!”

Bayern will be without Jerome Boateng, Arjen Robben and Renato Sanches at the weekend due to injury, but the former two are edging closer to a comeback.

“Boateng resumed training on Thursday, Robben returns to the pitch on Saturday and Renato Sanches will be out a bit longer, he could resume training next week,” Ancelotti added.

“[Holger] Badstuber has been training individually.”

Muller: Ancelotti's Bayern shouldn't be defined by Champions League

The Germany international wants to win every trophy on offer but has refuted the notion that a failure to do so would represent an unsuccessful first season for the Italian

Thomas Muller has insisted that Carlo Ancelotti’s first season in charge at Bayern Munich will not be defined by success in the Champions League.

Bayern won three consecutive Bundesliga titles under Pep Guardiola but the Catalan was criticised for failing to deliver continental success.

And Muller says that while he and his team-mates want to win everything on offer, he does not believe their season should be defined by that one measure.

“The objectives are the same each year,” he said at a press conference. “We want to win everything there is to win, which is not to be confused with the impression that everything is nothing other than the treble. 

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“This is the small but distinct difference. The targets are large and well justified but – you know it well yourselves – everything is just not predictable. Even if you play well you can lose and vice versa.”

Muller also refused to entertain the suggestion that Ancelotti’s record in the Champions League was superior to Guardiola’s and therefore a decisive edge.

“Pep Guardiola had also not the worst record,” he said. “Yes, okay, he has won one less title and that is certainly bad, you’re right! I forgot.”

Muller added: “It is always the same on this subject – you need a good performance and a bit of luck.

“Of course, the new coach may have other approaches. Whether that then helps us in the decisive matches, I hope so but there are no guarantees.

.@esmuellert_ on #BVBFCB: “It’s about a title we haven’t won in 3 years. That obviously makes us highly motivated.” pic.twitter.com/hFvR1Qrf2L

— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) August 11, 2016

“Every year there are five or six teams that have the same right as we do, namely to win the thing.”

Bayern face Borussia Dortmund in the Supercup on Sunday and are looking to win the trophy for the first time since 2012.

“It’s about a title we haven’t won in three years,” Muller said. “That obviously makes us highly motivated.

“The Supercup is something between an important title and a test game. If Bayern face Dortmund it’s a game the whole nation watches.”

Muller: Dortmund fans whistling Hummels would be complete nonsense

The Germany centre-back became the latest player to swap Signal Iduna Park for the Allianz Arena this summer and will face his former club in the Supercup on Sunday

Bayern Munich star Thomas Muller believes Borussia Dortmund fans whistling his new team-mate Mats Hummels at this weekend’s DFL-Supercup would be “complete nonsense”.

This summer, the centre-back became the latest player – following the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Mario Gotze – to swap Dortmund for their rivals in Munich.

Hummels could face a hostile reception when the two clubs clash in the opening match of the new German season on Sunday, but Muller believes they should show him gratitude.

“Mats does not look like he scared of the situation,” Muller told reporters. “Whistles from Dortmund’s fans would be complete nonsense.

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“Mats played for Dortmund for many years and he brought back success as an important player, so you can show gratitude.

“We signed a played who is very experienced, who can talk to the players next to him and communicate his opinion. It was a very good signing.

“Mats can be a very important linchpin for us but we don’t have to put too much pressure on him now. We know what Mats is able to do, especially with the ball at his feet.”

Bayern lied to Gotze – Watzke

The midfielder failed to live up to expectation at the Bavarian club and has returned to Borussia Dortmund, and the CEO believes he was deceived by the Bundesliga champions

Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke believes Mario Gotze failed at Bayern Munich because the club lied to him.

The midfielder, who scored the winning goal in the World Cup final two years ago, left Dortmund for their fierce rivals in a controversial move in 2013,

Gotze was in and out of the first-team in his first two years, but after suffering an injury in 2015-16, he was unable to earn a regular spot in Pep Guardiola’s side.

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The 24-year-old took the opportunity to return to Dortmund this summer, having been a crucial part of the team which won two Bundesliga titles and reached the Champions League final, where they lost to Bayern.

And Watzke believes the player was always a victim of deception at the Bavarian club.

“[Gotze failed at Bayern] because somebody told Mario a lie,” he told Die Zeit. “I won’t say any names, but that’s how it was.”

Gotze joined Bayern for €37 million, but returned to Signal Iduna Park this year for a reported €26m, signing a four year deal with Thomas Tuchel’s men.

RUMOURS: Arsenal plot Lewandowski & Griezmann moves

Arsene Wenger is prepared to make an ambitious big-money bid as he looks to bring in a world-class forward with just three weeks left of the summer transfer window


Arsenal are targeting ambitious moves for Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski and Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann, according to The Sun.

Lewandowski is Arsene Wenger’s preferred signing and initial talks are under way after negotiations over a new deal with Bayern stalled due to his huge wage demands.

If a move for the Poland striker fails, Wenger will turn his attention to Griezmann, who has an £85.5m buyout clause in his Atletico contract.

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