Gustavo: It's not a normal away game

He was at Bayern for two and a half years and won everything there was to win: the Champions League, the Bundesliga, the DFB Cup and the German Super Cup. However, Luiz Gustavo left the treble winners in mid-August and joined VfL Wolfsburg. The 26-year-old Brazilian returns to the Allianz Arena with his new club on Saturday. He spoke to official FCB journal Bayern Magazin about how much he is looking forward to the game.

Interview: Luiz Gustavo

Luiz, welcome back to Munich! How are you feeling about running out at ‘your’ Allianz Arena in a VfL shirt?
Luiz Gustavo: It'll certainly be very different compared to a normal away game. I had two and a half seasons with Bayern, and now I'm back as a member of the opposing team. But it's also a very good feeling. We're playing against an extremely good team, and that's exactly what you want as a footballer. On top of that, I'll meet up again with a lot of the friends I made during my time with Bayern.

Even without Luiz Gustavo, how far do you think Bayern could go this season?
After winning the treble last season, Bayern are the best club in the world - you can be as definitive as that. So every opposing team will try and beat them. But they have so much quality, and if they pull together, they could do it all over again.

You started really well in Wolfsburg, but you've since been dismissed twice in quick succession for second bookable offences. How could that happen?
It's the first time in my life that I've been sent off twice in three matches. In two and a half years with Bayern, I didn't pick up a single red card or second yellow. But that's football. I try and learn from things like this, and prevent them happening again. There's nothing more I can do.

Does it feel a little odd knowing you’re going head-to-head in challenges with players who were treble-winning team-mates just a few weeks ago?
No, it won't feel odd, because we played against each other often enough in training, though obviously it'll be something different again in a competitive match.

You often got together with your fellow countrymen Dante and Rafinha in Munich to make music. Do you miss them and making music with them, or are Wolfsburg's Brazilians just as musically inclined?
Those two will be very good friends for the rest of my life, and I met them in Munich. But it's not only them, it's also Franck Ribéry, David Alaba and many others. We were always a very good group, the main reason why we were so successful. Naldo, Diego and Felipe aren't quite as musical as Dante and Rafinha, although that would be hard in any case (laughs). Those two love music and really enjoy playing instruments.