Bavarian Football Works - Pokal Champions: Relive the Pokal run with Bavarian Football WorksManufacturing goals in the German tradition, for domestic consumption and for export.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47275/bavarian-fave.png2013-06-01T22:10:03+02:00http://www.bavarianfootballworks.com/rss/stream/41538932013-06-01T22:10:03+02:002013-06-01T22:10:03+02:00Bayern München Win the Treble!
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<figcaption>Christof Koepsel</figcaption>
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<p>FC Bayern München win the DFB Pokal Finale on Saturday, competing the third leg of their triple. Bayern now take their rightful place atop German football, becoming the first team to win the triple, ever.</p> <p>After thinking that it could not get any better, FC <a href="https://www.bavarianfootballworks.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Bayern Munich</a> fans witnessed history. After the narrow, nervy 3-2 DFB Pokal victory against VfB Stuttgart, die Roten became the first team ever to win all three major competitions.</p>
<p>The Bundesliga may have been the easiest one, but both the Champions League Final and the DFB Pokal Final broke many chairs as Bayern fans sat on the edge of their seat, waiting for the final whistle to sound. An 89' minute <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/fifa/players/110495/arjen-robben" class="sbn-auto-link">Arjen Robben</a> tapper and a <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/fifa/players/110254/manuel-neuer" class="sbn-auto-link">Manuel Neuer</a> trap save on a <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/fifa/players/110264/serdar-tasci" class="sbn-auto-link">Serdar Tasci</a> header were the differences from both of those finals going into extra time. In crunch time, the Fußball gods looked down upon die Roten, not keeping Bayern from their fate.</p>
<p>The German double occured many times (Bayern has done it eight times themselves), and even the Bundesliga-Champions League double happened on multiple occasions (1973-74 Bayern Munich, 1982-83 Hamburg, 2000-01 Bayern Munich). In the last 10 years, Bayern has been the closest to achieving the heralded treble, but the Champions League crown was the one that eluded them, but not anymore.</p>
<p>Regardless of how it happened, Bayern finally got retribution from being so close in 2010 before losing 2-0 to <span>Jose Mourinho's</span> Inter Milan, the closest any German team has been to winning the treble previously. It was also retribution for <span>Jupp Heynckes</span>, for just 12 months after finishing second in all three competitions, his Bayern tenure ends raising all three trophies.</p>
<p>Now the Leopoldstrasse in Munich can flood with red pride as the dedicated American Bayern fans can raise their beer glasses from overseas to the greatest German team.</p>
<p>FC Bayern München, we salute you, and thank you for the greatest club season in German football history.</p>
<p>Mia san mia. Forever.</p>
https://www.bavarianfootballworks.com/2013/6/1/4387114/bayern-munich-win-treble-dfb-pokal-vfb-stuttgartDavis VanOpdorp2013-04-16T23:27:02+02:002013-04-16T23:27:02+02:00On to Berlin! Bayern Advance to Cup Final | Recap
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<figcaption>Alex Grimm</figcaption>
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<p>A six-minute hat-trick and solid play from halftime on sees the Bavarians advance to their second DFB-Pokal final in as many years</p> <p>
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Not very many people predicted such a frantic and disorganized first half from Bayern, but Wolfsburg proved that they have the personnel to be fighting for much more than to comfortably stay in the Bundesliga for next season. And then promptly displayed why they aren't competing for much more than pride in April during the second half on their way to final elimination from all competitions.</p>
<p>The team with the third-best away record in Germany (and, unfortunately for them, the second-worst home match point total) played a fearless first half at the Allianz that left them open at the back but gave them decent opportunities going forward.</p>
<p>Despite their goal coming from Diego, the Northerners had plenty of chances, most notably off of a corner kick which saw Naldo's free header beat Neuer but miss the posts, gliding across the face of goal.</p>
<p>Bayern dictated the first twenty minutes of play, including a <span>Mario Mandzukic</span> goal in the seventeenth.</p>
