World Cups, European Championships, Champions League titles, countless league and cup titles – when the Bayern Legends meet Liverpool Legends at Anfield on Saturday (live from 16:00 CET on FC Bayern TV), the combined honours of the players involved will be almost immeasurable.
“It’s a great feeling and it makes you realise what you achieved for the club. Not just for us at Bayern but also for Liverpool,” said former Bayern striker Giovane Elber with pride. “How many players have played football here at Bayern? And now you’re here among the 20 who get to play this match. It’ll be very nice and I’m looking forward to every minute I spend on the pitch,” added the 2001 Champions League winner ahead of the charity match.
Six World Cup winners in Bayern team
The Bayern Legends will be led by Lothar Matthäus, the only German to win the World Player of the Year award. In coaches Klaus Augenthaler and Hans Pflügler, who manage the Legends team at Bayern, there are two other 1990 World Cup winners in the squad that will be representing the club in Liverpool from Friday to Sunday.
Bixente Lizarazu, Paulo Sergio and Xabi Alonso – who will play a half for each team – are the other previous World Cup winners in the Munich squad. Other names include goalkeepers Jörg Butt and Uwe Gospodarek, Martin Demichelis, Michael Tarnat, Andreas Ottl along with strikers Alexander Zickler, Roy Makaay and Luca Toni. The whole squad boasts a combined total of over 1,200 Champions League appearances.
Augenthaler praises Anfield
The Reds’ squad is equally impressive, though. As well as Alonso there are seven other members of the Champions League-winning squad of 2005, including club icon Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek. Other Liverpool Legends include Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Dirk Kuyt and Patrik Berger. The team is being coached by Liverpool’s record goal scorer Ian Rush, who scored 346 goals in 660 games.
“It’s nice to see old faces and to play at a sold-out Anfield,” commented Augenthaler. The long-serving Bayern captain has already experienced the famous stadium as both a player (in 1981 with Bayern) and as a coach (in 2005 with Leverkusen) and knows what his team can expect. “I played in England a lot but the atmosphere at Liverpool is the best I’ve ever experienced.”
Yet despite the impressive setting, the Bayern Legends want to “give a good account” of themselves, stressed Augenthaler. Elber agrees: “Even as ex-players, you still don’t want to lose. You want to give your best and win." However, the main thing is “that we have fun, the fans have fun and it’s an interesting game,” added Elber. Another thing: a German team have never won at Anfield before. “It’s a chance for us to write history,” said Augenthaler with a grin.
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