Friday, April 20, 2012

Munich thief leaves Madrid flat-footed

Prior to the first leg of Bayern Munich's Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena, a mystery thief reportedly stole six pairs of boots and some shirts from the visitors' dressing room. Three pairs allegedly belonged to Cristiano Ronaldo, while the others belonged to Mesut Ozil and Karim Benzema.

It may have made a difference, as in the end Bayern managed to win the match 2-1 courtesy of a last-minute winner from Mario Gomez, while Ronaldo, along with defenders Sergio Ramos and Fabio Coentrao, endured a night to forget.

Meanwhile, Marca are reporting that Bayern have failed to give any sort of explanation for the theft, despite the fact there are security cameras monitoring the dressing rooms. While it may well be a case of people going to extreme lengths for a piece of Madrid memorabilia, there is the nagging possibility that it was all just a bit of gamesmanship from the hosts.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Robben seeks spinach strength

It has not been the best of weeks for Arjen Robben. After missing a penalty in Bayern Munich's potential title-deciding defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga last Wednesday, he then failed to inspire his side past Mainz at home on Saturday.

Now the Bavarians face the visit of a far more dangerous outfit in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final: Robben's former club, Real Madrid. The Dutchman has acknowledged that his side will have to be at their best to defeat Jose Mourinho's men and reach the final, which will be played at the Allianz Arena.

For Robben the tie against Real Madrid is also a chance to finally defeat goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who famously denied him in a one-on-one in the final of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Much like Popeye, the winger could well use a can of spinach to help him through this hardest of challenges ...