A huge wave of enthusiasm is breaking over FC Bayern at the moment. Fully 70,000 spectators packed the Allianz Arena on each of the two days at the Audi Cup, and the fans also flocked to the club’s first public training session in the Bavarian summer holidays on Thursday morning. Some 2,500 fans, the maximum permitted on the site at any one time, watched the stars go about their work at close hand. The trip to the Säbener Strasse was well worth it too, as Philipp Lahm, Manuel Neuer and Co busily signed autographs and posed for souvenir photos for a long time after the workout.
Robben and Thiago back with the squad
Apart from injured quartet Franck Ribéry, Javi Martínez, Holger Badstuber and Jan Kirchhoff, all the senior squad players were present for Thursday’s session, although in the wake of the energy-sapping Audi Cup, the drills were restricted to light regeneration exercise. Arjen Robben and Thiago were rested for the two-day tournament but rejoined their team-mates on Thursday. There is no training on Friday, but Pep Guardiola will supervise his men on Saturday in the final workout prior to the DFB Cup first round tie away to fifth-tier FC Nöttingen.
Audi Cup a TV hit
State broadcaster ZDF has reported excellent viewing figures for Bayern’s matches at the Audi Cup. FCB’s 1-0 victory over Real Madrid on Wednesday attracted 6.32 million viewers, a market share of 24.6 percent, while the 3-0 win against AC Milan in Tuesday’s semi-final was watched by 5.90 million viewers, a share of 21.6 percent. Both broadcasts were the highest-rating TV programmes in Germany on the day. The Audi Cup was even more popular on TV than the previous weekend’s German Supercup, which attracted 5.76 million viewers.
Quote of the day
“He has a great engine and that'll definitely be good for our game.”
(Thomas Müller on new signing Douglas Costa’s explosive acceleration)
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