Confident of victory
Captain and deputy in bullish pre-match mood
28.04.2011
Despite a painful ankle injury, Bastian Schweinsteiger gritted his teeth, started last week’s 1-1 draw in Frankfurt, and completed the 90 minutes. As if he wasn’t aware of it before, coach Andries Jonker knows he can count on his vice-captain when it matters. Schweinsteiger is set for another key role in Saturday’s meeting with Schalke. “Every fan must sense our desire to win from the off. The way we play matters a lot,” the 26-year-old said.
Munich have three games to try and displace Hannover from third place in the league table. There can be no more slip-ups like the draw and associated dropped points in Frankfurt. “I reckon it’ll be enough if we win all three games,” reasoned Schweinsteiger: “If Hannover are still ahead of us after that, they’ll have deserved it, and we should recognise that.”
However, the idea is to prevent that scenario from coming about. Bayern are desperate to feature in the Champions League next term, so a home win over Schalke is a must. “The atmosphere in the dressing room is great, the desire is there. You can see it in training. I’m confident of victory,” Schweinsteiger stated in optimistic tones – as also used by captain Philipp Lahm, who appealed to his team-mates’ sense of duty: “We have to take all three points. When you’re behind, all that matters is winning.”
FCB have been unable to beat Schalke so far this term, as the men in Royal Blue won the reverse Bundesliga fixture 2-0, and came away from the DFB Cup semi-final in Munich as 1-0 winners. The players are still feeling the pain of the narrow defeat at the Allianz Arena. “Naturally, it really hurt, especially because we dominated the match and Schalke were only really dangerous from set plays,” Lahm recalled. The skipper expects the visitors to set out their defensive stall again on Saturday.
Dangerous opponents
Indeed, it would be a surprise if Schalke showed much ambition, as they will still be weary from their midweek Champions League semi-final defeat to Manchester United. Schweinsteiger feels the circumstances favour Bayern: “Schalke have suffered a setback. I don’t believe they thought they’d lose quite so comprehensively to Manchester.”
However, neither Lahm nor Schweinsteiger expect Schalke to field a reserve team in Munich, even with the Champions League return coming up four days later. “They’ll do whatever they think it takes to beat us,” the midfielder warned. “Schalke will be up for it. No team comes to Munich just to roll over and die,” Lahm summarised.
Credit: FC Bayern Munich (www.fcbayern.t-com.de)
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