Bayern Munich supervisory board member Uli Hoeneß has been around the block and reveled in the highs of Champions League wins and the lows of being upset in the tournament.
After watching from home as his team dropped a 5-4 decision to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the tie, the venerable executive was not panicked or even worried.
Why?
Because Hoeneß trusts Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany.
“You have to admire Vincent Kompany for having his team play so offensively in Paris – it was
incredible. A turning point was the unfortunate handball penalty situation just before halftime. Something like that is brutal – you go into the dressing room with a negative feeling, while the opponent comes back motivated,” Hoeneß told DAZN (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “But the way the team reacted – as they have so often before, for example in Freiburg, in Mainz, or even to some extent recently against Heidenheim – the way they came back, continued playing, and didn’t give up, that’s truly phenomenal.”
In an odd twist, Hoeneß did not even travel to the match in Paris due to a superstition.
“It had a bit to do with superstition. I actually wanted to fly to Paris, but Karl-Heinz (Rummenigge) and I haven’t been to any away games so far. And then our guys said: ‘If you fly with us now and we lose badly, that would be bad.’ So I didn’t want to be a jinx,” Hoeneß said.
Finally, Hoeneß admitted that even with that first leg loss, he also got caught up in watching the game like a normal fan — at least for a while — before shifting back into being focused on Bayern Munich.
“You have to differentiate between the Bayern fan and the neutral spectator. As a Bayern fan, you think: Wow, so many goals conceded, can we even pull it off? As a neutral spectator in Seoul, New York, or Milan, you think: What’s going on here? That was great advertisement for football as a whole,” Hoeneß said. “After the game, I was naturally very nervous, but our guys have come back many times before. And if the game had gone on for ten minutes longer – given the cramps and injuries Paris were suffering – then perhaps even more would have been possible. That makes me optimistic for Wednesday.”
Song of the Week: “Seek and Destroy” by Metallica
Well, there has been a theme on game days of late and Metallica has been part of it. Let’s hope the Bayern Munich attack takes these words to heart when it looks at the PSG backline on Wednesday:
Dreesen eager to see Allianz Arena atmosphere vs. PSG
Bayern Munich CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen wants the fans to make PSG feel the full power of the home stadium.
“Just thinking about the tifo against Real Madrid gives me goosebumps all over again. Vincent is absolutely right. We need every voice on Wednesday. We need 100 percent ‘Mia san Mia’, the full solidarity of our Bayern family and as many people as possible in red. The team showed in Paris that they can bounce back from setbacks and keep going. The Allianz Arena is a tough place to break down, and that’s exactly what Paris need to feel from kick-off. It’s only half-time. Now we need to create a great European night together in Munich,” Dreesen told FCBayern.com.
Entertainment Rundown
I am so close to being done with Invincible and The Boys (and cannot wait to be done with them), but not all the way finished yet. Apologies, but it will be multiple episode review coming up…
In the meantime, here is a look at a clip from The Madalorian & Grogu:
Gordon is Plan A
Stories are dropping all over linking Newcastle United star Anthony Gordon to Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona, Arsenal and Liverpool. However, the Englishman is Plan for the Bavarians per Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg:
🚨👀 Max Eberl on @ZDF about Anthony Gordon:
“In the summer we can approach the market in a relaxed way. Right now, it would be disrespectful to talk about players who could be with us from 1 July.” #NUFC
Gordon remains Plan A as revealed. Plans B and C are prepared. 🏴
Predictions
Bayern Munich is hungry, at home, and will be powered by a frenzied crowd. Oh, and the PSG backline is banged up and susceptible to being broken down. If the Bayern Munich backline can just be adequate, this should be a win for the Bavarians.
Obviously, someone will have to make stops in this game, but the biggest key will come down to who scores first — and how each team responds to that. Another big thing to watch will be how each team’s star players perform. Can Harry Kane, Michael Olise, and Luis Díaz step up the challenge? We think so.
Prediction: Bayern Munich 4-2 Paris Saint-Germain (Bayern advances 8-7 on aggregate)
Other Champions League Prediction:
- Arsenal 2-1 Atlético Madrid (Arsenal advances 3-2 on aggregate)
Prediction Records
- Total: 517-337
- Perfect Picks: 55
- Bundesliga Last Matchday: 5-4
- Bundesliga Overall: 159-129
- DFB-Pokal: 51-11
- World Cup Qualifiers/Friendlies: 164-95
- Champions League: 99-79
- Club World Cup: 39-23
- Club Friendlies: 4-0
- Franz Beckenbauer Supercup: 1-0
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
- New, improved notifications system!
- Fewer ads
- Create community posts
- Comment on articles, community posts
- Rec comments, community posts
