"April is a nice month in every respect. Both nature and football come to life," a cheerful Thomas Müller told fcbayern.com. Müller has every reason to look forward to the upcoming weeks with keen anticipation. The native Bavarian is buoyed by his goal and two victories for the Germany national team before the decisive phase of the season.
FC Bayern might seal their fifth consecutive Bundesliga title early on, but Madrid giants Real await them in the Champions League last eight, and they take on Borussia Dortmund in the DFB Cup semi-finals. The packed schedule is both a blessing and a curse, according to Müller: "It's great fun to have plenty of matches in April, it means that you're still in the race for every trophy," explained the world champion. "On the other hand there will be days and moments when you wish you had a bit more time."
Start against Augsburg
The German record champions start off with a Bundesliga home match against FC Augsburg on Saturday at 15.30 CET, the first of nine fixtures in 30 days. The Bavarians will understandably have the Champions League encounter with Real Madrid somewhere in their minds in the light of a comfortable 13-point cushion at the top of the Bundesliga table.
However, Müller is certain his team will have the right attitude on Saturday: "Your personal motivation in a match against Real may be different from that in a league match against Augsburg. That's clear, that's human. But when it kicks off you just want to win. You want to have good moves, you want to demonstrate your quality out on the pitch. In the circumstances, heart and gut feeling are more decisive than your head."
Keeping up the feeling
The fans have reason to look forward to a great start to the decisive phase as Müller thinks a success against Augsburg will be important for the encounters that follow. "We don't want to lose the feeling of winning, this feeling of invincibility. We want to retain it and keep it up for as long as possible," declared the 27-year-old: "It will help us in the upcoming matches, when it's do-or-die in the Champions League."
Topics of this article