Hitzfeld set to name full-strength side for final

Right on time for the first final of the season, Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld is set to pick from a full squad, with only minor injuries clouding the horizon. Two days ahead of the DFB German Cup final against Borussia Dortmund at the Berlin Olympic stadium, both Miroslav Klose and Marcell Jansen reported fit and trained with the squad. The Germany pair missed last Sunday’s 5-0 victory against Dortmund and 3-1 midweek success in Frankfurt.

“It was important to rest everything we could possibly rest, so we’ll pick the team from a full set of options on Saturday,” general manager Uli Hoeneß commented after Wednesday’s win against Eintracht. “Provided we’re not careless, we’ll win in Berlin as well,” the board director declared.

Question-mark over Sagnol

Oliver Kahn will undoubtedly make sure his team-mates do not underestimate crisis club Borussia. The captain sat out the trip to Frankfurt “purely as a precaution, because I had problems with my neck the week before and feared it might have come back.“ Kahn, who has been pursuing his normal intensive training schedule since Monday, issued a warning to his team-mates on Thursday after sensing “we were too relaxed, too laid-back in training. The alarm bells are ringing."

The entire senior squad will travel to Berlin on Friday morning, including Hamit Altintop, although the Turkey star is still out of action after fracturing a metatarsal. The only question-mark concerns Willy Sagnol, who bruised a toe during the Frankfurt clash. “It could be a close-run thing for Saturday,” the player confessed, although he does not expect to be sidelined for long.