League leaders pushed but resume with win

Hansa Rostock 1 Bayern 2


Bayern looked to be cruising in Friday’s Bundesliga restart fixture, but strugglers Hansa made a real fight of it in the proverbial game of two halves.

Franck Ribery silenced the majority of the 29,000 capacity crowd at the DKB Arena on the blustery Baltic coast with the opening goal after just 11 minutes, ushering in an uninterrupted spell of Bayern dominance crowned by Luca Toni’s tenth of the season two minutes from the interval.

Rostock captain Enrico Kern pulled one back seven minutes after half-time as the sides swapped roles in a frantic second period, but the leaders held on for the three points and have laid down the gauntlet to rivals Bremen and the pursuing pack.

Demichelis recalled

Ottmar Hitzfeld made a single change to the side which beat Wuppertal 5-2 in the Cup last Tuesday, restoring Argentine enforcer Martin Demichelis at centre-half alongside Lucio in place of midweek goalscorer Daniel van Buyten.

That meant a first Bundesliga start in ten months for France star Willy Sagnol, and another outing in wide midfield ahead of the right-back for Jose Ernesto Sosa, with Hamit Altintop consigned to the bench and Bastian Schweinsteiger serving a one-match ban.

Elsewhere, Ribery and Philipp Lahm lined up on the left with Ze Roberto and Mark van Bommel in the centre, behind the usual front two of Toni and Miroslav Klose.

One-sided first half

Struggling Hansa made a bright enough start, but Toni and Ze had already loosed off warning shots at keeper Stefan Wächter’s goal before Ze exchanged passes with Klose on the left edge of the box and hared to the byline, delivering an inviting centre for the unmarked Ribery to side-foot home.

With Hansa on the ropes, Klose squandered two glorious chances to double the advantage, electing to pass when slipping the ball past Wächter looked the obvious solution, before failing to beat the keeper with an angled drive.

The visitors operated a containment policy for a long spell after that, before Toni’s drive from outside the box brought a decent stop from Wächter on the half-hour.

Luca’s tenth of term

Rostock finally directed an effort at the target on 33 minutes, although Oliver Kahn had little difficulty plucking Christian Rahn’s looping header from under the bar, and Bayern now picked up the tempo again as Lucio blasted goalwards and Ribery’s shot from Van Bommel’s pass was somehow scrambled clear.

But the Reds were not to be denied for long, and Toni thumped home with his left foot to make it 2-0 on 43 minutes after Demichelis’ run from Van Bommel’s free-kick drew the Italian’s marker, Brazilian centre-back Orestes.

Hansa fightback

Ribery came close in the last move of the first period, but the France superstar failed to appear for the second half with a tweaked hamstring and was replaced by Altintop, with Sosa switching to the left.

The line-up change seemed to throw Bayern out of their stride, and in any case Hansa were a team transformed after the interval, driven on by Rahn’s promptings and the physical presence of towering striker Viktor Agali.

The Reds suddenly looked vulnerable, and Hansa skipper Enrico Kern duly pulled one back on 52 minutes. Kahn initially beat out the striker’s thumping drive, but Rahn returned the loose ball against the bar and Kern stroked into the empty net.

Frantic finish

Young midfielder Fin Bartels was only denied on the hour by Ze’s desperate intervention and Marc Stein’s long throw into the box almost left Gledson with a sight of goal, prompting a concerned Hitzfeld to withdraw Klose for holding midfielder Andi Ottl a quarter of an hour from the end.

The switch allowed the league leaders to draw Hansa’s sting, Toni scooping over the bar with only Wächter to beat and directing a header narrowly wide as the Reds restored parity towards the end.

Live match report for fcbayern.de by Chris Hamley


Hansa Rostock - Bayern Munich 1-2 (H-T: 0-2)
Hansa Rostock: Wächter - Langen, Orsetes, Gledson, Stein - Rathgeb - Bartels, Yelen (Dorn 83), Rahn (Cetkovic 83) - Kern, Agali (Hähnge 88)
Bayern Munich: Kahn - Sagnol, Lucio, Demichelis, Lahm – Sosa, van Bommel, Zé Roberto, Ribery (Altintop 46) – Klose (Ottl 77), Toni
Substitutes: Dreher, Van Buyten, Lell, Kroos, Schlaudraff
Referee: Florian Meyer (Burgdorf)
Spectators: 29,000 (capacity)
Goals: 0-1 Ribery (11), 0-2 Toni (43), 1-2 Kern (52)
Yellow Cards: Agali, Stein, Rahn / Van Bommel, Sagnol

