The second half of 2008 at Bayern included a patchy start to the new campaign, partly attributable to injuries and a difficult pre-season, but also featured a flawless Champions League group stage and a thrilling game of catch-up in the Bundesliga, culminating in victory over leaders Hoffenheim in the penultimate game before Christmas. fcbayern.de casts an eye back over the key milestones of the last six months.
Review of 2008, part II
17 July: Just three and a half weeks ahead of the first match of the new season, the club's Euro 2008 stars finally resume training at the club, with the notable exception of injury victim Franck Ribéry. There are two new faces on the playing staff, both arriving in Munich on free transfers: Tim Borowski from Werder Bremen, and number two keeper Hans Jörg Butt from Lisbon outfit Benfica.
19 July: "Der Bomber“ has a stadium named after him. Jürgen Klinsmann's team travel to Nördlingen for the inaugural match at the Gerd-Müller-Stadion. "I'm really moved," says goalscoring legend Müller, who was born in Nördlingen.
5 August: For the second time in its two-match history, the Franz Beckenbauer Cup is won by the visitors to Munich. In a repeat of last year's score against Barcelona, Bayern fall 1-0 to Inter Milan. More serious at this stage are injuries to Martin Demichelis, Luca Toni and Tim Borowski, meaning the trio will miss the start of the season. Furthermore, Willy Sagnol is sidelined indefinitely after complicated Achilles surgery. In late August, Hamit Altintop also requires an operation as the injury misery at the club shows no sign of abating.
10 August: The first game of the new term is a real thriller, as Klinsmann's side scrape a 4-3 victory away to third division Rot-Weiß Erfurt and claim a berth in the DFB Cup second round.
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