Schlapper FC Bayern must endure shock of injuries
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 stern reprimand 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 except for the equalizing goal scored by 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 unconvincing in their attacking play throughout the 90 minutes. In the first test match under Kompany, there had been a 14:1 rout 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." However, on the bumpy pitch in Jülich in front of numerous eager spectators, there was a lot of disjointed play and careless mistakes. One led to a goal after a risky backpass from Josip Stanisic to goalkeeper Sven Ulreich.
Disappointing for Kompany was also the fact that the new signing Ito suffered a serious injury to his right foot and had to be substituted early (20th minute) 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 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, EM players like Manuel Neuer, Jamal Musiala, and the Portuguese 50-million-euro signing João Palhinha will join the Bayern squad. They will fly 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 during the Corona period to the amateur club from Düren. The fifth-tier team had drawn the DFB-Pokals against the then triple champion 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.
Despite the promising atmosphere and energy in the team, FC Bayern Munchen struggled with disjointed play and careless mistakes in their test match against 1. FC Düren, leading to a 1:1 draw. Sporting Director Max Eberl lamented a serious injury to new signing Ito, who suffered an injury to his right foot and will be out for several weeks. Meanwhile, national players Serge Gnabry and Aleksandar Pavlovic collected comboack minutes in the second half, potentially preparing for the season start. In contrast, Vincent Kompany, the new coach of FC Bayern, was unimpressed with the team's performance, as they looked defensively lackluster and unconvincing in their attacking play, even with the presence of professionals like Leon Goretzka, Eric Dier, and Minjae Kim.
