FC Bayern Munich: Olic Joins Robben, Cluj Awaits in Romania in Champions League

Plenty of negative news is coming out of Bavaria, but at least the team is winning.

Bayern 4-2 Freiburg

The first half was beyond boring, but Bayern went into the break with a lead. Martin Demichelis headed in the first goal from a Daniel Pranjic corner.

Hamit Altintop was taken off and Daniel Van Buyten was brought on when the second half started. This allowed Anatoliy Tymoschuk to move into defensive midfield while Bastian Schweinsteiger moved into the role behind the striker and Toni Kroos moved to the wing.

The midfield had control of the game in the second half and the goals started pouring in. Mario Gomez headed into goal from another Pranjic corner.

Bayern was given a slight scare when Stefan Reisinger scored from a Putsila pass.

The third goal for the home side came shortly afterwards as Anatoliy Tymoschuk converted beautifully from a Pranjic pass.

Toni Kroos scored a stunning fourth from distance to put the final result beyond doubt.

Freiburg scored their second when Edson Braafheid put through his own net from a Reisinger pass.

Cup Draw

Bayern has been draw away to Stuttgart in the third round of the German Cup. The previous time they were drawn together in the cup, Bayern, with then coach Juergen Klinsmann, thrashed Stuttgart 5-1. Mario Gomez ironically scored the consolation goal in 2008, in his final season at Stuttgart.

Ivica Olic Injury

Olic will be out of action for at least six months and will not return to the field until near the end of the season after he suffered a horrific injury in training. He actually suffered the injury in his last international game with Croatia and aggravated it while training. He already had time off the pitch due to a broken nose and will not be around for a long time.

He will travel to America to have surgery on the knee.

Uli Hoeness, Schweini and Philipp Lahm

Hoeness recently hit out at Louis Van Gaal on German television and was backed by Franz Beckenbauer as well as Karl Heinz Rummenigge. This is what Rummenigge said about Van Gaal:

"It's very difficult to have a conversation with Louis van Gaal. He can't accept it when someone has a different opinion to him. However, you can't run a club all by yourself these days."

"I'm watching the game from the stands and I see three players scoring who should have left the club long ago according to Louis. These players are still very useful though. Take Tymoshchuk for example; he was the best man on the pitch after the break"

"There are four or five players around who have been deemed surplus to requirements, but still add something to the team. We need to keep all our players satisfied if we are to be successful."

"Louis is a very strict person. He gives you the feeling that he thinks you're a good guy, but he's having his way nonetheless. He deals with some very experienced players at Bayern and he should be a bit more cautious."

This is what Franz Beckenbauer said:

"(Hoeness) has the right to shake things up. Before everyone starts patting each other on the back, Uli intervenes. It's something he likes to do."

Louis Van Gaal actually responded to these comments:

"I'm really surprised that the president of a big club such as Bayern Munich has said this kind of things in a difficult period where we miss nine players due to injury."

"I don't want to contradict someone like Hoeness. He's been at Bayern for a very long period, while I arrived here only 16 months ago. However, I think that someone who's so important should think about the consequences of his comments before saying something like this.

"I'm extremely disappointed that the president has said this about me. I think communication is one of my strongest points.

"I never used the term second-class players to describe the players I have supposedly written off. I've always been honest to this players and have never treated them unfair."

Meanwhile Bastian Schweinsteiger is not in the mood to extend his contract while Philipp Lahm is. This is what Hoeness said about Bastian:

"Bastian certainly knows what he has got here. It is not like he is going to have to sign up for benefits.

"If our guys need more money from the board, then they will get it. We will not be tight because we know exactly how important he is for us.

"Everybody in Europe has got to start learning what they are up against with FC Bayern, and that it is not so easy (to sign our players)."

Considering that Hoeness managed top keep Franck Ribery who now feels indebted to the club, not too many people can disagree with him. December will reveal everything.

This is what Lahm had to say:

“I see no reason to leave the club. There are currently no negotiations with the leaders; we still have time.”

Meanwhile, Truus Van Gaal, Louis Van Gaal's wife, isn't happy with the Bayern fans:

"I was very angry about the supporters during the game against Freiburg. They behaved inappropriately. It was the same against Cluj. In the closing stages it is important to retain possession of the ball but the fans were jeering!."

"I already experienced this with the Ajax supporters. Bayern supporters know their football but they should also show it! My husband also wants to see beautiful football being played."

"But when there are so many players injured and still they win, then there should not be any jeering. If the club is not doing well and things are difficult, there is all the more reason to get behind the team."

Cluj vs Bayern Preview

FC Bayern is looking to get this Champions League campaign off to the best start ever in their history by collecting four wins in a row. They won four games in the group stages of 2008 under Juergen Klinsmann, but not consecutively .

As is customary these days, let's take a look at the injury list: Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Mark Van Bommel, Miroslav Klose, Holger Badstuber, Diego Contento, Rouven Sattelmeier, Breno Borges and Ivica Olic will not take part in this match.

Bayern will travel with 15 players to Romania. On the bright side, David Alaba will make the bench after coming back from a lengthy injury lay-off.

At the moment, Bayern does not have a striker on the bench. Thus, Van Buyten might take over if anything happened to Gomez.

Gomez has missed his fair share of chances, but has also scored many goals after being reintroduced to the starting line-up. Andreas Ottl & Co. feels that Bayern will be able to beat Cluj and few would disagree as Bayern hasn't lost a game for a while now.

Prediction: The back-line will suffer from a few scares and Bayern will come away with a narrow win.

Final Score: Cluj 1-2 Bayern