UEFA Champions League: Bayern Munich demolish FC Barcelona 4-0

Tonight at the Allianz Arena it was maybe the end of an era and the start of another in European club football, then FC Bayern Munich demolished FC Barcelona 4-0 at home in their UEFA Champions League first-leg match.

Infront of a capacity 68,000 spectators Bayern Munich were in-charge of the game from the start to finish though FC Barcelona had more then two-thirds of ball possession, but they somehow where not in the game tonight as Bayern cleverly played their own game.

FC Bayern should have gone ahead in the first couple of minutes, but Arjen Robben couldn't score past Victor Valdés and on the quarter hour mark Bayern were denied a penalty as Gerard Pique handled the ball in the penalty area. Bayern made amends in the 25th minute following a corner, Thomas Müller headed in of Dante and Robben. Bayern Munich went into the break with a 1-0 lead and all still to play for.

If you expected Barcelona to be more decisive in the final third and threaten the Bayern goal, then you will be disappointed as Bayern's domination and finishing was better after the break. In the 49th minute Mario Gomez made it 2-0 following a Robben corner, a head on by Müller, but in this situation Gomez was just about offside. Thereafter Bayern could, maybe even should have added a third but Müller, Ribery and Robben all don't score.

If you expected Barcelona now to wake-up and get something out of this match, it wasn't supposed to happen as Messi, Iniesta and Xavi were a shadow of their capabilities; then now Bayern Munich ran away with the tie. First Arjen Robben scored Bayern's third in the 73rd minute to make-up for all his misses though again it could have been called-off as Müller body-checked Jordi Alba; and then in the 82nd minute Müller in middle scored off a David Alaba pass to make it a perfect night for the Bavarians.

In the end Bayern Munich won 4-0 against FC Barcelona, an appropriate result on the night with Barca in the end lucky not to concede more. The Bayern Munich express continues to roll through Europe with the club having one foot in the final in Wembley.


MATCH STATS

FC Bayern München 4-0 FC Barcelona - Goals: 1-0,4-0 Thomas Müller (25',82'), 2-0 Mario Gomez (49'), 3-0 Arjen Robben (73')

FC Bayern München
Manuel Neuer - Philipp Lahm, Jerome Boateng, Dante, David Alaba - Javi Martínez, Bastian Schweinsteiger - Arjen Robben, Thomas Müller (83' Claudio Pizarro), Franck Ribéry (89' Xherdan Shaqiri) - Mario Gomez (71' Luis Gustavo)

FC Barcelona
Victor Valdés - Dani Alves, Marc Bartra, Gerard Piqué, Jordi Alba - Xavi Hernandez, Sergi Busquets, Andrés Iniesta - Pedro (83' David Villa), Lionel Messi, Alexis Sanchez

UEFA Champions League: Bayern Munich ready for FC Barcelona clashes

Tonight FC Bayern Munich take on FC Barcelona at the Allianz Arena in their UEFA Champions League first-leg match. The stadium will be full to capacity with 68,000 fans inside the stadium and an electric atmosphere expected then Europe’s best two club sides meet for a place in the final.

The German Bundesliga giants know that they need a positive result, ideally a win with two/three goals with no goals conceded to go into the away tie at the Nou Camp next Wednesday, May 1 to reach the Champions League final at the iconic Wembley Stadium, but one should not forget that Bayern Munich have been the best team across all competitions, domestic and continental, this season in Europe while FC Barcelona have shown unusual problems and weaknesses with Champions League examples being the away ties against Celtic Glasgow and AC Milan plus both the matches against Paris Saint Germain. Barcelona continue to dominate and control matches as they have over the last few years, but sometimes they are unable to find the net at crucial junctures. Injuries to key players have also done their bit.

At the domestic front both the clubs are in a similar situation. Bayern Munich have already sealed their Bundesliga league title, while FC Barcelona need a few more points to regain the La Liga crown. This gives them both the necessary concentration for the Champions League with both sides resting some of their star players over the weekend in their domestic competitions.