<p>In-form <span>Xherdan Shaqiri</span> made a perfectly-weighted pass from a central position to a dashing <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/fifa/players/110495/arjen-robben" class="sbn-auto-link">Arjen Robben</a> on the right flank, who played a ball across the box to the Croatian Mario, resulting in a thumping shot that was struck with such force it managed to bounce out of the goal after hitting the net.</p>
<p>Mandzukic appeared to have pulled a muscle in his leg during the play, and spent the time he would have been celebrating on the turf, surrounded by teammates and Kult-Dr. Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt.</p>
<p>He would eventually come back on with the referee's permission and continue uninhibited by the brief injury scare.</p>
<p>A few minutes later, Wolfsburg nearly capitalized on a Neuer mistake to tie the game, but the shot that would have drawn the match level was deflected by Dante.</p>
<p>In the 35<sup>th</sup> minute, Alexander Madlung's errant pass was intercepted by Shaqiri who once again found Arjen Robben in behind the defense for the two-nil. It was the best kind of goal for Robben, one that was above all criticism from his detractors.</p>
<p>Ten minutes later at the stroke of halftime, Diego scored what can only be described as a world-class goal. There wasn't that much space for him to work with, and there was nothing Neuer could do about it in goal. At the time, it looked like Wolfsburg could seriously threaten the Bayern lead in the second half, and they certainly had the momentum heading into the locker rooms for halftime.</p>
<p>Despite Andries Jonker's best efforts, Dieter Hecking's side did nothing of the sort in the second 45 minutes.</p>
<p>Just five minutes into the second half, the Reds blew the match wide open for good.</p>
<p>Shaqiri, who had been the architect of the first two goals, now got his reimbursement from Robben in the form of a goal for his own ledger. The Dutchman found an open Shaq at the top of the box, and with no Wolves pressuring him, sent a solid left-footed strike past Benaglio to double the lead for the home side.</p>
<p>The pace of the match slowed down as Bayern took the contest by the neck when thirteen minutes from time, Heynckes brought on <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/fifa/players/110275/mario-gomez" class="sbn-auto-link">Mario Gomez</a> for Mandzukic in what looked like another typically late substitution that wouldn't result in much more than playing time for the allegedly discontent German striker. However, Gomez had something else in mind entirely.</p>
<p>Just three minutes after coming on, Gomez would find himself with a sitter of all sitters that was a result of stunning play from teammates Schweinsteiger and Shaqiri.</p>
<p>Bastian, as he often does to little credit, held the ball in the midfield for just enough time to release Shaqiri down the left side. Shaq had nobody in front of him by the time he received the ball, and got into a position from which he could have likely scored himself, but elected to play it across the box once he had drawn Benaglio out of his goal. Gomez was on the other end of the pass, and scored a goal that I feel confident in saying any of you could have knocked in to make the score (4-1).</p>
<p>Three minutes after that, Gomez cut out the middle man (Shaqiri) and received a sublime pass directly from the source (Schweinsteiger) in a combination that any economist would be proud of. Once behind the defense, he had no problem slotting it past the keeper once again for his second on the day.</p>
<p>The man with "33" on his back worked in three's yet again, as three minutes after his second goal, he netted his third in much the same fashion to complete a six-minute hat-trick.</p>
<p>Got that? Number 33 comes on for Mandzukic, whose number (9) is equal to three added thrice, and scores three goals, all three minutes apart from each other with the first coming three minutes after entering the match in the first place. All while putting the team that much closer to their ultimate goal: Three trophies.</p>
<p>Bayern have a league match on the weekend against Hannover 96 before their much-anticipated UCL match up with Barcelona.</p>
<p>Pack Ma's.</p>
https://www.bavarianfootballworks.com/2013/4/16/4232118/wir-fahren-nach-berlin-bayern-pick-apart-wolfsburg-en-route-to-cupScott Schroder2013-02-27T22:34:34+01:002013-02-27T22:34:34+01:00Bayern KOs Dortmund Behind Robben Goal
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<figcaption>Lars Baron</figcaption>
