When Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer crashed into Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong in the DFB-Pokal, it was a straight red card that played a big role in the tough 1-0 loss by the Bavarians.
In defeat, though, Bayern Munich president Herbert Hainer found many positives.
”I was in the dressing room after the game and spoke to a few players and the coach. They were disappointed, but there was also a spirit of pride – and rightly so. The 10 men ran so hard on the pitch — Konrad Laimer, for example, ran like a weasel! There was a spirit of optimism. The players know what they are capable of,” Hainer told Tz’s Hannah Raif (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “We were very annoyed that we were eliminated. The team is in good form, even when we were a man down we played our game. We have to put that behind us now. We have big goals for 2025, and the Club World Cup is already casting its first shadows: With a view to the 2026 World Cup, this is an excellent opportunity for FC Bayern to further establish itself as a club in the USA.”
Bayern Munich will get its chance to do all of that and more. If that loss did spark anything, it could have been the self-belief that the squad is good enough to fight through even the most tough circumstances.
