FC Bayern Forum

21.01.2007

There was an excellent attendance for Sunday morning training at the Säbener Strasse, as Willy Sagnol, Owen Hargreaves and Martin Demichelis all joined in the session, with Valerien Ismael continuing to work away at his rehab programme. With the exception of Lukas Podolski, laid low by a dead leg, all Bayern's first-team players – including the stars who missed the previous day's 2-0 warm-up win in Hamburg – took part in a lively "old versus young" practice match.

But where was head coach Felix Magath? Assistant boss Seppo Eichkorn supervised the session, and Magath's company Audi was not to be found in its usual reserved parking space. Reporters were soon trading gossip: was Magath away spying on a possible transfer target?

<b>Depleted midfield</b>

Bayern have an unexpected vacancy in midfield following Sebastian Deisler's shock retirement from the professional game. Moreover, Owen Hargreaves will need time to recapture form after a lengthy injury lay-off, and Julio dos Santos has agreed loan terms with Wolfsburg for the rest of the campaign.

"We can't get by on any fewer midfielders. We don't need any more mishaps," Magath reflected on Friday. Mark van Bommel, Andreas Ottl, Martin Demichelis and Hargreaves offer ample cover in terms of defensive specialists, but the onerous burden of supplying the attacking impulse increasingly rests on Bastian Schweinsteiger's broad but young shoulders.

<b>No panic buying</b>

Magath remains unperturbed by the situation. "I see no grounds for concern. We have no need to panic buy just to fill up our squad, and the transfer market is hardly overflowing with classy alternatives." Instead, the boss is focused on next season and the continuing task of rebuilding the current squad.

The players already at the club are perfectly capable of mounting a championship challenge in any case, certainly if an excellent first-half display in Hamburg on Saturday is any kind of guide. "That's what we were looking for. We played really well," a satisfied Roy Makaay declared at the final whistle.

<b>Kahn: We can win the league</b>

"We stuttered in the first half of the season, but we're aiming high now. I'm convinced we can finish as champions," Oliver Kahn insisted. The convincing display against Hamburg had indicated the club had no pressing need to enter the transfer market at this time, the club captain observed.

Mark van Bommel was equally happy with the final run-out before the return to league action in Dortmund next Friday. "We played well," the 29-year-old commented after Sunday training, hinting that there was more to come from the team: "We're very aware of what we can still do better. We're working on exactly those areas."

<b>Magath mixing with the 'enemy'</b>

The Dutch ace also felt that under normal circumstances there was no need to bring in new faces. "The board understands football inside and out, and they'll know what we need, either now or in the summer. Even if we don't get anyone new, we have the quality to hit our targets." Van Bommel expressed complete faith in Schweinsteiger's ability: "Provided he keeps doing what he's been doing, I'm not worried." The only reason to sound the alarm would be a major injury crisis. "We can't afford a lot more to happen," the midfielder reflected.

Meanwhile, where was the head coach on Sunday? Magath was attending the "Green Week" nutrition and agribusiness trade fair in Berlin, where he joined Schalke 04 coach Mirko Slomka for a celebrity cook-off, although there was no confirmation whether the pair discussed the Royal Blues' in-demand midfield ace Hamit Altintop.

To me, this sounds like Bayern are trying hard to find a player for this winter, but have as yet been unsuccessful. They don't want to excite everyone by saying that they are looking for someone, and at the same time they don't want to anger the fans by saying they are not considering looking for someone... which basically means they are.

If Bayern were not trying to buy anyone this winter, rest assured that Hoeness and Rummenigge would be saying that we will definitely not sign anyone this month.

The problem is: time is not on our side. There are just 10 days left for the transfer window to close.

Well...they are not considering buying any star, only cheap decent players who aint good enough for the Champions League. Nothing new.

SNAKE

Magath is so confident about everything , i hope he doenst end up by ruin this season.