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<p>FC Bayern Munich fought to a 1-0 win today in the DFB Pokal. With the victory, Bayern took a big step towards silverware, and also picked up the first win against Borussia Dortmund in a competition match in over 2 years.</p> <p>Before the match, the news leaked out that star Dortmund CB Mats Hummels would miss the action with a virus. While Dortmund has capable back-ups and is not reliant on one man, it was still a blow: Hummels is an excellent defender, and Bayern's forwards had been in great form. Whether or not the absence of Hummels was the reason, Bayern seized control of the match from the early going. With a few brief exceptions, Bayern dominated possession in the first half, with Arjen Robben (playing down the left flank, rather than the right) repeatedly terrorizing the Dortmund defense.</p>
<p>In fact, considering he had a pair of great chances in the first 35 minutes, there almost might have been a slight "why can't Robben finish" mood at the half, were it not for his late goal on a wicked high-corner strike:</p>
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<p>With that, the crowd was able to relax. If Bayern had controlled the entire first half but failed to score, there would have been a sense that Dortmund was waiting in the wings to steal it late. But with Bayern up 1-0, it was now incumbent on BVB to try to chase the match and create some chances. Even so, they didn't do that much in the early 2d half, except for a good chance for Ilkay Gündogan and a bunch or rolling around trying to draw fouls. The introduction of Kuba for Großkreutz helped Dortmund a bit; Großkreutz is usually out there just to hassle Ribery, Kroos, and Robben. But with Robben on the far side and Bayern already holding the lead, it wasn't really the KG style of game (in fact, I'm surprised they didn't take him out sooner).</p>
<p>Although Dortmund had a little more energy, it was still Bayern creating more chances to score. Both van Buyten and Dante had clean chances, and Mandzukic had a great opportunity late, with Dortmund GK Roman Weidenfeller looking alert in the net. In fact, counting a pair of saves on Robben in the first half and the two great short-range stops in the second, I think Weidenfeller kept this from being a more emphatic Bayern win. As it was, with the exception of a handful of nervy moments, you could argue that a 2-0 or even 3-0 win for Bayern was more deserved.</p>
<p>But, at the end of the day, that matters little. Bayern moves on to the semis of the DFB Pokal with a vital win over our recent tormentors. I believe the draw for the Halbfinale is this Sunday, with the matches themselves taking place the 16th and 17th of March. Needless to say, we'll be covering the draw and all matches, so stay tuned.</p>
<p>Some other thoughts:</p>
<p>- I'll have to look at the replay, but I thought the yellow on Kroos in the 2d half was very harsh. And, in general, BVB seemed to be doing anything they could to try to draw fouls, even if it meant giving up a chance at the net. But, again, I'll take a look in slow motion later and see.</p>
<p>- For much of the match, it almost seemed like Dortmund were trying to go with an attacking trident (with Reus and Goetze on either side of Lewandowski), rather than use Lewandowski as the clear target man. This seemed to backfire, because Reus works better if he can lay back for a bit, then make blazing runs through the area or across empty space. Although his dribbling is good, he never seems like a big threat to score while trying to beat two guys off the dribble.</p>
<p>- For Bayern, it was a great team effort, but I think Dante, Schweinsteiger, and Robben (aside from a few blown chances early in the first) stood out the most. But Kroos - aside failing to get his foot on a ball in front of an empty net - did a few things very well, and Lahm was class, as always.</p>
<p>Back with more later. Feels good to get a win over BVB, but I almost feel like they're below our level at this particular moment. Anyway, thanks for reading.</p>
https://www.bavarianfootballworks.com/2013/2/27/4037136/bayern-munich-defeats-borussia-dortmund-arjen-robben-pokalPierson2012-12-18T23:39:24+01:002012-12-18T23:39:24+01:00Bayern Beats Augsburg to Move into Quaterfinals
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<figcaption>Alexander Hassenstein</figcaption>
