MUNICH: The Club World Cup may have hampered some clubs’ pre-season preparations but for Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany the month-long tournament helped with a quick and seamless integration of new signings.
The Bavarians had new arrivals Jonathan Tah and Tom Bischof in the squad for the June 14 to July 13 tournament in the United States, where they were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Paris St. Germain.
Several teams, including Borussia Dortmund, have said they felt the impact of a shorter-than-usual pre-season training period because of their participation in the Club World Cup.
The tournament left several top European teams with only four weeks to rest and prepare for the new season. Most top European leagues usually end in late May.
“The Club World Cup certainly helped in the integration of newcomers,” Kompany told a press conference on Friday ahead of Saturday’s league game at Hoffenheim.
“There is this feeling that players like Jonathan Tah and Tom Bischof have been here longer (than they have been).
“Maybe it has to do with the fact that we were living together for an entire month.
“We don’t really know how the Club World Cup will influence the season but we stayed together for a month and that is rare for a club. If we can use that then we will,” he added.
Whatever influence it may have had the champions have hit the ground running, winning all their domestic and European matches and topping the Bundesliga with nine points after three games.
They made a winning start in the Champions League after forward Harry Kane scored once in either half to guide Bayern to a 3-1 victory over Chelsea in their league phase opener on Wednesday.
“But to grow more together we have to win against Hoffenheim,” Kompany said. “We are playing well, scoring goals and have worked hard to deserve this momentum. We have to keep working in order to maintain this momentum.”
Club World Cup helped new Bayern players integrate quickly, says Kompany
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Club World Cup helped new Bayern players integrate quickly, says Kompany
- “The Club World Cup certainly helped in the integration of newcomers,” Kompany told a press conference
- “There is this feeling that players like Jonathan Tah and Tom Bischof have been here longer”
Sabalenka debuts engagement ring during Indian Wells win
- World number one sported the striking oval-cut diamond ring for the first time in competition after getting engaged to Georgios Frangulis late on Tuesday
INDIAN WELLS, California: Aryna Sabalenka’s performance in a 6-4 6-2 second-round win over Japan’s Himeno Sakatsume was not the only thing that dazzled at Indian Wells on Friday, with the world number one also showing off her shiny new engagement ring.
The 27-year-old sported the striking oval-cut diamond ring for the first time in competition after getting engaged to Georgios Frangulis late on Tuesday.
“It feels super comfortable and shiny,” she told reporters.
“We double-checked if there was a possibility to lose the diamond, and there was none. I was pretty confident wearing it, hoping it might even distract my opponent.”
Sabalenka, who has made the final of the WTA 1000 event twice in the last three years, said that while the proposal came as a complete surprise to her, the entire team was in on the engagement secret.
“I saw Georgios and I was crying half of the time, because I thought that I looked ugly, not prepared, and this is such a beautiful moment,” she said.
“I stopped everything, and I asked the videographer and the photographer to make sure that my face was not (in the pictures), just the ring, and side views and from the back, just so you guys wouldn’t be shocked by the way I looked.
“But it was a beautiful moment.”
Sabalenka was asked what she has learned about Frangulis, the CEO of global health-food brand OakBerry, and what he has learned about her since they began dating in 2024.
“What I have learned about him? He likes Oakberry a lot,” the four-times Grand Slam champion said. “What he has learned about me? That I’m crazy,” she added with a laugh.