At the pre-match press conference Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes summed-up FC Barcelona of being more than just Lionel Messi. “Barça aren't just Messi. Barça are much more than Messi. Barça are a fine collective. They play football of the highest quality."

And the seasoned former Real Madrid coach, who even lifted the Champions League title with Barca’s archrivals, is not worried at the prospect of playing next week’s return-leg in Barcelona, “Bayern are capable of scoring at Camp Nou – one goal, or more.”

Attacking midfielder Thomas Müller, who has been having an exceptional season, meanwhile said ahead of the match, "We have to keep it tight at the back and keep a clean sheet at home if possible. That's the be-all and end-all if we want to make the final. And I really don't care whether we play pretty football or not. The only thing that matters is the result. I'm optimistic, but everyone knows it'll hardly be a stroll."

The important team news for Bayern is that central midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger following an ankle injury is fit to face Barcelona though the club will miss long time absentees Toni Kroos and Holger Badstuber besides an in-form Mario Mandzukic upfront due to a yellow card suspension, but coach Jupp Heynckes has the luxury of having Mario Gomez and Claudio Pizarro as alternatives with both strikers having been amongst the goals in recent matches. Especially German international striker Gomez, who is of Spanish origin, wants to play against Barcelona and show his class after Mandzukic has taken his place as Bayern’s number one striker and speculation in Germany is that Gomez could leave the Bavarians for a new opportunity in the summer.

At the FC Barcelona end it is all about Argentinian Lionel Messi and if he will be fit to play tonight. Messi made the trip to Munich after training on Sunday, but the Barca medical team have still not given the all clear for him to play against Bayern Munich. But Barcelona are sure to miss injured duo Carlos Puyol and Javier Mascherano, while Adriano is suspended.

Barcelona Director of Sports Andoni Zubizarreta said about the clubs superstar, "Messi is with the team and is fit enough to play, but the coaches will have to decide whether he does or not. We want to be sure that we have the best possible team on the field."

This seasons Champions League semifinals against FC Barcelona is also about getting rid of old ghosts, be it the 0-4 defeat at the Nou Camp under then coach Jürgen Klinsmann in April 2009 or last season’s unlucky Champions League final defeat against Chelsea in the final at home (Finale Dahoam) in Munich.

The 0-4 defeat at the Nou Camp under Klinsmann was the start of the end of the former Germany strikers coaching stint with the Bavarians, who realised that Klinsmann wasn’t the coach the club needed. But while Barcelona are mainly the same team with some changes here and there, Bayern Munich are a different side altogether if you compare the team then (Butt - Oddo, Demichelis, Breno, Lell - Altintop (46. Ottl), van Bommel, Zé Roberto (77. Sosa) - Schweinsteiger, Ribéry – Toni) only Schweinsteiger and Ribery are left from the side.

Bayern Munich have since then build a new team under Louis van Gaal and Jupp Heynckes with own players like Thomas Müller and David Alaba integrated into the squad or star signing like Mario Gomez , Arjen Robben or Javi Martinez made; while own talent who simply weren’t good enough for the top level in Europe - Christian Lell and Andreas Ottl, released.

Bayern Munich have learned their lessons over the last few years. Made the necessary changes, now is the time to take on the best, which is FC Barcelona and prove that they are the new top team of European club football.

Though in Munich, FC Bayern are totally focused on hosting FC Barcelona, the pending tax evasion case against club president Uli Hoeness is dominating the German media since it was made public on Saturday. The semifinals against Barcelona have been titled by Bayern Munich officials and players as the tie of the season, but it has lost some of its sheen, then Mr. FC Bayern – Uli Hoeness has lost his innocence and integrity for which he stood over the last 35 years since he was general manager, director of sports and president of the club of Germany’s most successful football club.

As Bayern fans say, “Mia san Mia” meaning “we are who we are” and tonight the players will have to prove it against Barcelona.

VIDEO: Bayern Munich 9-2 Hamburger SV - Goals!

German giants FC Bayern Munich last night demolished Hamburger SV 9-2 at the Allianz Arena to close in on their 23rd Bundesliga title. Here a video clip of all the 11 goals!

