In an odd sort of way, the build-up to a new campaign at Bayern is almost more intense than the regular season itself. The last six weeks have included 11 warm-up matches, hours and hours of training, countless team and individual talks, sponsor appointments and photo shoots, but all that will be filed as history when the treble winners entertain Borussia Mönchengladbach at the Allianz Arena in the official opening match of the 2013/14 Bundesliga season on Friday (Live in English from 8.30 pm CET on FCB.tv Web Radio). At long last, points are at stake again, “and I'm excited. I think we're ready for the challenge," Pep Guardiola said on Thursday lunchtime.
The Spaniard makes his Bundesliga debut as Bayern coach. He would be a little nervous, he acknowledged, but overall he is simply “happy" that it now starts for real. “We've had a very, very good pre-season," said Guardiola, while insisting he and his men were still in a process of adjustment: “A lot of our players had a very short pre-season."
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