Bayern 3 Frankfurt 1
Champions open in thrilling style
01.08.2003 | An astounding first half display brimming with pace, power and precision earned Bayern three points from their opening league fixture at home to Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday evening.
The champions blew away their newly-promoted opponents at the start, goals from the outstanding Zé Roberto, Hasan Salihamidzic and Claudio Pizarro establishing a healthy 3-0 lead at half-time. Bayern dropped at least two gears after the break and the visitors pulled one back through Skela, but the victory was never in doubt and the capacity 63,000 crowd at the Olympic stadium applauded an at times thrilling display from their heroes.
Ottmar Hitzfeld sent out the starting line-up most observers had expected. The back four in front of Oliver Kahn more or less picked itself: with Kuffour, Sagnol, Lizarazu and Demichelis sidelined due to injury or fitness problems, Thomas Linke and Robert Kovac took the central positions with newcomer Tobias Rau and fit-again Hasan Salihamidzic at full-back.
The battle for midfield places at the club is intense, and youth got the nod over experience on the night, Mehmet Scholl and Jens Jeremies warming the bench in favour of Sebastian Deisler and Owen Hargreaves who were "brighter and fitter," the coach said. Messrs Ballack, Zé Roberto, Pizarro and Elber completed the eleven.
Newly-promoted Frankfurt, overwhelming favourites for an immediate return to the second division, could hardly have imagined a more daunting opening than a visit to the double winners, and the side's nerves will not have been calmed by the pre-match programme. DFL President Werner Hackmann declared the season officially open after Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge showed off the championship shield with the vow, "and we mean to keep it," before Michael Ballack was presented with the Footballer of the Year award.
Even allowing for the calibre of their opponents, there can hardly have been a better first half from Bayern in many a year. The champions assumed majestic command from the very first minute, with the energetic Zé, mobile Deisler and solid Rau the best of a very good bunch.
Salihamidzic, Elber and Rau all had chances in the first ten minutes, and the only surprise was that the first goal took 16 minutes to arrive, Zé Roberto answering his close season critics with a snap shot from the edge of the box after Wiedener's weak defensive header.
The second arrived just four minutes later: Alex Schur fouled the outstanding Zé, and Salihamidzic rose to guide home Deisler's superbly flighted free-kick. Chances followed for Zé, Pizarro and Ballack in a phase where the massive gulf in class between the sides was brutally clear for all to see.
And Bayern duly increased their advantage to 3-0 with three minutes left before the break, Pizarro rising above the hapless Wiedener to meet Rau's excellent cross and plant a firm header past Nikolov.
Frankfurt coach Willi Reimann, in his 400th Bundesliga match as player and coach, went for damage limitation after half-time, bringing on Dragusha and Lexa for the more attacking minded Jones and Bürger, chalking up a Bundesliga first by fielding three Albanians in the same line-up.
And one of these, skilled midfielder Erwin Skela, pulled a goal back for the visitors with a superbly curled 25 metre free-kick after 68 minutes. Skela had got his sights in from a similar position on the hour but saw his shot rebound from the angle of post and bar as Bayern let the tempo drop a little.
It did not stop the champions creating chances: Pizarro twice and Zé might have done better, while Eintracht captain Keller rightly saw the yellow card after an ugly challenge on Zé. The Brazilian made way for Scholl on 72 minutes, before Hargreaves soiled an otherwise excellent display with a booking three minutes later.
The game entered a settled phase after the furious stuff on offer earlier, and Hitzfeld took the opportunity to give Willy Sagnol and Jeremies a run out after 83 minutes, bringing off Hargreaves and Salihamidzic.
Finally i don't have to watch stupid Lech-cup games etc.