Bayern Munich expand Allianz Arena capacity to 71,000

German Bundesliga giants FC Bayern Munich have with immediate effect increased the capacity of their Allianz Arena by 2,000 seats from 69,000 to 71,000 for domestic matches and from 66,000 to 68,000 for international fixtures.

The expansion has been made possible by adding a new last row of seats in the top tier of the Allianz Arena. The necessary clearances have been received by Bayern Munich from the local Munich authorities and the expansion will be valid from Sunday's first home Bundesliga fixture of the season against VfB Stuttgart.

This is the second such expansion at the Allianz Arena after the capacity had been increased from 66,000 to 69,000 for domestic matches, while it remained at 66,000 for international matches.

The new seats are exclusively reserved for general sale, i.e. cannot be booked as season tickets. For the first Bundesliga home fixture of the season, the clash with Stuttgart at 5.30 pm on Sunday, the additional tickets are available IMMEDIATELY from the Säbener Strasse ServiceCenter. Depending on demand, any remaining tickets may be on sale at the Arena on the day of the match. Further information follows in the course of the week.

This capacity increase was already taken into account in the club's logistics planning for the season. The Ticketing Centre has thus accepted a correspondingly higher number of advance orders for Bundesliga home matches. However, every FC Bayern league fixture at the Allianz Arena this season is already sold out and/or overbooked.

German Super Cup: Bayern Munich win first title of the season

FC Bayern Munich beat archrivals Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the season opening German Super Cup at a sell-out Allianz Arena in Munich last night. It was Bayern's first win against Dortmund in two years, which the Bavarians hope will have a positive effect on their Bundesliga campaign this season.

Bayern made a quick start into the game as one could feel that they wanted to overcome their Dortmund curse as they had lost the last five encounter against BVB and also the Bundesliga title over the last couple of seasons.

Dortmund meanwhile made a slow start into the game and were 0-2 behind after only 11 minutes. First in the sixth minute newcomer Mario Mandzukic scored from a Franck Ribery cross to the utter surprise of Dortmund centre-backs Subotic and Hummels, while in the 11th minute a free Arjen Robben hit the post, but Thomas Müller was there to score acrobatically of the rebound.

The Bavarian giants were in control and especially in the first half hour showed what they could be capable off this season, but thereafter they slowed down as Dortmund surprisingly had no shot on target in the first 45 minutes.

After the break Dortmund came back into the match with more purpose as they had their first chances within the first 10 minutes after the restart as Bayern Munich tried to control things and went on the attack only once in a while, but one good Robben shot which Weidenfeller cleared brought real danger to the Dortmund goal.

As the match progressed it got more and more of a friendly character, but Dortmund's Robert Lewandowski reduced the deficit in the 75th minute and the Dortmund fans hoped for a late rally which didn't really come except a Schieber chance as Bayern Munich held on to their 2-1 lead and claimed their first trophy of the season.


MATCH STATS

FC Bayern Munich 2-1 (2-0) Borussia Dortmund - Goals: 1-0 Mario Mandzukic (6'), 2-0 Thomas Müller (11'), 2-1 Robert Lewandowski (75')

Bayern Munich
Manuel Neuer - Philipp Lahm, Jerome Boateng, Dante, Emre Can (70' Holger Badstuber) - Luis Gustavo, Toni Kroos - Arjen Robben (85' Xherdan Shaqiri), Thomas Müller, Franck Ribery (80' Anatoly Tymoshchuk) - Mario Mandzukic

Borussia Dortmund
Roman Weidenfeller - Lukasz Piszczek, Neven Subotic, Mats Hummels, Marcel Schmelzer - Ilkay Gündogan, Moritz Leitner (64' Mario Götze) - Jakob Blaszczykowski (71' Julian Schieber), Marco Reus, Kevin Grosskreutz (64' Ivan Perisic) - Robert Lewandowski

Referee
Michael Weiner

German Super Cup: Bayern Munich take on Dortmund tonight

Tonight Munich's Allianz Arena will witness the curtain raiser of the 50th Bundesliga season, the 2012 German Super Cup, in which Bundesliga and German Cup runners-up FC Bayern Munich take on German double winners Borussia Dortmund.

