Julian Nagelsmann: "Joshua Kimmich has had contact with someone from his environment suspected to be infected with coronavirus. He missed training today as a precaution. We'll know more during the day"
Nagelsmann on the personnel: "Kingsley Coman is struggling with slight muscular problems. He'll miss tomorrow's game as a precaution. Choupo and Phonzie have just returned from their national teams. They'll travel to Augsburg then we'll see. Phonzie is unlikely to start"
JN on Nübel statements regarding sharing game time with Neuer: "It's always good when players have self-confidence and ambition. We have the world's best goalkeeper and I don't want to take him off as long as he's fit. We'll discuss this when it's time. Now I'm happy with Manu"
Nagelsmann on Süle: "Niki has mild symptoms. It's a similar situation to me, he can get out of his quarantine after 14 days"
JN on Covid: Of course the topic is annoying, it annoys everyone. We're playing against Augsburg in 24 hours, but no one has asked about the game yet. All talk is about Corona. In the past, people talked 3G only when it comes to mobile phone networks, now it's something different
JN: "I treat the players equally, vaccinated or unvaccinated. For me they are not better or worse people. I also talk to them (about it), but my main focus is the sporting topics. That's why I'm employed as a football coach and not as a pandemic officer"
JN: "The (unvaccinated) players are allowed to go to the hotel. At the beginning of the week they couldn't, then the decision changed for business travelers. It depends on the state. But it's not that easy for politicians to always make the right decisions"
JN on Augsburg: "It's not clear what system they will be using, whether a back three or four. When Augsburg played against Bayern, they always tried to counter-attack and play with quick transitions. We are prepared for several options"
JN on Goretzka's fitness after the injury he suffered against Liechtenstein: "Things are looking good for Leon. He has trained three times already and no longer has problems. He will be available tomorrow"
JN on Coman playing RWB for France: "He has played the position with us a number of times. Now he has also played it for France. Against Finland he had to do more defensive runs, which affected his muscles a bit. He will probably be back against Kiev."
JN on Kimmich: "In 48 hours (after he left his quarantine) you can see a person, we don't live in Alaska. It's not entirely unlikely that you could meet a person who has Corona. But I can assure you that it did not happen during his quarantine. We'll wait for the result"
JN on the criticism of Qatar deal: "I've already expressed my opinion many times. I'm a fan of solving problems through dialogue. In this case, it's also good to try to change things through dialogue. As far as the annual general meeting is concerned, this is a topic for the club
• • •
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• What do you say about the fact that the FC Bayern coaching staff celebrates you as the best #6 in the world?
Kimmich: "Great coaching staff! But jokes aside, I really feel a lot of trust. Vincent Kompany told me in our first conversation that he sees me as a central player in the defensive midfield position. "If you're the best, you'll play there," he said. Of course, I had to prove his trust with my performances"
• Although you're an extremely important player for Vincent Kompany, he's never intervened in the public debate about your future. He could have used a press conference to say, "Kimmich has to stay, I absolutely need him." But he didn't.
Kimmich: "I think that's very clever of him. If a coach starts to praise players conspicuously, then conversely, he should also criticize them publicly. He doesn't do that either. He doesn't let anything get out of hand. And I don't think a player needs to be praised publicly either. What's important is that you feel the internal appreciation"
• Did he [Kompany] try to persuade you to stay or at least get an update on the status of the negotiations?
Kimmich: "We talked about my situation once, but it wasn't as if he wanted to influence me. He told me what it was like for him as a player at Manchester City; he once faced a similar question: extend his contract or try something new? He told me about his experiences, his thoughts at the time, his role as a leader and role model – that was more valuable to me than if he had simply tried to persuade me. Of course, he said he would like me to stay in Munich. But he understood that my situation was somewhat complex."
Josip Stanišić in @kicker interview with @FrankLinkesch
On how annoying it is to play two extra games in the play-offs: "It's certainly not annoying, we all like to play football. We have a good squad in which all players are needed. I was injured for five months, two additional games are good for me personally. In general, it's always better for footballers to stay in the rhythm, so two games are a higher burden, but not negative. There will be two exciting games against Celtic"
Stanišić: "Of course we wanted to finish among the top 8 and win all 8 games. That didn't happen, but we didn't finish 23rd either. We don't have to put our heads in the sand"
Stanišić on whether he experienced the atmosphere at Celtic Park before: "In 2017 I played Youth League and then I was able to go to the stadium in the night when the first team played there. That was exceptional. We want to win both games but will definitely not underestimate Celtic."
