Created on 12-12-2012 at 00:00 AM
Summer signing Dante has been showered with praise from all sides recently, as he has emerged as a real find in the choppy waters of the transfer market, and has added immense stability to the Bayern defence with his positional sense and ability to read the play. It seems as though nothing can derail the 29-year-old at the moment - not even the severe Bavarian winter: “I'm fine with it, it's perfectly okay," he insisted. However, the serene Brazilian will surely sense a racing pulse and stirred emotions on Friday when his former Borussia Mönchengladbach team-mates visit the Allianz Arena in the Bundesliga.
“Yes, it's definitely a special game for me. My time at Gladbach opened the door to FC Bayern in the first place," Dante told FCB.tv on Wednesday. The centre-back made 93 top-flight appearances for Borussia in a three and a half year stay, before switching to Germany's biggest club in July this year. He proved an instant hit, and is the only outfield player to start every one of Bayern's Bundesliga fixtures so far. He was also an ever-present in the Champions League until being granted a rest against Borisov.
Seizing the day
Gladbach general manager Max Eberl declared himself “not surprised. In his time with us [in Mönchengladbach] he grew into a top performer and leading personality." For all that, there were no guarantees he would hit the ground running at such high speed on arriving in Munich, as FCB boss Jupp Heynckes recently noted: “But he took his chance straight away."
Respected journal kicker recently called Dante “Mr Consistency," an opinion shared by Heynckes: “If Dante is fit and healthy, he plays," the boss declared. That's almost certain to be the case on Friday in the reunion with “many friends" from Gladbach, the player said, although his former team-mates can expect no early Christmas presents: “We’re in good shape and want to round off the first half of the season with a win."