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<p>In a match that had plenty of excitement and a few moments of scrappy anger between the teams, FC Bayern Munich saw off Augsburg by a 2-0 score-line. The result puts Bayern into the next round of the DFB Pokal. Franck Ribery was shown a red card for a cuff to the face, but Bayern stood fast and finished off the Clowns of the League even after going down to 10 men.</p> <p>Despite the fact that it ended in a relatively tame 1-0 position, the first half was pretty action-packed. Bayern GK Manuel Neuer had to look sharp, twice making good reaction saves. And Augsburg clearly didn't feel intimidated by Bayern, as they pushed forward repeatedly to threaten our goal.</p>
<p>On the other end, Bayern didn't dominate the midfield like we sometimes do; in fact, at times, this almost had the feel of a counter-attack strategy. It worked out OK, though, as Gomez scored in the 26th minute by getting his toe to a cross from short range, and Bayern has several other opportunities of our own. At one point, we had 3 shots that were inches away in the span of a few seconds. Or, rather, one shot that actually looked to maybe be a goal, and then two subsequent shots that were inches away. However you want to describe it, Bayern took a 1-0 lead into the half.</p>
<p>Here's the Gomez goal:</p>
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<p>Things got even more interesting less than 10 minute after the restart. Ribery and Augsburg's Koo Ja-Cheol got tangled up in what looked like an unintentional groin shot, followed by Koo shoving Ribery to the face. Ribery, of course, responded with a slightly harder face shove of his own. Knowing how the officials often respond in these situations, the result was little surprise: a red for Ribery, and Bayern going down to 10 men.</p>
<p>But the boys continued to fight, with a double-substitution reinvigorating Bayern. Javi Martinez, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Anatolity Tymoschuk all three played together in the middle of the field, I believe for the first time ever, as Bayern went to something like a 4-3-1-1. And it was Shaqiri who secured the points for good with a sprint-and-finish move with less than 10 minute to go:</p>
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<p>In other results, our gang's collective wisdom <a href="http://www.bavarianfootballworks.com/2012/12/17/3776946/preview-fc-bayern-vs-fc-augsburg">was proven once again</a>: Kickers Offenbach pulled the upset, beating Fortuna D to move into the quarterfinals. Karslruhe, meanwhile, couldn't justify my faith (losing to SC Freiburg) and Schalke continued their slump with a loss to Mainz.</p>
<p>We'll be back with more later. As always, if you're going to post .gifs or pictures, please do so one at a time. Thanks for reading.</p>
https://www.bavarianfootballworks.com/2012/12/18/3781938/bayern-beats-augsburg-2-0-to-move-into-quaterfinalsPierson2012-10-31T22:36:20+01:002012-10-31T22:36:20+01:00Robben Stars, Bayern Dismantles Kaiserslautern 4-0
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<figcaption>Alexandra Beier</figcaption>
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<p>FC Bayern advanced to the Round of 32 in the DFB Pokal today, easing past an outclassed Kaiserslautern squad in the Allianz Arena by a 4-0 score-line. The only blemish for Bayern was the loss of Rafina, who left with an injury in the second half.</p> <p>Although Die Roten fielded a side with a lot of reserves, the talent gap was still pretty apparent from the early going. Bayern took a few minutes to feel out the defense, but soon found a way through, as Arjen Robben fielded a long ball off his chest and slipped a through pass to Pizarro, who buried it:</p>
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<p>A beautiful pass by Robben who drew 2 defenders before pushing it right into the open space where Pizarro was running. But at this point, K'slautern actually got 2 decent chances in the subsequent few minutes. One was well-saved by Starke as he moved laterally, and the other came when Starke was wandering too far off his line and couldn't get back to save a low blast. Luckily for Bayern, it rattled off the post. If Kaiserslautern had scored there, they surely would have sat back and tried to defend for the remainder of the match. But as it was, Bayern went into the half with a 1-0 lead; not enough to feel 100 percent confident, but certainly a good edge, considering we had controlled the majority of the possession and were creating chances repeatedly.</p>
<p>It didn't take long into the 2nd half for FC Bayern to seize control with Robben and Pizarro (again) netting within 15 minutes of the re-start. The wind came out of Bayern's sails, though, as it seemed like Rafinha got hurt in about the 78th minute. I didn't catch any word on the injury - if anyone has more details, leave it in the comment section. Robben sealed MOTM honors with a garbage time goal 2 minutes from time.</p>