This years German Super Cup has gained special significance due to the fact that Dortmund has won the last five meetings of the two clubs in the Bundesliga and German Cup and Bayern Munich would like to win this prestige encounter for the psychological advantage of having beaten their bitter rivals from the west.

But Bayern Munich go into the match with numerous injury worries and will have to start with a part-time left back in Can or Gustavo. The side-backs David Alaba, Rafinha and Diego Contento are all out injured likewise midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger and striker Mario Gomez. The only piece of good news is that Claudio Pizarro is back in the squad following a hip injury.

Borussia Dortmund meanwhile come to Munich with only injuries to midfielders captain Sebastian Kehl and Sven Bender for whom teenager Moritz Leitner and Ilkay Gündogan are set to start at the heart of midfield. A lot of eyes will be on the lost son Marco Reus, who takes Shinji Kagawa's place in attacking midfield.

The pre-season is slowly coming to an end and the first real test for the two sides reckons tonight at the Allianz Arena.

The match which kicks-off at 20.00 CET (19.00 GMT // 23.30 IST) will be shown live in 199 countries and territories. In Germany the match will be live on ZDF, while in India it will be shown live on Neo Prime


Likely STARTINGS LINE-UPS

Bayern Munich
Manuel Neuer - Philipp Lahm, Dante, Holger Badstuber, Emre Can - Luis Gustavo, Toni Kroos - Arjen Robben, Thomas Müller, Franck Ribery - Mario Mandzukic

Borussia Dortmund
Roman Weidenfeller - Lukasz Piszczek, Neven Subotic, Mats Hummels, Marcel Schmelzer - Ilkay Gündogan, Moritz Leitner - Jakob Blaszczykowski, Marco Reus, Kevin Grosskreutz - Robert Lewandowski

FC Bayern Youth Cup: India finish fifth

The final of the inaugural FC Bayern Youth Cup was played yesterday (May 24) at the clubs Allianz Arena infront of 800 mainly school students with teams from Austria, China, India, Italy and host nation Germany taking part. The FCB Youth Cup is for boys in the 14 to 16 years age group with country/regional qualifiers held over the last few months to decide who would represent their country at the finals.

The format of the FC Bayern Youth Cup finals was round robin and teams of eight players out of squads of 10 took on each other with each team playing four matches of 20 minutes duration each. In the end the Italians won ahead of the Austrians, who both finished on the same number of points. China, Germany and India finished in third, fourth and fifth respectively.

The Indian team finished last following two draws and two defeats in their round robin league matches though the Indian boys played a good tournament, but after losing 0-1 in a close encounter against Germany they drew two-all against China. A talented India missed numerous scoring opportunities in the tournament which in the end resulted in the Indians finishing last, but the experience should help the boys in their overall football development.

The Indian representative team was put together from close to 1,100 boys who showed themselves to the FC Bayern Munich scouts at the Indian-leg of the FC Bayern Youth Cup in New Delhi and Mumbai last year before the best 10 were chosen from a 11 A-Side match ahead of the India vs Bayern Munich friendly on January 10 in New Delhi.

The FC Bayern Youth Cup has been made possible by FCB partners and sponsors adidas, Audi, Lufthansa, Trentino, UniCredit and Yingli Solar.

Bayern Munich beat the Netherlands in a friendly

Only three days after their devastating UEFA Champions League final loss to Chelsea FC, the German Bundesliga giants FC Bayern Munich were back at their own Allianz Arena to take on the Netherlands in a friendly which Bayern won 3-2 through a late Mario Gomez winner, but surely they would have liked to have scored a win on Saturday night rather then last night.

The match had been agreed by Bayern Munich and the Dutch FA (KNVB) as means of compensation to Bayern Munich for an injury picked up by Arjen Robben while on international duty for the Netherlands during the 2010 FIFA World Cup after which Robben missed six months of action.

