A near-unstoppable Franck Ribery worked like a demon on the left wing in the 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final first leg, just like he’s done for the last ten years at FC Bayern. Accordingly, head coach Jupp Heynckes was full of praise afterwards: “He’s 35 years old and had an outstanding game.”
The Frenchman never showed his age, darting from the rear to the front and back again for 90 minutes, all the while creating considerable problems for the men from Madrid. “He’s a great player with real footballing class, and he proved it once again,” continued Heynckes.
Spaniards impressed
Heynckes wasn’t the only one to be impressed by the winger’s performance. “Ribery a big, German nightmare,” was the headline in Spain’s Marcanewspaper, for example. “Ribery looks ten years younger. He was bold, persistent and fast,” wrote Madrid’s AS. Ribery was involved in virtually every Munich attack.
He had the most attempts on goal (four, like Robert Lewandowski) and crossed the ball seven times, more than anyone else. In addition, the old hand was involved in 19 tackles, the best tally of any Bayern player. Only one wish remained unfulfilled: a goal. But with Ribery so full of enthusiasm, Bayern can certainly look forward to the return leg with tremendous optimism. That’s also why the winger himself was defiant:
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