<p>Some thoughts:</p>
<p>- The veterans really looked the part today, as Robben, Pizarro, and Tymoschuk controlled the match. Certainly nothing in a match like this is guaranteed, and Kaiserslautern is a respectable opponent. But you'd hope that those 3, with years of experience in the Bundesliga and the Champions League, would be able to assert themselves from the early going. Today, they were able to, and Robben especially looked like a man among boys (which, in a match like this, he was).</p>
<p>- Emre Can did a few things well, but he had at least one bad turnover that could have cost Bayern. I think it was Boateng who got back to win the ball away, but if the situation had gone slightly differently, that could have turned into a good scoring chance for Kaiserslautern. Can is aggressive, though, which you like to see. And you can tell that opponents don't want to go near him if there's a loose ball nearby.</p>
<p>- Things sort of unraveled for him near the end, but I have to say, I thought K'slautern GK Tobias Sippel had a few good saves. Of course he won't consider it a great day after giving up 4 goals, but he had a nice save on an Alaba free kick that was dipping to the far low corner, and he also made a quick reaction save on a Pizarro shot that kept it at 1-0 late in the first. If Kaiserslautern could have scored on either of their chances late in the first half, we'd be looking at those Sippel saves as what kept them in the match for a while.</p>
<p>- Elsewhere, Leverkusen needed extra time to get past Arminia Bielefeld, and Hannover 96 and Dynamo Dresden are currently level at 1 goal apiece in extra time. Check back a bit later to see results there. Thanks for reading.</p>
https://www.bavarianfootballworks.com/2012/10/31/3582742/bayern-munich-dismantles-kaiserslautern-germany-pokal-3-0Pierson2012-08-20T22:46:20+02:002012-08-20T22:46:20+02:00Bayern Crushes Jahn Regensburg 4-0 in Pokal
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<p>FC Bayern Munich took the field in the first competition match since the Champions League in May, and came away with an emphatic victory. Despite some rough-house tactics from SSV Jahn Regensburg, Bayern took a lead into the half, took control early in the second half, and cruised to a 4-0 victory. Bayern advances in the DFB Pokal and will go into next week's Bundesliga season debut full of confidence. <br><br></p>
<p>Manager Jupp Heynckes wasn't taking anything for granted against the 2. Bundesliga side, and fielded a full line-up. Gustavo and Toni Kroos worked the double-pivot, and did a good job of controlling the pace in the early going, but Jahn Regensburg managed to slow down the Bayern atatck in the early going. FC Bayern went ahead in the 32d minute with what I believe was our first shot on goal.</p>
<p>Towards the end of the first half, though Bayern was knocking on the door again and SSW's back line was starting to wobble. In the second half, the floodgates opened, as Mandzukic scored again as Shaqiri beat the entire SSV side with a brilliant curling free kick, then sent Mandzukic through with a nice touch pass. Good patience by Mandzu to wait out the 'keeper on the dive. Pizarro came on for Bayern for the first time in over 5 years, then calmly put home another nice Shaqiri pass to dust it off.</p>
<p>Some video - this is the Shaqiri free kick:</p>
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<p>This is the 2nd Mandzukic goal:</p>
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<p>Some thoughts:</p>
<p>- Mandzukic loves playing in front of our midfield. He's an active guy who can do more than site and wait for the ball - he has a good motor and can find soft spaces in the defense.</p>
<p>- Bastian came on and looked OK, although he wasn't asked to do much.</p>
<p>- Our defense wasn't asked to make many stops. The back four that we used today isn't bad, but I'll be happier when Alaba is back, and I also wouldn't mind seeing the Dante / Badstuber CB duo get some work.</p>
<p>Check back later for more, including possibly more video. We've also <a href="http://www.bavarianfootballworks.com/2012/8/20/3255280/javi-martinez-to-bayern-deal-delayed-man-city-lurking">been following the Javi Martinez rumors</a>, so if anything happens with that, we'll try to get you the news as soon as we hear.</p>
https://www.bavarianfootballworks.com/2012/8/20/3256248/bayern-crushes-jahn-regensburg-4-0-to-advance-in-pokalPierson