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FC Bayern continues to work on the Ancelotti squad

FC Bayern Munich

FC Bayern won the championship and the DFB Cup this year. Photo: Sven Hoppe

(Photo: dpa)

50 days after the big Munich double party on the town hall balcony, Carlo Ancelotti drummed up the Bayern stars for the first training session on July 11th. “We experienced a really great coach here for three years. I very much hope that Carlo Ancelotti will be similarly successful,” praised former President Uli Hoeneß and warned at the same time. “We shouldn’t be praising Carlo Ancelotti because that also takes away some of the light from Pep Guardiola.”

Seven titles in three years is the proud haul of the Catalan, who is moving on to Manchester City, and failing three times in the semi-finals of the Champions League has only made the hunger for triumphs in Europe even greater. Unlike Guardiola, who took over the praised treble winner from Jupp Heynckes in the summer of 2013, the then 57-year-old Ancelotti met an ensemble with great greed for the premier class title when he started in Munich, which the Italian had already won three times as a coach.

“When we made the change in December, Pep said to me, you’ve chosen a class coach,” reported CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. “The two have a very good friendly relationship.” The Bavarians are said to have exchanged ideas with Ancelotti, who is diligently learning German, in London.

Guardiola leaves behind a top-class team that is tactically more flexible than ever in Bayern’s history at the highest level. Mats Hummels (Dortmund) and Renato Sanches (Benfica) have been confirmed as major purchases. The scaffolding with one axis until 2021 for top performers bound to the club is in place anyway. On the other hand, Serdar Tasci’s time on loan at Bayern is over, and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (on loan to FC Schalke) no longer plays a major role in the plans. There is speculation about transfers from Medhi Benatia or Sebastian Rode – and about the particularly hot personality Mario Götze.

“Let’s wait and see,” said Rummenigge when asked how the market and EM would affect the 23-year-old’s future. The offensive player first adjusts his environment and “puts the management in the hands of my family,” as he explained. “Now I want to concentrate on the European Championship anyway,” emphasized Götze and does not plan to change clubs before the start of the tournament preparations. “I’m looking forward to the new season in Munich and will do everything I can to be in top shape at my first training session under Carlo Ancelotti,” Götze told the “Bild”.

Rummenigge left open whether there will be further bulk purchases from the double winner. “We will now let the squad planning progress and then we will see what happens next,” said Rummenigge. “What we do also depends a bit on the demands we have.” Before last season, the squad refreshment by the strong Arturo Vidal and cup winner Douglas Costa did the Munich team just as good as the future commitments of Kingsley Coman (19 years) and Joshua Kimmich (21). Both were already convincing in the present.

Bayern are currently outstanding in all positions, in the medium term the successor to captain Philipp Lahm, who is retiring in 2018, must be arranged on the right defensive flank. Extremely high sums such as for Hummels and Sanches will continue to take the Munich hands in the future. “I think that in the coming weeks and months, the sums that we paid there will be far, far exceeded,” predicted Rummenigge.

Manchester City will probably spend a considerable part, because Guardiola wants to start his three-year period according to his ideas – and probably with Ilkay Gündogan, who is still Dortmund. “I have to get to know the Premiere League, interpret it and make a good squad as soon as possible,” said the Catalan, who recently spoke of wanting to keep his home in the heart of Munich.

“We have always been a great football club with great successes. The fact that Pep Guardiola worked here gave FC Bayern a very international look,” praised Hoeneß, who is looking forward to Ancelotti after a half-hour one-on-one meeting in the office. And the Bayern fans are looking forward to Hoeneß’ decision: Because in the summer he wants to announce whether he wants to run again for the presidency after his release from prison.

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DFB Cup history

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