FC Bayern Munich wins friendly match against FC Rottach-Egern 15:0

FC Bayern Munich treated fans to a goal fest in the debut of German international Nathaniel Brown. At the conclusion of their training camp at Tegernsee, the star-studded squad, featuring several World Cup players, triumphed 15-0 (6-0) against local amateur club FC Rottach-Egern in front of honorary president Uli Hoeneß. In the sweltering summer heat, the many children among the 2,500 spectators were especially delighted by the goals, autographs, and selfies.

With temperatures well over 30 degrees Celsius, Hoeneß, wearing a white cap, preferred to stay in the shade during the grueling match, but afterwards he shared some thoughts on recent events. The 74-year-old explicitly welcomed the European football associations’ threat to boycott the World Cup: “Personally, I believe that the Europeans don’t yet realize how strong they actually are. A competition without Europeans is worthless.” The 55 members of the European Football Union had unanimously threatened a boycott if FIFA, under President Gianni Infantino, did not abandon its planned investor deal. “If the Europeans are truly united, if they work consistently on this, then Mr. Infantino will not get away with this plan.”

Konrad Laimer extends his contract with FC Bayern

: An Alpine Maradona with a special role

The exceptionally versatile Konrad Laimer is a key player in FC Bayern’s system. Now he has extended his contract – after even Uli Hoeneß intervened.

By Philipp Schneider

Hoeneß declined to comment specifically on the FIFA boss. “I do have a particular, very strong opinion. But it’s too early for me to make it public,” said the Bayern patron. His opinion is “definitely” against Infantino, Hoeneß confirmed when asked. It is also too early to talk about possible successors in the office of FIFA president.

Hoeneß also had something to say about sporting director Max Eberl: He would currently put the chances of Eberl being allowed to continue working for the record German football champions beyond his contract, which runs until 2027, at “100 percent.” In May, Hoeneß had stated the chances of Eberl staying on as “60:40” in a Spiegel podcast. He admitted on Thursday that he was “incredibly annoyed with himself” afterward: “That I was so naive and thought that this interview, which took place on Friday evening in Berlin, would be published the following Friday, because Spiegel usually has a week’s lead time.” However, the interview was published on Saturday morning, which meant he “didn’t treat Max well before the cup final.” He added that he had apologized to Eberl. Eberl himself had reported on Wednesday that they had a discussion and that his relationship with honorary president Hoeneß was very good.

… Olise, Kane, and Díaz are the best attacking duo in the world, says Uli Hoeneß, and therefore not for sale.

Hoeneß also had some strong words to say about the latest transfer rumors. The feared attacking trio of Michael Olise, Harry Kane, and Luis Díaz will definitely remain at FC Bayern. Olise, who is reportedly being courted by Real Madrid, has three years left on his contract: “That’s not even a question for me. The Emperor of China could come along now, and we wouldn’t talk to him anymore.” The same applies to the Colombian Díaz and, generally speaking, to all players. “We’d have to be crazy. You spend 60 or 70 million, maybe get 120. And then you chase after others, without knowing how they’ll fare with us.” The record champions are in the “fortunate position of having the best trio in the world with Díaz, Kane, and Olise,” Hoeneß emphasized. The Munich club would “have to be out of their minds to even consider selling one of them.”

The preceding match had been less spectacular than the dismissals of the FCB honorary president: In the first half, with Bayern fielding World Cup returnee Minjae Kim and potential sale candidates João Palhinha and Sacha Boey, Arijon Ibrahimovic (2), Felipe Chavez (2), Filip Pavic, and Maycon Cardozo found the net. Bayern coach Vincent Kompany gradually brought on new players in the second half. Cardozo, Armindo Sieb (2), Palhinha, Bastian Assomo, Bara Ndiaye, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Joshua Kimmich, and Skender Nuraj further increased the scoreline.

The significance of the test match was appropriately limited; Kompany expects more reliable insights from the two friendlies on the Asian tour: on Tuesday in South Korea against Jeju SK Football Club and three days later in Hong Kong against Europa League winners Aston Villa. [This last sentence appears to be incomplete and possibly nonsensical in the original German text. It has been omitted as it is in the translation.]