With eight players away on international duty and a clutch sidelined with injury, it has been a quiet week at the Säbener Strasse. On the plus side, everyone still in Munich has been refilling depleted energy reserves ahead of the final stretch of the campaign. fcbayern.de spoke to coach Jürgen Klinsmann about the benefits of a break, Luca Toni, and the tasks ahead in the Bundesliga and Champions League.
Interview: Jürgen Klinsmann
fcbayern: Jürgen, any news of Luca Toni?
Jürgen Klinsmann: "Yes, and it's good news too. He's training twice a day in Bologna, and we're hearing nothing but positive feedback from rehab coach Thomas Wilhelmi, who's with him. Everything's going extremely well, and we expect back here for team training on Monday.“
fcbayern: Massimo Oddo is training again, and Hamit Altintop will return shortly. The break for internationals seems to be helping the club.
Klinsmann: "You can definitely say that. Apart from Miroslav Klose, we'll soon have everyone available again. Obviously, almost half the squad are absent, but a change may be as good as a rest for them. We're getting through really hard and focused work with the players we have here. In this respect, a short break in the programme can be helpful.“
fcbayern: The break will also allow batteries to be charged ahead of challenging away games in Wolfsburg and Barcelona.
Klinsmann: "That's right. Wolfsburg will be decisive in determining the destination of the Bundesliga title and Champions League places for next season. There's quite a lot riding on the game. And the result in Wolfsburg will set our mood for the trip to Barcelona. We'll need all the confidence we can get. We'll need belief, and the knowledge we're in good shape. So you can't really separate the two matches. We need total effort against Wolfsburg, the team will have to go to the limit.“
fcbayern: How much of a disadvantage is it that the squad will not come together until just two days ahead of the Wolfsburg clash?
Klinsmann: "In fact, we can't really start focusing on Wolfsburg until the Friday. With the exception of the South Americans, we'll have the players back on Thursday, but they'll only be good for regeneration work. It's a very short space of time, but we know all about this situation at Bayern. It would be nice if they all returned uninjured – and on the back of wins.“
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