Goodbye to the island: How Bayern are taking the spirit of Jeju to Hong Kong

It was late at night on Jeju and still the air conditioning was whirring in the press room at the World Cup Stadium in Seogwipo. On the podium, Vincent Kompany praised his team following the 2-1 friendly win for showing “good intensity” despite the high temperatures and humidity. After an almost 12-hour flight to a different time zone and several tough training sessions in extreme conditions, that was anything but a given. “It was brutally warm today,” revealed Tom Bischof after the game, which kicked off at 8 pm local time. The sun may have already set, but the slight breeze from the nearby Pacific Ocean failed to provide much cooling.

Very young Bayern team

And so the contest against South Korean top-flight club and Red&Gold partner Jeju SK FC was one in which, especially in the first half, the hosts were able to spring some surprises. It was soon apparent that Jeju were used to the conditions and were also in the rhythm of playing matches, as they’re currently seventh in the K League. Bayern, on the other hand, initially found it hard to build up tempo and controlled periods of possession. What’s more, the starting XI had never played together before: youngsters such as 16-year-olds Filip Pavić and Bastian Assomo lined up alongside World Cup participants like Hiroki Ito and Minjae Kim. “It was interesting because we got to see several players who don’t play that often,” said Kompany, who changed all 10 outfield players over the course of the match.

World Cup returnees provide boost

In the second half, the Bavarians cemented their dominance and added physical superiority to technical. World Cup returnee Luis Díaz brought his usual flair, while other World Cup returnees were also introduced. However, a third Bayern goal to add to the first-half strikes from Felipe Chávez and Assomo proved elusive.

The final whistle also meant goodbye to Jeju Island and South Korea. FC Bayern had enjoyed “perfect conditions” on the volcanic island, as president Herbert Hainer said. At 7:30 CEST on Thursday, the FC Bayern squad will travel another 1,750 kilometres north-west for the second stage of the Audi Summer Tour. In Hong Kong they face another acid test before returning home to Munich. “Aston Villa will probably be different opponents,” said Nathaniel  Brown. “That’s going to be a really good test for us, where we’ll see where we’re at, and we want to seize it.” You can also watch that match on FC Bayern TV PLUS. “We planned it very precisely, almost scientifically, as regards to the game time,” revealed Kompany. “You can expect that the boys who played 30 minutes today will play 60 minutes, and vice versa.”

A trip to create special team spirit

As Germany defender Jonathan Tah already told fcbayern.com, the intense time together on the trip will hopefully lead to a special team spirit, like at the Club World Cup in the USA last year, which formed an important basis for a successful campaign. “We had a feeling last season where we believed we could really beat anyone,” said Tah. Now it’s about earning that again – from Thursday in Hong Kong.