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Bayern hoping to maintain European form in Bundesliga

Bayern Munich attempt to prove their win over Fiorentina in the Champions League was no fluke when they take on Wolfsburg this weekend, while surprise package Hoffenheim aim to down leaders Hamburg.

Defending champions Bayern picked up their first win in four league games last Saturday when they poached a late 1-0 win at Karlsruhe before beating Fiorentina 3-0 at Munich’s Allianz Arena on Tuesday.

But captain Mark van Bommel says the team now need three more points against Wolfsburg in Munich today to improve on their lowly position of 11th in the Bundesliga.

“We are playing again like we did last year,” said van Bommel recalling how Bayern finished undefeated in the league last season. “Everyone knows what he has to do and the spirit has raised in the team.”

Defeats to both Werder Bremen and Hanover in September had seen Bayern slide down the table and coach Jurgen Klinsmann came under fire.

But Wolfsburg will not make life easy as they are fifth in the table.

“We must try to beat Wolfsburg, but it will not be an easy game for us,” said Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

“Wolfsburg have improved dramatically in the last year and invested heavily, they are a team to be taken seriously,” he said.

PLASTER CAST

Bayern will be without defender Philipp Lahm who is in a plaster cast after damaging his ankle against Fiorentina.

While Wolfsburg will be missing Italy World Cup winner Cristian Zaccardo who also has an ankle injury, his Azzurri team-mate Andrea Barzagli should be fit to play in the defense.

Tommorow, high-flying league leaders Hamburg face second-placed Hoffenheim, who were only promoted to the Bundesliga last season.

Hoffenheim’s progress from the lowest levels of amateur ranks has been stunning. They have gone from the third to first division without spending more than a season in each lower league.

Much of the success has to do with club backer Dietmar Hopp investing 150 million euros (US$192 million) over the past decade.

One of Germany’s wealthiest people and a co-founder of a large software company, Hopp invested wisely, with much of the money going into infrastructure. Hopp once played for his hometown club and the small local stadium the club used in the lower leagues is named after him.

FEARED

Virtually unknown last season, Hoffenheim’s strikers are now feared. Vedad Ibisevic was mostly a reserve in the second division but he is enjoying a breakthrough year. Demba Ba, a Senegalese born in France, has scored five goals this season.

Although many outsiders see Hoffenheim finishing in the top third of the league, Hopp is more modest.

“We’ll be pleased if we manage to avoid relegation without too much stress,” Hopp said in this week’s issue of Der Spiegel magazine.

Elsewhere Stuttgart face VfL Bochum tomorrow while sixth-placed Schalke 04 have less than 48 hours between their UEFA Cup clash with Paris St Germain on Thursday and today’s visit of third-from-bottom Arminia Bielefeld.

Midfielders Carlos Grossmueller and Gustavo Varela were demoted to the reserve team in midweek for disciplinary reasons while Germany defender Christian Pander is still struggling with a calf injury.
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