Bayern München have secured their first title of the new season. The Bundesliga champions won 2-0 against Borussia Dortmund in the Supercup and Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer received plaudits for his saves. In an interview, the 30-year-old spoke about the match in Dortmund, Bayern’s shaky start at the back and new teammate Mats Hummels who transferred to Bayern from Dortmund.
Question: Neuer, your last competitive match was the semi-final of the European Championship in France where Germany were beaten 2-0 by the hosts. Did it not feel slightly strange to win a title straightaway in the first game after the break?
Manuel Neuer: It’s great when something is at stake and we are already playing for a trophy. It felt good to be successful especially because we haven’t won the Supercup for the last three consecutive years.
Question: Is the 2-0 win against Dortmund a good omen for the beginning of the Bundesliga season in almost two weeks?
Neuer: I don’t know. No, not necessarily. In the last three years both Dortmund and Wolfsburg have won the Supercup but they haven’t won the league. We did.
Question: Then could this success in 2016 be a bad omen?
Neuer: No, I do not want to say that. From our point of view, we want to win every game that we play against Dortmund. It was not a friendly but a duel between the two best German teams which both sides wanted to win.
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Bayern München have secured their first title of the new season. The Bundesliga champions won 2-0 against Borussia Dortmund in the Supercup and Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer received plaudits for his saves. In an interview, the 30-year-old spoke about the match in Dortmund, Bayern’s shaky start at the back and new teammate Mats Hummels who transferred to Bayern from Dortmund.
Question: Neuer, your last competitive match was the semi-final of the European Championship in France where Germany were beaten 2-0 by the hosts. Did it not feel slightly strange to win a title straightaway in the first game after the break?
Manuel Neuer: It’s great when something is at stake and we are already playing for a trophy. It felt good to be successful especially because we haven’t won the Supercup for the last three consecutive years.
Question: Is the 2-0 win against Dortmund a good omen for the beginning of the Bundesliga season in almost two weeks?
Neuer: I don’t know. No, not necessarily. In the last three years both Dortmund and Wolfsburg have won the Supercup but they haven’t won the league. We did.
Question: Then could this success in 2016 be a bad omen?
Neuer: No, I do not want to say that. From our point of view, we want to win every game that we play against Dortmund. It was not a friendly but a duel between the two best German teams which both sides wanted to win.
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Question: In the first half, especially in the first 30 minutes, the hosts Dortmund dominated and had a few chances. You had to make a few stops to save your team. Why was the Bayern defence so shaky?
Neuer: We have only been fully together as a team for a week because a lot the internationals have only just returned to training. Us late-comers are still missing something. You could see that the other players could do more in pre-season and that they are already more into their rhythm. We are satisfied with the result but this dominance which we have often shown against Dortmund lacked a little.
Question: Bayern had less possession than the opposition. That never happened under Carlo Ancelotti’s predecessor Pep Guardiola.
Neuer: That was very unusual. But it was also the case against in the Champions League against Atlético Madrid. The Spaniards had less possession than us and also won. You can also win games like that.
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