London: Bayern Munich are trying to downplay being the favourites, while Borussia Dortmund are eager to play up their chances to pull off the upset. Even before the start of Saturday's Champions League final, the German rivals are at odds in their approach to the biggest game in club soccer. Bayern are approaching their third final in four years with the self-assured calm of a team in control after a...
10:04 AM, May 25, 2013
London: Bayern Munich are unfazed by the need to be more clinical in attack against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday and avoid another Champions League final defeat having lost the showpiece match twice in the past three years. Midfielder Thomas Mueller, who at 23 will be in his third final after losing in 2010 and 2012, said his team mates were not panicking because experience had taught them the key to...
08:53 AM, May 25, 2013
London: The Europa League, long regarded as the impoverished relation of the glitzy Champions League, was boosted on Friday by UEFA's announcement that the winners would qualify for the elite competition from 2015. In an attempt to increase the prestige of its secondary competition, UEFA also said 16 teams rather than the current six would qualify directly for the group stages. "I have thought about this for a long time,...
10:07 PM, May 24, 2013
Paris: The big surprise about the Champions League final on Saturday isn't the teams - Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, both superb. It's that it took so long for such an all-German contest to materialise. With the largest economy and population in Europe, modern stadiums heaving with fans, financial backing from industrial giants, an impressively run league with a fat balance sheet and mostly profitable clubs and a web of...
10:25 AM, May 24, 2013
Berlin: The absence of injured midfielder Mario Goetze has weakened Borussia Dortmund ahead of the Champions League final at Wembley stadium against Bayern Munich on Saturday, Bayern playmaker Bastian Schweinsteiger said on Thursday. The 20-year-old Goetze, who will join Bayern at the end of the season in a surprise deal worth a reported 37 million euros, has been nursing a muscle injury that has ruled him out of the biggest...
05:48 PM, May 23, 2013
London: An internet search for "Arjen Robben cuts inside" produces more than two million items, one of them a recent tweet declaring: "That was the 10,000th time Robben has cut inside and shot with his left foot - so predictable". Yet, when the Bayern Munich winger bears down the right in Saturday's Champions League final, Borussia Dortmund's defenders, if they follow in the misdirected footsteps of so many before them,...
11:11 AM, May 23, 2013
Dortmund: Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mario Goetze will miss Saturday's Champions League final against Bayern Munich after failing to recover from a hamstring injury, leaving the team without one of their best players. Dortmund confirmed on Wednesday that Goetze will not be fit in time to face his future club at Wembley Stadium in London. It would have been the 20-year-old Goetze's last game for Dortmund before his 37-million euro switch...
09:05 PM, May 22, 2013
Dortmund: Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mario Goetze pulled out of training on his comeback from a hamstring injury Tuesday, putting his participation in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich in doubt. Goetze took part in individual jogging exercises in the morning before joining the team session in the afternoon, but he could only complete an hour with teammates before withdrawing. German magazine Kicker reported that Goetze's injured right hamstring that...
11:09 PM, May 21, 2013
London: Nicola Rizzoli of Italy will referee the Champions League final between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. The match at Wembley Stadium on Saturday will be the 41-year-old Rizzoli's highest-profile fixture since becoming an international referee in 2007. Rizzoli will be assisted by compatriots Renato Faverani and Andrea Stefani, while Gianluca Rocchi and Paolo Tagliavento will be the extra officials behind the goals. The fourth official is Damir Skomina from...
03:59 PM, May 20, 2013
Dortmund: Borussia Dortmund's Mario Goetze is expected to recover from a muscle injury in time for the Champions League final against German rivals Bayern Munich on May 25, Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp said on Wednesday. The talented 20-year-old attacking midfielder, who has already agreed to join Bayern from next season, picked up the muscle injury early in Dortmund's semi-final second leg against Real Madrid on April 30. "Right now it...
05:07 PM, May 15, 2013
Munich: Bayern Munich need to beat Borussia Dortmund to the Champions League title to avoid being stuck with the tag of losers after two defeats in the past three finals, Bayern's Thomas Mueller said on Tuesday. The Bavarians, who lost the 2010 final to Inter Milan and the 2012 edition in dramatic fashion in Munich to Chelsea on penalties, take on Bundesliga rivals Dortmund in the first all-German final of...
07:43 PM, May 14, 2013
Berlin: France winger Franck Ribery Monday said he is eager to extend his Bayern Munich contract past 2015 having already spent nearly six years at the Champions League finalists. The 30-year-old joined Bayern in July 2007 from Marseille and has scored 51 goals with 74 assists in his 154 league games for the Bavarians to become a fan favourite at the Allianz Arena and was a key factor in Bayern...
05:57 PM, May 06, 2013
Madrid: UEFA president Michel Platini refused to jump on the German soccer bandwagon on Friday, saying it was too soon to draw conclusions from Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund reaching the Champions League final. Looking for explanations after Bayern and Borussia knocked out Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, pundits have heaped praise on the German clubs for their efforts in developing home-grown talent. "Conclusions are made every year...
10:16 PM, May 03, 2013
Munich: Borussia Dortmund boss Hans-Joachim Watzke and his colleagues will not have lunch with their Bayern Munich counterparts before Saturday's Bundesliga match, saying relations between the Champions League finalists had gone cold. Watzke admitted he had been irritated by the recent behaviour of Germany's biggest club who last week signed Dortmund's Mario Goetze. "I have always spoken about Bayern with great respect and admiration. But I must say now that...
10:47 PM, May 02, 2013
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