Tuesday slot for Dortmund clash

The German FA has announced the precise scheduling of Bayern’s DFB Cup semi-final showdown at home to Borussia Dortmund: the re-run of last year’s final will take place at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday 28 April at 20:30 CET. The second semi between Arminia Bielefeld and VfL Wolfsburg will be played at the same time the next day. Both games will be broadcast live by ARD and Sky. This season’s cup final at Berlin Olympiastadion is on 30 May.

Cup heroes back in Munich

For once, the stars had time to revel and reflect on the late evening cup triumph against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Rather than transferring straight to the airport for an immediate flight home following an away match, the holders broke with their normal routine and spent a second night in nearby Cologne. The FCB party flew back to Munich on Thursday morning. Pep Guardiola has ordered his men to report back for training in a closed session on Friday morning.

Cup clash sets new TV record

10.22 million viewers in Germany watched Bayern’s cup success against Bayer on state first channel ARD, the biggest viewing audience of the football season so far. The previous best was 8.78 million viewers for the Dortmund - Hoffenheim clash the day before. Wednesday’s match in Leverkusen was broadcast in 186 countries around the globe.

Quote of the day

“The coach is a genius. He has lots of plans, not just A, B or C. I have the impression he’s got the whole alphabet covered.”
(Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge on Pep Guardiola)