Bayern Munich’s high-profile keeper Oliver Kahn warned of over-confidence ahead of today’s German Cup final against Borussia Dortmund, the first trophy toward a possible treble this season.
Bayern, 10 points ahead in the Bundesliga with five games to go and already into the UEFA Cup semi-finals against Zenit St. Petersburg, are looking more and more likely to take all three titles provided they can beat Dortmund. Bayern beat Dortmund 5-0 on Sunday, but Kahn said that result could spell over-confidence.
“It’s a final and anything that happened before will have no bearing on it even if we recently beat them 5-0 and they are having a poor season,” said Kahn, who will be playing his last German Cup match before retirement at the end of the season. “We shouldn’t think it will be a walk in the park.”
Dortmund, the 1997 European Champions League winners under Bayern’s current coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, are only 13th in the league and have nothing to lose.
“In a final such as this they [Dortmund] have absolutely no pressure on them and in these circumstances they could easily put in an incredible performance. We have to be really focused,” Kahn said.
Kahn did not play in Wednesday’s 3-1 victory at Eintracht Frankfurt, but comes back into the side for this cup final at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium where Bayern hope to capture their 13th title. As for the treble, general manager Uli Hoeness was full of optimism for Bayern’s season run-in.
“This team is remarkable for the fact they can always find another gear and never give up even after falling behind. They stay focused and keep going and more than anything else, they keep looking for goals right to the end,” Hoeness said about their Frankfurt performance.
Hitzfeld said: “What our rivals do is less important to us now,” implying it was up to Bayern not to slip up by keeping up the brand of quality soccer that has put them on the verge of three titles.
Against Dortmund, Bayern will be without Hamit Altintop, who has a foot injury, and a question mark also hangs over Willy Sagnol, who was substituted late in the game against Frankfurt, also with a foot problem.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
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