Now we’re ready to go. No matter how unfamiliar this competition may be due to its new format, FC Bayern is ready for the tournament that kicks off on Saturday evening. At 6 p.m. German time on Sunday, the Munich team will face Auckland City from New Zealand. Bayern’s head coach has an exciting approach to the Club World Cup.
The flight from Orlando, Florida, to Cincinnati, Ohio, takes around an hour and 45 minutes. The FC Bayern team arrived at the venue for their opening match in the early evening local time. From the airport, they went straight to TQL Stadium (capacity: 26,000), where Joshua Kimmich assured that Munich would not take the match against Auckland City lightly. “On the one hand, it’s our job to take the game seriously,” explained the model professional. “On the other hand, we’ve lost too many games against smaller opponents. So we should be warned.”
Bayern seem ready – and raring to go. So it’s finally time for this new format of the Club World Cup, which has been the subject of much talk and discussion, to get underway. The ball has been rolling since Saturday evening local time. Inter Miami, with Lionel Messi, and Al-Ahly opened the tournament (0-0), with Munich following in the second game of the competition. The kick-off is at 12 noon in Cincinnati. Temperatures in this not-too-large city of around 310,000 inhabitants are around 27 degrees Celsius at midday, but with light showers possible, it is likely to be very humid.
Seven games, seven wins
No problem for Bayern, say the players. They want to get off to a perfect start in the tournament. In other words, with a win. “We haven’t thought about the score,” says Josip Stanisic, adding that the main thing is to get the three points. Coach Kompany has his own exciting take on this tournament. He divides the Club World Cup into two competitions, saying, “You have to win the first tournament and then the second. The first is the group stage.” That’s why he’s not worrying about what might happen in the knockout stages at this point. Nevertheless, his goal is seven wins in the seven games possible to win the title.