On a hot evening in Munich both teams did show in patches what they are capable off, but otherwise it often was a summer kick in which no side wanted to hurt each other. Toni Kroos with a brilliant long-ranger gave Bayern Munich a 17th minute lead, but only a minute later Klaas Jan Huntelaar equalised for the Oranje's and then 'Player of Indian Origin' Luciano Narsingh gave the Dutch the lead in the 20th minute when he chipped the ball over an advancing Hans-Jörg Butt. Bayern Munich restored parity in the 28th minute when Nils Pedersen headed in a sharp Ivica Olic cross. The teams went into the break with the result at two-all.

There were numerous substitutions throughout and in the 75th minute Arjen Robben came on for the Netherlands against his club team with parts of the Bayern Munich faithful booing the Dutch international. It was a reaction to Robben having missed two crucial penalties against Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea which lost them the Bundesliga title and UEFA Champions League final.

In the end substitutes Franck Ribery and Mario Gomez sealed a victory for Bayern Munich in the 87th minute with the latter scoring. It was a win, but not that will change the course of the season gone-by still it will have put some smiles on the faces of Bayern Munich are some very tough days.

UEFA Champions League: Bayern Munich face Chelsea tonight

The day of the 2012 UEFA Champions League final has arrived in which German Bundesliga giants FC Bayern Munich take on English Premier League side Chelsea FC at the Allianz Arena in Munich tonight. It is the biggest club match of the season and it is even bigger this year with a home team in FCB having the chance to create history by winning the UEFA Champions League at their own home ground.

Both teams go into the match with a number of players missing due to suspensions picked-up during the semifinal second-legs. While Bayern Munich are missing Holger Badstuber, David Alaba and Luis Gustavo; Chelsea are missing Branislav Ivanovic, Ramires and Raul Meireles all due to yellow card suspensions, while John Terry had received a red card in Barcelona.

Due to those suspensions both sides go into the match with weakened defensive units and that could be a decisive factor in the match. Bayern Munich will be using holding midfielder Anatoliy Tymoshchuk at the heart of defence alongside Jerome Boateng with Diego Contento moving into the left wingback position, while Toni Kroos joins Bastian Schweinsteiger in defensive midfield. On the other side Chelsea are set to gamble with the defenders Gary Cahill and David Luiz both set to make a first eleven comebacks, while Florent Malouda looks a 50-50 possibility for the match so he could start on the bench.

Both teams come into the final with inconsistant performances and results in recent weeks though Chelsea did win the FA Cup against FC Liverpool while Bayern Munich suffered a 2-5 defeat last weekend in the German Cup against Borussia Dortmund after earlier having conceded the Bundesliga title to the same opponent. But all will be forgotten as the two sides try and avoid final defeats like in 2008 (Chelsea) and 2010 (Bayern Munich).

For Bayern Munich it would be their fifth European Cup triumph for Chelsea it would be illusive trophy that Russian owner Roman Abramovich has always wanted to win. Due to the home advantage Bayern Munich are favourites going into the match, but both coaches Jupp Heynckes and Roberto di Matteo have said that the game starts at 0-0 and that both clubs have a 50-50 chance.


LIKELY LINE-UPS

Bayern Munich
Manuel Neuer - Philipp Lahm [C], Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, Jerome Boateng, Diego Contento - Bastian Schweinsteiger, Toni Kroos - Arjen Robben, Thomas Müller, Franck Ribery - Mario Gomez

Chelsea
Petr Cech - Jose Bosingwa, Gary Cahill, David Luiz, Ashley Cole - John Obi Mikel, Michael Essien - Frank Lampard [C] - Salomon Kalou, Juan Mata - Didier Drogba

Referee
Ricardo Proenca (Portugal)

2011/12 UEFA Champions League: Quarterfinal draw out

The draw for the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League quarterfinals was held today in Nyon, Switzerland. And all the remaining clubs in the competition aim to reach the final to be played on May 19, 2012 at the Allianz Arena in Munich. In the draw were eight clubs from seven nations from across the continent for Europe's premier club competition.

