Let the preparations begin! On 12 December, the FC Bayern esports team will start their second season in the KONAMI eFootball.Pro League, as announced on Thursday. The Munich side will go into the campaign with the same winning trio from last season of Miguel Mestre, José Sánchez and Alex Alguacil as well as coach Matthias Luttenberger. “After an incredible past year, I can’t wait for the kick-off,” said an excited Mestre.
Reproduce last season’s performance
Never change a winning team: FC Bayern will be represented on the console by Alex Alguacil (left) Miguel Mestre (middle), José Sánchez (right) and their coach Matthias Luttenberger (bottom left) again this year.
The opening match, along with all other matchdays, will be broadcast live on the FC Bayern Esport channels, and the Bayern boys have big ambitions: “We won the trophy last season and now we can all show why we were the best team,” said Sánchez confidently. Bayern finished their debut season – which was brought to a premature end by the coronavirus pandemic – in second place but then claimed the title in the deciding KONAMI eFootball.Pro Cup tournament.
Bayern as forerunners
“After the title last season, we want to back that up,” agreed Luttenberger. Bayern were also the only team with a coach last season. “The coaching role has paid off and other clubs are now following suit. It makes it more interesting,” said the Austrian.
Higher quality in the league
That’s one of the reasons why “the quality in the league is higher than last season”, warned Mestre. Their opponents in 2020/21 will be Barcelona, Arsenal, Roma, Celtic, Schalke, Juventus and Monaco. It's not yet known who the remaining two in the ten-team league will be. “We need to reach the top six as quickly as possible and qualify for the play-offs. Then we’ll be playing for the title,” described Alguacil.
‘Can beat anyone’
Seven of Bayern’s nine opponents are known.
All four named Monaco and Juventus as the top favourites. “They have the best players in PES history in their ranks,” explained Mestre, before adding: “If we play to our normal level, we can beat anyone!” The biggest difference from last season will be that the games are played online due to the ongoing situation with coronavirus, and not in Barcelona.
“It’s a handicap,” admitted Sanchez. “We put in great performances on the stage and you never know what’s going to happen online.” Nevertheless, the Bayern team are ready to rise to the challenge. “We’re hungry for more successes,” declared Alguacil.
The anticipation for the new season is huge after an excellent debut year: