After an early-season defining win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League earlier this week, Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany is keeping everything on an even-keel and does not think anyone
should overlook Union Berlin, especially at home.
“Union’s home strength is so obvious. They’re a compact team, they’re all strong in the tackle, strong runners, have a lot of experience, defend crosses superbly and immediately put pressure on the ball. It’s similar to Köln – they have similar strengths as a collective, are very courageous and compact. And then there are the strikers, who score a lot of goals. It’s a team momentum — believing in themselves — that’s what they have. Also, because they drew against us last year, they will go in fully motivated. It remains an exciting challenge — just like PSG. We have to prepare mentally for that,” said Kompany (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “You have to mentally press the button and turn everything around. I realized that a few minutes after the PSG game. But we can take a few things away from Paris, we showed different things in the second half than in the first half, had to do a lot of defending. At Köln in the cup, we also turned up from the start. We have to bring that mentality again, it’s going to be a battle. It won’t just be about pressing and possession, but very often about set-pieces, tackling, second balls. It’s also about taking away the opposition’s momentum. We drew there last season, so I don’t have to explain much to the lads.”
Kompany wanted to be very clear about the notion of Union Berlin being a “trap game” — he does not want to let feelings linger too long after a win or a loss. The squad must always push forward.
“After every game, we have to immediately reset our win tally. I say that because I experienced it myself in my career, as a player and as a coach: it’s always about the next game. Now the game against PSG is already over – I don’t have that feeling of 16 consecutive wins. We have to learn from every game; that process never ends – whether we win or lose. I want us to remain consistent. We beat PSG, now we’re traveling to Union and we’ll try to win there, too” said Kompany.
As for who will play, there were not many updates from Kompany, who also disputed the notion of having a thin roster.
“We’ll see who plays tomorrow. The question you always ask is: ‘When do the players take a break?’ And when they do take a break, the question is: ‘Why are they taking a break?’ — we always look at the signals the players are sending, but if those are good, if the players have recovered well, are fit and ready for the next game, then we’ll go with that. So we’ll wait and see tomorrow. Only Rapha Guerreiro had some minor issues after the Leverkusen game, so we’ve decided to rest him for tomorrow so he can recover. But it’s just a precautionary measure,” Kompany said. “It feels like the squad has gotten a bit bigger because Lennart Karl has developed so well. He’s shown that he can already have an impact. We also have Luis Díaz, who has needed very little time and is always fit. Harry Kane and Michael Olise, too — they’re always fit. It’s helped that we haven’t needed a bigger squad. It’s important that the lads stay fit. And then Jamal Musiala, Alphonso Davies and Hiroki Ito wil come back. I think these players will be important this season. Everyone in the squad can play and help us. This absolute confidence is crucial.”
Bayern Munich will be traveling to Berlin to square off with The Iron Ones in a match that — on paper — seems like just another team that the Bavarians should dominate.
However, there is at least some risk. Going on the road, just before an international break, and being weary from a super intense match against Paris Saint-Germain could be dangerous. Some would even say this could be a “trap game,”
Bayern Munich, though, could be out to prove it is “trap proof.” So, let’s discuss it all right here — this is what we have on tap for this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show:
- What to watch for with Union Berlin.
- A look at Bayern Munich’s injury situation.
- A guess at Bayern Munich’s starting XI.
- A prediction on the match.