Hitzfeld: I’m delighted with the three points

Hansa Rostock pushed Bayern all the way in Friday evening’s Bundesliga restart fixture, but Ottmar Hitzfeld declared himself “very pleased” after his men came away with a 2-1 victory. “We’ve taken the three points, which is what we came here for,“ the head coach remarked, although he was not entirely satisfied with his team. “We showed two sides to our character. I’m happy with our fighting spirit but not with the football we played.“ Influential midfielder Mark van Bommel agreed: “We were totally in control before half-time, but we only muddled through the second half.“

Reaction to Hansa Rostock v Bayern:

Ottmar Hitzfeld: “I’m very pleased. We’ve taken the three points, which is what we came here for. It would have been a lot easier for us if we hadn’t conceded the early goal after half-time. That made us a little nervous. Rostock were suddenly transformed, but we stopped playing football and just started hitting long balls. I’m happy with our fighting spirit but not with the football we played. We showed two sides to our character today: we played very well in the first half and should have been further ahead, but we lost our way after they pulled one back and our opponents grew in stature, although we prevented them creating anything clear-cut.“

Mark van Bommel: “We could have made life a lot easier for ourselves. Rostock’s goal gave them a real boost. We were totally in control before half-time, but we only muddled through the second half.“

Willy Sagnol: “Playing good football was difficult on that pitch. But we’ve come away with the three points and that’s what counts. We should really have been three or four up at half-time.“

Frank Pagelsdorf (Rostock coach): “We were lucky not to be three or four down at half-time, but I have to give my team great credit for coming back from two down and playing some good football in the second half, which isn’t necessarily easy on this pitch. It’s a shame we weren’t rewarded for our second half display.“

Enrico Kern (Rostock): “After the way we came back at them in the second half and made a fight of it, you can’t say we’ve started badly. The second half has given us plenty to build on. Bayern cleverly protected their lead and they’ve gone home with the points.“

Christian Rahn (Rostock): “At half-time, we said to ourselves we needed to go back out and give it everything in front of a capacity crowd. We pulled one back but it wasn’t to be. We need to build on the positives from the game. This is a tremendous group of players, and we’ll definitely stay up.“

Hoeneß still considering future role for Kahn

Иако е легенда овој човек,јас мислам дека му е време да се пензионира и да му го 
препушти местото на некој помлад голман,како што во случајов е младата Германска надеж
Михаел Ренсинг,иначе еве некоја новост и за Оливер Кан.

02.02.2008
Oliver Kahn hardly gives the impression of a man approaching the end of a 20-year professional career in the game, throwing himself into every training session with the energy of a far younger man and demanding as much commitment from himself and his team-mates as ever. Kahn has appeared appropriately determined in Bayern's two post-winter break matches so far.

The 38-year-old has lost none of his onfield vigour either, as demonstrated by Tuesday's Cup encounter with Wuppertal at the Schalke Arena. After the third division side fired a shock equaliser to make the score 2-2, the keeper angrily blasted a ball into the stands, and booted its replacement wildly upfield. Kahn naturally received a yellow card for his characteristic outburst.

Hitzfeld a believer

There was a similar scene in Rostock on Friday, as Enrico Kern initially saw his shot brilliantly blocked by Kahn, but netted at the second attempt. The keeper gesticulated furiously and launched a verbal volley at his statuesque defenders. "I was angry about conceding, especially as I'd just made a great save," the three-time World Goalkeeper of the Year explained: "Winning the first match was important.“

Kahn is determined to end his Bayern career with silverware. "I'll try and give it everything I have for a couple more months," the 38-year-old declared at the winter training camp in Marbella. Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld is expecting great things of his captain in the remainder of the season. "I've rarely taken charge of a player like Olli Kahn. He never, ever goes easy on himself.“

Break from the game

"My body feels like it could go on for another four or five years," Kahn commented on Friday, "but let's not go there.“ The former Germany star will definitely hang up his gloves this summer, although he has no fixed plans for the future. "There are many options, but I don't think it would be right to commit myself yet.“

However, Kahn is determined to take a break from the game. "I need to work through a few things, take a new perspective, get out into the world. Keeping goal for 20 years has been hard work, and I need to answer one question in peace: do I need something as stressful as that again?“

Hoeneß sees FCB role for Kahn

Should Kahn opt for a return to the game in some capacity, he would be welcome to call on Uli Hoeneß. "I think we'd be well advised to consider bringing Oliver back to the club in some capacity," the FCB general manager commented in Rostock on Friday. Not so long ago, Hoeneß publicly contemplated training Kahn to be his successor. "Intelligent and clever chaps like him don't grow on trees," explained Hoeneß.