Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was in a buoyant mood when he came to the FC Bayern TV studio for a one-to-one interview and that was not diminished by the goalless draw at the weekend. "That can happen at times. But that's no reason to be critical towards the team," said a happy chairman.
The current performances of the team are one reason why Rummenigge takes a positive view of FC Bayern's birthday on 27 February. "We can be very happy the birthday child is doing well. We're fit as a fiddle," declared the 62-year-old in summing up the club's 118th anniversary.
Maintain focus
FCB are away to Bayer Leverkusen in the semi-finals of the DFB Cup on 17 April, have one foot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League after a 5-0 victory in the first leg, and the record champions have a 19-point lead in the league after 24 games. However, the gap to the competitors is no reason for premature celebration according to Rummenigge.
"We'll only celebrate when it's mathematically certain. We can wait," said the former world class striker who does not fear a dip in concentration from the players in spite of the lead: "It's not the first time and it's all to do with experience. And also, Jupp Heynckes won't tolerate any nonsense."
Full interview online
Rummenigge is looking forward to April and the big games in that month with great anticipation. "That's when the titles are handed out and hopefully we'll have our say in the matter. The reason we do the job is because we are emotional about things sometimes and a little bit nervous in the stands. But I think we've been very spoiled by our team in recent years."
The one-to-one interview will be broadcast on Wednesday at 20.00 CET on FC Bayern TV LIVE (available to all free of charge this week). Rummenigge looks at the DFB Cup semi-final and the opponents from Leverkusen. He also talks about the state of play with Manuel Neuer, James and Thomas Müller, and assesses where FCB are in comparison with other top European teams.
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