Daily Schmankerl: FC Barcelona in on Juan Bernat frenzy; Robert Lewandowski turns 30; the DFB-Pokal is crazy; and MORE!

Don Balol adds FC Barcelona to the mix of teams competing for player stuck on Bayern’s bench (Don Balol)

Per The Don, you can add FC Barcelona to the mix of teams competing for the services of Juan Bernat. In addition to Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid, Barca is looking to get in the Bernat action. In an odd twist, as well, The Don has Barcelona midfielder and alleged Bayern target Ivan Rakitic possibly headed to PSG as well.

The French club does not rule out taking Ivan Rakitic from Barça and continues to refuse to negotiate the possible departure of an Adrien Rabiot who is also on the radar of Real Madrid presided by Florentino Perez, but his main concern is now to shore up the left wing of the defense.

Ernesto Valverde’s team is also very interested in supporting the left side. Above all, after the departure of Frenchman Lucas Digne left Jordi Alba as the only option of the first team in that position. For that reason, the arrival of Juan Bernat to the Camp Nou has become one of his priorities, although everything indicates that the former Valencia man will eventually join the ranks of the PSG with Neymar.

As the transfer window closes and Bernat remains tethered to the Bayern bench, any one of these moves would make sense for the 25-year old.

Robert Lewandowski turns 30 today (@FCBayernEN)

The Polish Hitman is 30 and Bayern is actually giving you a present by offering free printing on Lewandowski jerseys. If you want another tip, last season’s white jerseys (my personal favorite) are 51% (yup, 51%) off.

ICYMI: Borussia Dortmund barely snuck by Greuther Fürth (@dw_sports)

In what has not been a banner showing for the Bundesliga’s top division, BVB needed a 120th minute goal to sneak by former Bayern man Julian Green and his Greuther Fürth side.

If you are keeping track at home, Bayern, Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Schalke 04, SC Freiburg (PKs!), FC Nürnberg, Mainz, FC Augsburg, RB Leipzig, and Wolfsburg were all pressured heavily by their lowered-rated opponents; while VfB Stuttgart and Eintracht Frankfurt were sent home for the Pokal season.

Bayern is the only adidas club left in the Bundesliga (Welt)

Bayern stands alone in wearing adidas this season in the Bundesliga. The apparel manufacturer has altered its strategy and is targeting top tier clubs globally like Bayern, Juventus, Manchester United, and Real Madrid; along with national teams such as Germany, Argentina, Spain, Belgium, Mexico, Colombia, and Russia among others. As adidas spokesman Oliver Brüggen pointed out:

As part of our strategy, we are focusing even more on partnerships with young, up-and-coming players as well as on cooperation with selected top clubs and associations in international football. In these areas, we will continue to break new ground.

For its part, Bayern pockets a lofty €60M per season to wear adidas.

The Kovac brothers get their company cars (@FCBayernUS)

A lucky, young fan got surprised by Arjen Robben, David Alaba, and James Rodriguez, while in Miami (@FCBayernUS)

A call for fan groups (BavarianFootballWorks.com)

We are going to try something here at the Daily Schmankerl and need YOUR help. If you read my man Tommy Adams’ piece about his experience with the FCBNYC Fan Club (if you haven’t, SHAME ON YOU!), you could see how great the event was. So we want to highlight some of these wonderful groups that are out there globally and this is what we need from you:

• Name of the group:
• Location:
• Year founded:
• Leadership (if you have people are kind of running the show):
• Meeting place:
• Social media handles:
• Pictures

I’d LOVE to be able to feature a different fan group every week this season. Maybe we can do it, maybe not...but only YOU can help decide the fate of this idea. Send your info to: barrelsportsblog@gmail.com