"We have bought very well. We have a very good and well-balanced squad," said bayern coach jupp heynckes with demonstrative composure before monday’s cup derby with jahn regensburg.
The german record champion’s self-confidence is back, and the second-division soccer team should first get a taste of that – as a warning shot for the national competition, so to speak. Even without the probable top newcomer javier martinez.
The low blows of the past season with the bitter climax of the drama dahoam in the champions league final are a thing of the past, affirm all bayern officials. "I sense among the players that what’s over is behind them and ticked off," said heynckes. Only the here and now should pay – even the hoped-for signing of spain midfielder martinez did not interest heynckes at all in the run-up to the cup derby. Spanish midfielder martinez to be bought for an estimated 40 million euros – but heynckes talks about regensburg.
The munich team showed how it could be done this season with its supercup victory over perennial rival dortmund. "That was a balm for the bavarian soul," said executive board chairman karl-heinz rummenigge, pleased with the first victory after five defeats in a row against the rival team from the ruhr region. The title at the beginning of the season will only pay off if the munich team can also win the cup and the championship. "That we have missed out on opportunities, female everyone. But there are new ones coming," torhuter manuel neuer told "welt am sonntag". "We want to be number one nationally again."
A nasty surprise is to be avoided at all costs in the derby. "They will certainly play above their means," heynckes warned his pros. "This must be taken very seriously. We leave nothing to chance, we want to win this game and move on to the next round."Not to think: a bankruptcy – and the whole beautiful departure tendency around sport executive committee matthias sammer would be already again past.
Coach oscar corrochano is keen to see how committed the players from the upper palatinate want to be against the top favorites: "anyone who still needs to be motivated really can’t be helped."Jahn sports director franz gerber admits, however, despite the financial gain: "i would have preferred a bad second-division team."Instead, we have a revitalized, highly motivated top club.