SHARE
COPY LINK

FOOTBALL

Bayern Munich ‘will be even better’ in 2012

The football powerhouse of Bayern Munich will be even stronger in 2012, when Bastian Schweinsteiger and Arjen Robben are fully fit, coach Jupp Heynckes predicted after a 10-man Bayern Munich routed Cologne 3-0 in their final German league match of the year.

Bayern Munich 'will be even better' in 2012
Photo: DPA

In other football news, the struggling Berlin football club, Hertha BSC, is expected to get a new trainer in the new year, following intense media speculation that current trainer Markus Babbel is getting the boot, various media reports suggested.

But a new Hertha trainer is unlikely to challenge the depth and breadth of the Bayern team, which solidly beat Cologne even though midfielder Franck Ribery was sent off at 33 minutes after being shown two yellow cards in the space of a minute.

Despite its numerical disadvantage against Cologne on Friday, Bayern went ahead after the break when striker Mario Gomez claimed his 16th goal in 16 league games before second-half substitute David Alaba doubled Bayern’s lead just after the hour mark.

Germany midfielder Toni Kroos then made it three in the dying minutes as unconvincing Cologne’s defence fell apart.

The win leaves Bayern clearly at the top of the Bundesliga table and six points ahead of rival Borussia Dortmund — ahead of the weekend’s other games.

One of those games will be played Saturday by Berlin’s Hertha BSC, currently in 11th place, which faces 9th place 1899 Hoffenheim.

Rumours about a trainer switch at Hertha have been brewing in Berlin for weeks.

Reports now suggest that Babbel could leave the team before the year’s end, even though his contract extends through this year’s football season. Reports suggest Babbel will receive a severance payment.

Skibbe was the national team trainer between 2000 and 2004. More recently he was the coach of Eintracht Frankfurt, but was fired earlier this year due to the team’s poor performance.

AFP/mw

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

https://twitter.com/GravesenFumado/status/1764242481984491822

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

SHOW COMMENTS