Three weeks into pre-season and after three friendlies against lower league opposition, the first meaningful examination of Bayern's state of readiness comes on Wednesday evening when the double winners visit Borussia Dortmund to contest the T-Home Supercup. "It's the first real test of our credentials," warned Jürgen Klinsmann ahead of the re-run of last season's DFB German Cup final.
Bayern defeated BVB 2:1 after extra-time at the Berlin Olympic stadium back in April, with the men in yellow and black playing at home this time round. New Dortmund boss Jürgen Klopp described the game as "a first proper pulse check" ahead of the new campaign. Kick-off at Signal-Iduna Park is at 8.30 pm.
Müller and Held to present trophy
Thorsten Kinhöfer has been appointed to referee the match, and the clubs have agreed on a maximum of six substitutions each. If the scores are level after 90 minutes, the trophy will be decided on penalties. Sigi Held and Gerd Müller, legends at the respective clubs, will present the trophy to the winners.
Klinsmann intends to include all his Euro 2008 stars for the first time. "We'll take the full squad to Dortmund, and then decide locally who comes on and when," the coach told FCB.tv.
Debut for Borowski?
The Dortmund clash could see summer signing Tim Borowski pull on a Bayern shirt in anger for the first time. "It's the first match where we've had everyone available, so we're taking it seriously," announced general manager Uli Hoeneß. Added Klinsmann: "We want to give a very good account of ourselves. We need to know where each individual stands at the moment, which makes it even more exciting."
The T-Home Supercup will be broadcast live on German-language TV station Sat1, with highlights available later on FCB.tv.
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