Bayern contest their first pre-season friendly away to SV Lippstadt on Sunday, the club’s first match with Jürgen Klinsmann in charge. The game is, on paper at least, no more than a low-key warm-up, but it has generated a frenzy of interest in the sleepy town of 67,000, located between Dortmund and Bielefeld in the Westphalia region. “By our standards, this is gigantic,” confirmed SV Lippstadt official Kai Hartelt.
The benefit match away to Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge’s former club is the highlight in a programme marking 100 years of football in Lippstadt. Takings from the match will go to support youth development projects at the club, relegated to the Westphalia regional league last term.
Stadium enlarged
The club has been busily preparing for its biggest event in recent times. Temporary stands have been erected, doubling the capacity at the Am Waldschlösschen stadium from 4,000 to 8,000. A special online ticketing system was installed to cope with the anticipated demand.
However, the additional seating will still not be enough to satisfy everyone. The club has received no fewer than 300 requests for accreditation from reporters. “We could probably have filled half the stadium with media representatives,” Hartelt reflected. (Subscribers to our premium channel FCB.tv can watch the game live (German language commentary) from 15.55 CET, with highlights later in the day.)
Treat for the crowd
Bayern will be without Euro 2008 stars Miroslav Klose, Philipp Lahm, Lukas Podolski, Tim Borowski, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Luca Toni, Hamit Altintop and the injured Franck Ribéry. Lucio, Willy Sagnol and Martin Demichelis, who only resumed training on Wednesday, will also be rested. “We can’t expect anyone to be fully up to speed after only a few days,” Klinsmann argued.
However, the new head coach promised spectators a great day out: “We’ll approach the game as a very, very tough training session with high intensity. Naturally, we want to put on a show for the folk at the stadium.“ Established stars such as Zé Roberto, Mark van Bommel and new number one keeper Michael Rensing, plus gifted youngsters Mehmet Ekici, Deniz Yilmaz, Holger Badstuder, Thomas Müller and trialist Joseph Ngwenya, will be determined to hand Klinsmann a successful debut.
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