Bayern eye double for Pep’s farewell News

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Bayern eye double for Pep’s farewell

By Daily Sports on May 9, 2016

Bayern Munich plan to bid farewell to coach Pep Guardiola with the league and cup double, as they prepare to start the party next Saturday after winning a historic fourth straight Bundesliga title.

Bayern became the first club to win the German league four times in a row on Saturday after their 2-1 win at Bavarian neighbours Ingolstadt, when Robert Lewandowski scored both goals.

Their hopes of winning the Champions League were ended on Tuesday in the semifinals by Atletico Madrid, but Bayern can win the domestic double for the 11th time, having won both the league and cup eight times since 2000.

They face Borussia Dortmund, who finished as the Bundesliga’s runners-up, in the German Cup final on May 21 at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.

The Bayern squad partied on the way back to Munich, but the real festivities start on Saturday after Guardiola’s final home game against relegated Hanover 96, before coaching Manchester City next season.

Guardiola will need a spare suit at the Allianz Arena when the players receive over-sized full beer glasses after the final whistle and the coach is always the preferred candidate for the traditional ‘beer shower’.

Once captain Philipp Lahm has lifted the Bundesliga trophy in Munich, the focus will be beating Dortmund in Berlin.

“Next week, we’ll celebrate with our fans in Munich, then it’s the cup final and if we win that, then the season will have been really good,” said striker Robert Lewandowski, the league’s top scorer with 29 goals.

Germany star Thomas Mueller said winning the title did not compensate for their European heartbreak, but that a weight had been lifted.

“Four titles in a row, that something which has never happened before in the history of the Bundesliga and some really great teams have played in this league,” said Mueller.

“It’s an exceptional thing and not something we need to talk down.

“Now a huge weight has been lifted and there is certain satisfaction, it always looks hard to win the title back in August.”

Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was proud to see Bayern crowned champions for the 26th time.

“I remember the team featuring Franz Beckenbauer, Sepp Maier, Gerd Mueller. They achieved it three times. Our team is on four now and that’s something historic,” said Rummenigge.

“I have to pay the coach and the team a huge compliment.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t manage it on Tuesday in the Champions League, but the title has now healed the wound a bit.”

Rummenigge predicts fireworks against Dortmund in the cup final.

“The game is important for us and will unquestionably be a highlight of the season which all of football in Germany can look forward to,” he added.

“It’s a 50-50 game and we’ll need to play well to reach the double.

“We have made history, but when you are in the final, you want to win it.” © AFP

•Photo shows outgoing Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola.

Source Daily Sports

Posted May 9, 2016