Our first Football Shirt Friday went well, so let’s do it again. Here’s this week’s offerings…
Football Shirt Friday: Bayern, Everton, Newcastle, and a special tribute to Xavi
Tag: Bayern Munich
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s expert analysis of Bayern v Barca: leg two
You did it, Pep. You found a way to beat Barcelona and still send your club’s supporters away feeling like they just watched their dog get run over by a freight train that drove through their kitchen. I Zlink your work here is done.
Jerome Boateng’s congratulatory letter to Lionel Messi
Dear Leo,
Congratulations on beating us to reach another Champions League final. You caused me great embarrassment in the first leg of our semifinal, but I just wanted you to know that there are no hard feelings and I am honored to have shared the pitch with you once more.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s expert analysis of Barca v Bayern: leg one
Well. Well. Well. Not such a genius when you’re going against Messi, are you Pep? Zlahahaha!
Leo Messi dismantles Bayern, makes the Camp Nou explode with tremendous goal
It took him 77 minutes, but when Lionel Messi finally ended Manuel Neuer’s goalkeeping masterclass in the first leg of Barcelona and Bayern Munich’s Champions League semifinal, he set fire to the whole school.
Just three minutes after his opening goal, he did this — turning Jerome Boateng into a pile of dust and chipping Neuer to realize what he couldn’t quite do in the World Cup final last summer. But beyond that simplistic description of events, there are no words to fully capture what Messi did in that moment. Just watch.
Bayern fans’ tifo turns Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben into “Badman and Robben”
While Bayern Munich’s executives were trying to get Jurgen Klopp to accept their flowers, Bayern’s fans were creating a brilliant tifo display for the DFB Pokal semifinal against Borussia Dortmund.
Jurgen Klopp turns down Bayern Munich’s goodbye flowers in favor of a fight
With Jurgen Klopp set to leave Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season, Bayern Munich, his most formidable rivals, wanted to pay tribute to him before the two sides met in the DFB Pokal semifinals. But Klopp doesn’t want their gifts. He wants a fight.
Bayern go above and beyond their fans’ giant “Never give up!” tifo message to dismantle Porto
I hate to say I told you so, but I totally 100% told you so. Bayern came back from a shock 3-1 loss to Porto in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal to beat them 6-1 in the second leg (five Bayern goals scored before halftime). This was Pep Guardiola’s plan all along.
Before the match, worried Bayern supporters urged their team to “Never give up!” with a giant tifo at one end of the Allianz Arena, but an hour later their domination of Porto made that assertion look comical. It was so overwhelming that even Guardiola himself couldn’t watch the devastation he had wrought.
Bayern Munich cruelly allow Porto to hope and dream after first leg
Two early goals from Ricardo Quaresma and a third from Jackson Martinez in the 65th minute gave Porto a shocking 3-1 home win against Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal. On the surface, this is a dream start for Porto that gives them reason to believe that they can do something that few people thought they could: advance past Bayern to the semifinals. Instead, it’s probably just Bayern being incredibly mean.
Pep Guardiola is using Zidane to sabotage Real Madrid (probably)
Pep Guardiola has agreed to host a group of French coaches, including Real Madrid Castilla Zinedine Zidane, at Bayern Munich’s training complex this week. According to ESPN FC and AS, the French delegation (which also includes Claude Makelele and Willy Sagnol) are observing Guardoila’s training sessions this week in an effort to soak up the expert knowledge on offer as they work towards their UEFA Pro Level Three Licenses.
Given Guardiola’s lasting allegiance to Barcelona, it seems highly unlikely that he would actively try and help the man tipped to be Real Madrid’s next manager. So it stands to reason that this is all an elaborate ruse to feed Zidane (and fellow ex-Real Madrid player Makelele?) false information.
Some top tips that Guardiola is probably sharing with Zidane: