The upcoming season will not be a walk in the park for FC Bayern München. At least, that’s Joachim Löw’s view of the 45th season of the Bundesliga, which starts today. In this interview with sid, the German sports wire service, Löw also discusses his perspective on the Mannschaft, one year prior to the EURO 2008 in Austria and Switzerland.
Question: Mr. Löw, please talk about your expectations for the new Bundesliga season?
Joachim Löw: I expect excitement. These are booming times for football in Germany, anticipation among fans is tremendous. I don’t remember a year when we had so many uncertainties before the start of a new season. Bayern München have upgraded their team, but can they keep up with the expectations? Will Stuttgart even come close to last year’s performance? How about Schalke and Bremen? Who will be this year’s Cinderella team? One thing is guaranteed though: The atmosphere in the stadiums will be simply great. I’m really looking forward to the weekend.
Question: Wacker Burghausen, a third division team, gave Bayern quite a scare in the first round of the DFB Cup. Will this encourage Bayern München’s rivals?
Joachim Löw: They wouldn’t need encouragement to begin with. Because of their acquisitions, München certainly are favourites to win the championship. But Bayern won’t run away with the Bundesliga title. Their opponents should be highly motivated. I expect Stuttgart, Schalke and Bremen to give Bayern a great race for the title. Bayern played convincingly in the league cup, but titles are never handed out before the season. Who would have thought last year that Stuttgart comes up on top?
Question: How may players still have a shot to make the EURO roster?
Joachim Löw: You won’t hear a number from me at this point. Let it suffice to say, that we look at an expanded squad right now. We have more candidates today than we had in 2005, one year prior to the World Cup – which is a pleasing development. Hopefully, young players such as Manuel Neuer (Schalke 04), Serdar Tasci (VfB Stuttgart) or Christian Pander (Schalke 04) will continue their growth. Gerald Asamoah (Schalke 04) and Sebastian Kehl (Borussia Dortmund) return from severe injuries. I won’t complain about a wide circle of potential candidates. When we head into 2008, we will start to reduce the squad size.
Question: How about David Odonkor (Sevilla) and Robert Huth (Middlesbrough) – both players were not nominated following the World Cup?
Joachim Löw: Both players were set back because of injuries. But we know about their qualities, which they both have shown in the national team already.
Question: On August 22, Germany plays England in Wembley. When will you announce the line-up? Which players will miss the game because they are banged up?
Joachim Löw: We’ll announce the squad at a press conference next Thursday. Torsten Frings and Lukas Podolski will not be ready for the game because of injuries, while Michael Ballack seems questionable right now. We would need our tandem Ballack/Frings in Wembley. But if they cannot make it, we’ll find another solution.
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The upcoming season will not be a walk in the park for FC Bayern München. At least, that’s Joachim Löw’s view of the 45th season of the Bundesliga, which starts today. In this interview with sid, the German sports wire service, Löw also discusses his perspective on the Mannschaft, one year prior to the EURO 2008 in Austria and Switzerland.
Question: Mr. Löw, please talk about your expectations for the new Bundesliga season?
Joachim Löw: I expect excitement. These are booming times for football in Germany, anticipation among fans is tremendous. I don’t remember a year when we had so many uncertainties before the start of a new season. Bayern München have upgraded their team, but can they keep up with the expectations? Will Stuttgart even come close to last year’s performance? How about Schalke and Bremen? Who will be this year’s Cinderella team? One thing is guaranteed though: The atmosphere in the stadiums will be simply great. I’m really looking forward to the weekend.
Question: Wacker Burghausen, a third division team, gave Bayern quite a scare in the first round of the DFB Cup. Will this encourage Bayern München’s rivals?
Joachim Löw: They wouldn’t need encouragement to begin with. Because of their acquisitions, München certainly are favourites to win the championship. But Bayern won’t run away with the Bundesliga title. Their opponents should be highly motivated. I expect Stuttgart, Schalke and Bremen to give Bayern a great race for the title. Bayern played convincingly in the league cup, but titles are never handed out before the season. Who would have thought last year that Stuttgart comes up on top?
Question: How may players still have a shot to make the EURO roster?
Joachim Löw: You won’t hear a number from me at this point. Let it suffice to say, that we look at an expanded squad right now. We have more candidates today than we had in 2005, one year prior to the World Cup – which is a pleasing development. Hopefully, young players such as Manuel Neuer (Schalke 04), Serdar Tasci (VfB Stuttgart) or Christian Pander (Schalke 04) will continue their growth. Gerald Asamoah (Schalke 04) and Sebastian Kehl (Borussia Dortmund) return from severe injuries. I won’t complain about a wide circle of potential candidates. When we head into 2008, we will start to reduce the squad size.
Question: How about David Odonkor (Sevilla) and Robert Huth (Middlesbrough) – both players were not nominated following the World Cup?
Joachim Löw: Both players were set back because of injuries. But we know about their qualities, which they both have shown in the national team already.
Question: On August 22, Germany plays England in Wembley. When will you announce the line-up? Which players will miss the game because they are banged up?
Joachim Löw: We’ll announce the squad at a press conference next Thursday. Torsten Frings and Lukas Podolski will not be ready for the game because of injuries, while Michael Ballack seems questionable right now. We would need our tandem Ballack/Frings in Wembley. But if they cannot make it, we’ll find another solution.