The first leg would be played on March 27/28, while the return leg would be played on April 3/4. The highlight will be the AC Milan vs FC Barcelona matches, who face each other again after having played against each other in the group stage. Barca's Spanish rivals Real Madrid have the easiest tie on paper as they first travel to Cypriot side APOEL Nicosia. Meanwhile FC Bayern Munich face Olympique Marseille and FC Chelsea take on Benfica Lisboa in ties which the two first named sides would be the favourites.

The semifinals will be played on April 17/18 and 24/25 with the winner of APOEL Nicosia/Real Madrid taking on Olympique Marseille/FC Bayern Munich and the second semifinal would be between FC Chelsea/Benfica Lisboa and AC Milan/FC Barcelona.


The Fixtures

The Quarterfinal Fixtures
APOEL Nicosia - Real Madrid CF
Olympique de Marseille - FC Bayern Munich
FC Chelsea - SL Benfica Lisboa
AC Milan - FC Barcelona

Potential Semifinals
APOEL Nicosia/Real Madrid - Olympique Marseille/FC Bayern Munich
FC Chelsea/Benfica Lisboa - AC Milan/FC Barcelona

Draw for the UEFA Champions League groups done

The draw for the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League group stage was held today at the Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo, Monaco. And all the participating clubs aim to reach the final to be played on May 2012 at Munich's Allianz Arena.

The strongest of all groups is Group A containing German giants FC Bayern Munich, who will aim to reach the finals at home. But in the group stage they play Spanish side FC Villarreal, high spending English club Manchester City and rejuvenated SSC Napoli.

Defending champions FC Barcelona have a rather easy group as they and Italy's AC Milan are favourites over FC BATE Borisov from Belarus and Czech newcomers FC Viktoria Plzen.


The Groups

Group A: FC Bayern München (Germany), Villarreal CF (Spain), Manchester City FC (England), SSC Napoli (Italy)

Group B: FC Internazionale Milano (Italy), PFC CSKA Moskva (Russia), LOSC Lille Métropole (France), Trabzonspor AS (Turkey)

Group C: Manchester United FC (England), SL Benfica (Portugal), FC Basel 1893 (Switzerland), FC Otelul Galati (Romania)

Group D: Real Madrid CF (Spain), Olympique Lyonnais (France), AFC Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands), GNK Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)

Group E: Chelsea FC (England), Valencia CF (Spain), Bayer 04 Leverkusen (Germany), KRC Genk (Belgium)

Group F: Arsenal FC (England), Olympique de Marseille (France), Olympiacos Piräus FC (Greece), Borussia Dortmund (Germany)

Group G: FC Porto (Portugal), FC Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), FC Zenit St Petersburg (Russia), APOEL FC (Cyprus)

Group H: FC Barcelona (Spain), AC Milan (Italy), FC BATE Borisov (Belarus), FC Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)

Mario Gomez & his lucky number 3

Footballers are a superstitious lot and often believe in things which cannot be explained, but it somehow seems to work for them. Just remember "Paul the Octopus" during the 2010 FIFA World Cup or footballer who take with them their good luck charm onto the field or wear their socks and shoes in a certain ritual. Now we have the story of striker Mario Gomez.

For FC Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez the number three was his own lucky number over the weekend. The German international, who wears the number 33 jersey at his club, scored all the three goals for Bayern Munich in a 3-0 Bundesliga win against Hanover 96 at the Allianz Arena on Saturday. And Gomez scored a goal for his club in the Bundesliga after more then six month's.

You think there are too many number three's in there already? It actually isn't the end of the story, which gets even more superstitious as Gomez after the match talking to the media said he was motivated by the rescued Chilean miners, who also believed in the number three! How? There were 33 miners stuck underground and the final rescue mission started three days before the match on Saturday after 69 days and there was a miner with the exact name of Mario Gomez, also saved amongst those 33 miners. 'Mario Gomez', the miner, was brought out as the ninth miner from the shaft and nine can only be calculated as three times three.

I know it sounds somehow funny and peculiar, but often we hear of these kind of stories which just cannot be explained and they seem to happen again and again...