Manuel Neuer was not able to fully relax on his day off. There was no training scheduled after the successful start to the Club World Cup, a 10-0 victory over Auckland City, but the keeper and his teammate Raphaël Guerreiro chased the ball in a pickleball game. The skipper remained in competitive mode as Bayern soon face Boca Juniors in the second group match.
Neuer: Focus on our strengths
“We’re definitely expecting a good atmosphere. We saw how the match against Benfica went,” Neuer said in a talk with fcbayern.com. Boca were two goals up in a very heated match against Benfica, but it ended in a 2-2 draw. Referee César Arturo Ramos showed three red cards, two of them against the Argentinians. Neuer stressed it will be important to “stay focused and cool and concentrate on our strengths” on Saturday.
Neuer on the preparations for Boca
The preparations for the match against the long-established club from Buenos Aires are in full swing after the day off on Monday. “We were able to recharge our batteries and then trained as usual again,” said Neuer, who gave an insight into day-to-day training: “We’re getting more and more focused as the game approaches, in terms of analysis of the opposition too, we know exactly what we’ll need in the match. We keep increasing the intensity before reducing it a little on the day before the match because the temperatures too play a role.”
The new format of the Club World Cup is special for Neuer: “We’ve watched the games so far. Of course it always depends on our journeys and training,” revealed the 39-year-old.
“Teams from South America are not to be underestimated”
It is hard to identify a group of favourites after the first few matches. “We’ll see how all teams fare and get along with the conditions. And the knockout stage will be something else,” said Neuer: “Of course the teams from Europe are the usual suspects, but the teams from South America are not to be underestimated.” With this approach to the duel with Boca Juniors, Bayern want to book a berth in the round of 16 with a game to spare.
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