Cup success would seal happy holidays

Just a couple of days before Christmas eve, Bayern are determined to hand themselves an appropriately seasonal gift and crown one of the most successful calendar years in the club’s history with a place in the last eight of the DFB German Cup. “If we win, we’ll enter the winter break in a positive mood. It’ll affect whether we have a happy Christmas or not,” commented Louis van Gaal on the eve of the Round of 16 showdown away to Bundesliga strugglers and long-term south German rivals VfB Stuttgart: “And that means we have to win.”

Just three days after FCB’s memorable 5-3 league victory, the sides meet again at the half-renovated arena in Stuttgart. “The aim is to contest every trophy through to the end. If we win, I’ll be satisfied, but not more,” said the 59-year-old, again lamenting the “difficult circumstances” so far this term and the club’s disappointing fifth place in the Bundesliga table.