The Lederhosen-clad Manuel Neuer was the first of the stars to enter Käfer’s Wiesn-Schänke, one of the grandest marquees at the Oktoberfest, on Sunday lunchtime. The rest of the team soon followed, before the players and coaching staff, their families and the board of directors raised a glass to the historic treble-winning season, Pep Guardiola’s first visit to the traditional festival, and the club’s rise to the top of the Bundesliga with a draw in Leverkusen the previous day. “Open fire! The next game isn’t for another two weeks. They should enjoy their beer,” Karl-Heinz Rummenigge declared on the evening prior to the annual team day out at the Oktoberfest. The party enjoyed a fine and convivial afternoon accompanied by hearty cuisine and the obligatory beer or two, Guardiola wearing a traditional hat to go with his Lederhosen. The only players unable to attend were flu victims Mario Mandzukic and Jan Kirchhoff, and Holger Badstuber, who is still recovering from surgery to reconstruct a cruciate ligament.
Extra training for Götze
Most of the players spent Sunday morning preparing for the Oktoberfest visit, but Mario Götze reported to the Säbener Strasse for an additional workout. The summer signing, supervised by fitness coach Lorenzo Buenaventura, focused his efforts on dribbling and shooting practice. Tom Starke and Lukas Raeder kept goal.
Quote of the day
“If I was forced to play like that every week, it wouldn’t increase my enthusiasm for football.”
(Leverkusen captain Simon Rolfes on his team’s uncharacteristic defensive tactics against Bayern)
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