Schlapper FC Bayern must endure heavy injury
Before the German EM players' vacation, Bayern-Coach Kompany sees nothing good against 1. FC Düren. Youngster Irankunda at least turns a loss around. There is also bad news: New signing Ito is likely to be out for a long time.
After the lackluster performance of FC Bayern in their test match against the fourth-tier football club 1. FC Düren, Sport Director Christoph Freund could hardly hide his disappointment. Instead, there was a harsh critique on the club's own TV channel after the 1:1 (0:1) in Jülich. "We had imagined it differently. We want to play better football and have more fun doing it. We struggled with that," Freund said. New coach Vincent Kompany was also unimpressed.
On Harry Kane's 31st birthday, there was little to celebrate in the second Munich test match under the Belgian, except for the equalizing goal of the 18-year-old Nestory Irankunda. The big offensive talent from Australia equalized with a scrappy goal against Rafael Garcia (40.) from Düren and prevented the first loss under Kompany.
Before the German EM participants, including captain Manuel Neuer and the still recovering England captain Kane, the Munich team, featuring prominent professionals like Leon Goretzka, Eric Dier, or Minjae Kim, looked defensively lackadaisical and unpenetrating in the first half. In the first test match under Kompany, there had been a 14:1 against FC Rottach-Egern from the Kreisklasse during the training camp at Tegernsee.
Ito injured, Gnabry and Pavlovic comeback
Sporting Director Max Eberl spoke positively before the kickoff about a "very positive atmosphere and great energy in the team." Offensively, there was a lot left to be desired on the bumpy pitch in Jülich in front of numerous eager spectators. And defensively, there were surprising lapses and errors. One of them led to a goal after a risky backpass from Josip Stanisic to goalkeeper Sven Ulreich.
Disappointing for Kompany was also that the new signing Ito suffered a serious injury to his right midfoot, was substituted early (20.), and will be out for several weeks. "That's naturally very bitter. We will support Hiroki optimally so that he can get back to top fitness on the pitch as soon as possible," said Eberl. Whether Bayern will be active on the transfer market because of this remains open: "First, we have a very good, very large squad. Injuries happen." Positively, national team players Serge Gnabry and Aleksandar Pavlovic collected some comeback minutes in the second half. They could be fit for the season start.
At the beginning of the week, German EM players like Manuel Neuer, Jamal Musiala, or the Portuguese 50-million-euro signing João Palhinha will join the Bayern squad. They will travel to South Korea on Wednesday to face Tottenham Hotspur in a test match.
Corona promise fulfilled
"Some guys are coming back now. We want to use the time well. We want to train well, put on a good show there, and reach the next level in preparation," Sport Director Freund said about the trip: "The group will be bigger."
The FC Bayern fulfilled a promise made to the amateur club from Düren during the Corona period. The fifth-tier club had drawn the big DFB-Pokalsieger in the summer of 2020. Since the games had to be played without spectators due to the pandemic, Düren waived its home advantage. The first-round match was held in Munich, and Bayern won 3:0.
Vincent Kompany expressed his dissatisfaction with FC Bayern Munich's performance against 1. FC Düren, stating, "We had imagined it differently. We want to play better football and have more fun doing it." The absence of Ito due to a serious injury to his right midfoot was also a concern for the team, with Sporting Director Max Eberl stating, "That's naturally very bitter. We will support Hiroki optimally so that he can get back to top fitness on the pitch as soon as possible."
