Even coach Vincent Kompany is not yet sure where FC Bayern is headed – but he is as combative as ever.
FC Bayern needs encouragement before the start of the new Bundesliga season, at least in sporting terms. The mini-preparation went very well, and the first title is already in the bag after the 2-1 win against Stuttgart in the Super Cup.
The (remaining) team looks ready for the start against RB Leipzig on Friday evening, especially as Bayern have not lost their opening game in 14 years. And the reigning champions have never lost the opening game introduced by the DFL in 2002 (18 wins, 5 draws).
So almost nothing can go wrong for the record champions, who are “one week further” and “hopefully also one step further,” as coach Vincent Kompany puts it. “We have to win tomorrow, then maybe we can say we’ve made a good start.”
The Belgian knows just as well that this completely new preparation is likely to present his team with challenges – regardless of whether anyone can be loaned out in the next ten days or not. “It’s simply a scientific fact” that a short break after an almost eleven-month season is not ideal. “There’s no sports scientist who says: This is how you have to start.”
Nevertheless, the coach does not accept excuses – as is always the case. “Then you just have to be 100% mentally there. I’m not just saying that to you, I’m saying it to my team too. No matter how difficult it is, we will fight.” And Kompany has already seen this fighting spirit in the first few weeks of the season. “We are mentally there, the hunger is there.”
Where will that lead in the end this time? “You can’t start the season and accept less,” says Kompany, at least, without proclaiming a Champions League or cup victory. “You always want to set the bar a little higher. We were champions, that’s okay, but that won’t win you the game tomorrow. The important thing is that we have the hunger of a team that hasn’t won anything.”
The same Bayern team that played in Stuttgart is likely to line up against RB, as the coach is known to have few alternatives. “Manuel Neuer won’t be playing up front,” he assured with a grin, although he too seems concerned about the lack of activity in the transfer market.
