The return of an historical rivalry: Bayern Munich.
Real Madrid and Bayern Munich know each other perfectly well, despite not having faced each other in a European competition in a long time. The classic clash returns when both teams happen to be going through a very different phase. Real Madrid are living a time of change and successful progress, while the Germans rely mostly on their waning stars, but still prove to be a dangerous team with a lot to offer. The Champions League returns to the Bernabéu and Real Madrid will fight hard to win their favourite trophy once more. Bayern Munich may not be the dominant team of the Bundesliga, but they are still strong, currently holding the fourth position behind Werder Bremmen, Shalke 04 and Stuttgart, who are complicating things for Felix Magath's men in a competition that relies heavily on regularity. Nevertheless, they are only three points away from the top spot and they are the best performing team in home games. The principal difference to the team this season is the absence of their star, Michael Ballack, who is currently playing for Mourinho's Chelsea. His substitute is a young Polish player named Lucas Podolski, a left footed forward with a natural instinct to score. He is normally accompanied in the attack by veterans Pizarro and Roy Makaay. Their midfield is guarded by two important players, Van Bommel -known to Spanish crowds for his brief spell at Barcelona- and Schweinsteiger -who has a similar style to Effenberg's. Their defense is comprised by Lahm as left back -the best in his position after Roberto Carlos- Sagnol as right back and Lucio. Legendary keeper Oliver Kahn still guards their goal. The Teutonic squad also holds other quality players, such as Sebastián Deisler, -who has never really had the chance of shining due to his frailty- Owen Hargreaves Salihamidzic -one of the surviving members from the classic clashes with the Whites- and Roque Santa Cruz, a very good attacking alternative for the Germans. The first match will be played in the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium either the 20 or 21 February 2007, and the return game will take place in Munich on the 6 or 7 March. The winners of the second round of the competition will enter a new draw held on 9 March in Athens to decide which teams face each other in the quarterfinals.
Bayern Munich will be Real Madrid's rival in the last 16 of the Champions League. The German side are an "old foe" of the Whites, against whom they've played some of the most vibrant and exciting final rounds of the competition in recent years. Bayern still have some of the players they had in their ranks when they faced Real Madrid three consecutive years. They are an aggressive and creative side that stands strong in their new stadium, the Allianz Arena, but that proves much weaker in away games.
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SQUAD
Nº | PLAYER | POSITION | AGE |
1 | Oliver Kahn | Goalkeeper | 37 |
22 | Michel Rensing | Goalkeeper | 24 |
29 | Bernd Dreher | Goalkeeper | 40 |
2 | Willy Sagnol | Defender | 29 |
3 | Lucio | Defender | 28 |
5 | Daniel van Buyten | Defender | 28 |
18 | Andreas Görlitz | Defender | 24 |
21 | Philipp Lahm | Defender | 23 |
25 | Valérien Ismael | Defender | 31 |
30 | Christian Lell | Defender | 22 |
6 | Martin Demichelis | Midfielder | 26 |
7 | Mehmet Scholl | Midfielder | 36 |
8 | Ali Karimi | Midfielder | 28 |
17 | Van Bommel | Midfielder | 29 |
19 | Julio dos Santos | Midfielder | 23 |
20 | Hasan Salihamidzic | Midfielder | 29 |
23 | Owen Hargreaves | Midfielder | 25 |
26 | Sebastian Deisler | Midfielder | 26 |
31 | Schweinsteiger | Midfielder | 22 |
36 | Stephan Fürstner | Midfielder | 19 |
39 | Andreas Ottl | Midfielder | 21 |
10 | Roy Makaay | Forward | 31 |
11 | Lukas Podolski | Forward | 21 |
14 | Claudio Pizarro | Forward | 28 |
24 | Roque Santa Cruz | Forward | 25 |
Coach: Felix Magath. | |||
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