Germany and Bayern; A Reflection On Franz Beckenbauer

Germany led 2-0 against Denmark until their defence collapsed.

Denmark 2-2 Germany

The German youngsters started off well and took the lead in the 19th minute. A defence splitting ball from Thomas Hitzlsperger found Mario Gomez who turned it in for 1-0. The second goal came in the 73rd minute from Patrick Helmes. Gomez and Helmes, especially the former, then missed a hatful of chances.

In the last 15 minutes, however, Joachim Loew's decision to leave out Benedikt Howedes and Mats Hummels backfired. Dennis Rommedahl's goal came about mainly because the German defence gave the Dane attackers all the time and space in the world to score.The equalizing goal was scored by Mads Junker following a keeping blunder by Tim Wiese.

Bayern 0-0 Real Madrid

Bayern, especially Franck Ribery, showcased their talents but ended up empty handed due to their inability to beat Iker Casillas. Sergio Ramos was given a torrid time by Ribery. Bayern's defence had a few shaky "moments" but otherwise escaped unharmed. Bayern were dominant, especially the midfield.

Despite his brilliance, Ribery chose to shoot at times when passing would have been the better option. Bayern at the end lost out on penalties, 4-2. Edson Braafheid and Hamit Altintop's penalties were saved by Casillas. Holger Badstuber also missed a penalty in the opening minutes following a foul by Ramos on Ribery in the box.

It seems that Jose Mourinho has already taught his team two lessons: how to play uninteresting football and how to win.

Der Kaiser

The match between Bayern and Real was, after all, in honour of none other than Franz Beckenbauer. The story of the incident which took place when Beckenbauer was 12 never gets old. Der Kaiser's initial intention was to join 1860 Munich from SC Munich 1906. However, in a youth tournament, his ear was clipped by an 1860 player. At that moment, he decided to play for FC Bayern.

Bayern is now a club built in the shadow of  the Great Kaiser. He won three European Cups and numerous trophies with the club. He was the President until 2009. He is now the honourary President of the club. Words are not enough to describe this legend's contribution to Bayern. No player is ever bigger than the club...

The Kaiser though, comes close.

Bayern

On a different note, Bayern's season begins with a German Cup tie against Germania Windeck on the 16th. Two upsets have already taken place with the exits of St Pauli at the hands of Chemnitz and Hanover at the hands of SV Elversberg.

I will be hoping that Windeck does not cause a major upset!