MUNICH: Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany gave up trying to answer a question about what makes Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz special.
Ahead of the teams meeting in the Champions League on Wednesday, Kompany was asked what sets Wirtz and Bayern star Jamal Musiala apart and what they could learn from each other.
“You’ve obviously noticed I’m not in the mood to answer,” Kompany said Tuesday.
“From each other, I don’t know,” Kompany attempted at first before saying each player has to take his own path in his development.
He said it was a boon for Germany, before saying his players will need be at their best to counter Leverkusen in Munich.
Then he gave up.
“I’m talking but it’s easier to say nothing. I’m trying to be respectful, but guys, other questions!” Kompany said in the press conference before the first leg of the teams’ last 16 tie.
“It’s a good question,” he continued. “I would perhaps have asked it in your position, but still, perhaps you’d feel the same if you were sitting in my seat.”
Wirtz has been consistently linked with a move to Bayern, the speculation fueled by comments from Bayern powerbroker Uli Hoeneß saying he would like to see the 21-year-old attacking midfielder play for the Bavarian powerhouse one day.
Kompany said midfielder Aleksandar Pavlović was sick and will miss the game.
Bayern haven’t beaten Leverkusen in three attempts so far this season. The teams most recently drew 0-0 in Leverkusen in the Bundesliga — a game the home team dominated from start to finish. Leverkusen previously knocked Bayern out of the German Cup, while they drew their first meeting 1-1 in Munich, where Bayern had been better.
Bayern have failed to beat Leverkusen in all six games they’ve played since their former player Xabi Alonso took over as Leverkusen coach in October 2022.
Bayern coach ‘not in the mood’ for question about Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz
https://arab.news/6jf2t
Bayern coach ‘not in the mood’ for question about Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz
- “I’m talking but it’s easier to say nothing. I’m trying to be respectful, but guys, other questions!” Kompany said
- Wirtz has been consistently linked with a move to Bayern
Coach Petkovic wary as Algeria seek AFCON resurrection
- The Desert Foxes won the premier football competition in the continent a second time in 2019
- Petkovic admits Algeria are favorites to win a mini-league including Sudan, Burkina Faso and Equatorial Guinea
JOHANNESBURG: Coach Vladimir Petkovic says he will not make promises while trying to resurrect the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) fortunes of Algeria after two disastrous campaigns.
The Desert Foxes won the premier football competition in the continent a second time in 2019 when a second-minute Baghdad Bounedjah goal delivered a 1-0 final victory over Senegal in Cairo.
It was a team teeming with stars, led by Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez, and the belief was that they would go on to claim more honors.
But those dreams were never realized. Instead, the Foxes were eliminated after the first round of the 2022 and 2024 AFCONs in Cameroon and the Ivory Coast.
Not only did they fail to reach the knockout stages, they were humiliated, unable to win a match in either tournament.
Algeria lost to Equatorial Guinea in Cameroon and to Mauritania, a team that had not won an AFCON match, in the Ivory Coast.
Coach Djamel Belmadi, mastermind behind the 2019 triumph, was jettisoned. In his place came Bosnia & Herzegovina-born Petkovic, who had spent seven years guiding Switzerland.
Algeria have won 15 matches under his control, drawn three and lost two. Those results led Algeria to qualify not only for the 2025 AFCON, but also the 2026 World Cup.
Petkovic admits Algeria, who will play all their Group E matches in Rabat, are favorites to win a mini-league including Sudan, Burkina Faso and Equatorial Guinea.
“We are favorites in our group, and we must accept that responsibility. Our first goal will be to qualify for the second round, then we shall see,” he told the Algerian media.
Many pundits have listed Algeria among a short list of nations capable of going all the way in a tournament that kicks off on December 21 and reaches a climax on January 18.
But Petkovic casts aside talk of being crowned African champions a third time, saying “I never promise anything.”
- ‘Morocco favorites’ -
“What I can assure Algerians is that the team will wear the national team jersey with pride and be courageous.
“Unity is crucial. We must have the support of the entire nation. If we are divided, achieving success will be difficult.”
Mahrez, 34, now with Saudi Pro League outfit and Asian Champions League title-holders Al Ahli, echoed the cautious tone of Petkovic.
“We have to be realistic given what happened to us in the last two AFCON tournaments. We dare not fail again.
“Some observers are including us among the title favorites, but that means nothing. Morocco have to be favorites as they will be playing on home soil, backed by huge, partisan crowds.”
Unable to play at home due to a civil war that erupted in April 2023 between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Sudan defied the odds to qualify at the expense of Ghana.
Under Ghanaian coach Kwesi Appiah, the Nile Crocodiles took four points off four-time African champions Ghana.
The 64-year-old stressed the importance of a strong mindset, telling reporters that “if you go into a match thinking about the stars in the other team, you have lost it even before the kick-off.
“At the AFCON recovery is a key factor. Players need proper rest, enough sleep, ice baths and massages. They must also limit the amount of time spent using mobile phones.”
A boost for Sudan is the return of veteran forward Mohamed Abdelrahman to a squad that defender Bakhit Khamis captains.
Burkina Faso have been runners-up once and semifinalists twice from 2013 and captain and forward Bertrand Traore will be making a sixth AFCON appearance.
Traore plays for Sunderland and another Premier League striker in the squad of coach Brama Traore is Dango Ouattara, who moved to Brentford from Bournemouth this year.
Equatorial Guinea have never failed to reach the knockout stage in four previous appearances and captain Emilio Nsue was the surprise five-goal leading scorer at the last AFCON.