Jamal Musiala in an end-of-year interview with @SPORTBILD
On his happiest moment in 2024: "When we advanced against Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Then when Phonzy scored in Madrid, which put us 1-0 ahead in the second leg of the semi-finals. And actually the entire Euros was a moment of happiness: every goal, every encounter with the fans. My goal in the opening match against Scotland, the win in the round of 16 against Denmark. I was happy until the Spain game"
[@cfbayern, @altobelli13]
• Was the Quarterfinal exit against Spain your saddest moment of the year?
Musiala: "In fact, both the defeat against Spain and the last-minute elimination in the semi-final second leg of the Champions League in Madrid against Real were very tough. After the defeat against Spain, my head was empty. I hadn't expected that, everything was going well, the team's thoughts were very positive. Sometimes you can feel when a team is not in good form. Then a defeat doesn't hurt quite as much. But when it feels unfair, it hurts very much."
Musiala on Cucurella's handball: "I often dreamed about the handball scene. I can't change it anymore. When I see it somewhere today, I always click away - for example on Instagram. I can't see it anymore"
• Would your shot in the 106th minute have given Germany the lead?
Musiala: "My feeling is yes. It felt like the ball had gone into the goal. But: we'll never know. It's still bitter. The energy in the team was so high"
Jan-Christian Dreesen in an end-of-year interview with @tzmuenchen
• On the defeat against Mainz: "We didn't play well in Mainz, we're all aware of that. Joshua Kimmich put it accurately that we need to take the situation seriously and sharpen up. The last game of the year is important, we want to finish the year properly, in other words: beat Leipzig."
[@hannalein3]
• Kimmich spoke of a "decisive moment" in the season - is that accurate?
Dreesen: "It's an important moment because we obviously want to defend our lead at the top. That includes making it clear to the competition that they cannot catch us. We had eight injured players in Mainz, but we are not complaining, FC Bayern never did that. We definitely had enough quality on the pitch to win the game."
• How does it feel to have Leverkusen breathing down your neck again, four points behind you?
Dreesen: "Nothing at all for now."
• But Christmas could get hectic..
Dreesen: "Oh, you know, I'm not even thinking about that. I have a lot of faith in Vincent Kompany and in our team. And we don't let ourselves get unsettled so easily"
Oliver Kahn in @SPORTBILD interview, his first since his Bayern dismissal: "It says a lot when one of the most coveted coaches in Europe, who led a team full of difficult stars in Paris to the Champions League final and won the Champions League with Chelsea, has to fight so many difficulties in Munich. Bayer Leverkusen have played an extraordinary season in the Bundesliga. They have an unbelievable winning run, regularly winning games towards the end and in stoppage time. At some point this will scratch Bayern's self-image, but you have to recognize that another team is playing a season of the century. This was the only way to knock FC Bayern off their throne at some point. In Europe, things are looking different. The chance to be among the best four in Europe is there"
[@altobelli13, @cfbayern]
Kahn on the decision to part ways with Tuchel: "I can't judge what problems there were because I'm no longer involved. I always perceived him positively as an open conversation partner who developed during his successful time in Paris and Chelsea. His international experience can now be an important factor in reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League."
Kahn on how he will follow Bayern against Arsenal: "I'm very interested. I'm still a fan of FC Bayern and that will always remain the case. I no longer follow the day-to-day business, I'm focused on other topics and traveling a lot. But whenever it's possible, I will of course watch the games."
Former Arsenal and Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann on tonight's game: "Arsenal are slight favourites. But Bayern are still a team with players who can always make the difference and also have the experience to win big tight games. From my perspective, they have more weaknesses than Arsenal. The organization, for example. Inconsistency is mostly a matter of organization. Arsenal also maintain a high pace throughout most positions. That is lacking at Bayern. And Arsenal are defensively more stable."
[@kessler_philipp]
Lehmann: "FC Bayern are unpredictable this season. Sometimes they deliver good results, then they lose unexpectedly. Arsenal, on the other hand, are very consistent – both in the Champions League and the Premier League. Though it must be said that they haven't been truly challenged in the Champions League yet. I was at the Round of 16 match against Porto in the stadium, and Arsenal were not really convincing. They only advanced through a penalty shootout. They didn't have real solutions upfront. But I think Bayern will suit them better. They're a team that usually wants to control the game. So, I don't see this as a disadvantage for Arsenal. But as I said, Bayern still have very good players who can win games on their own."
Lehmann: "As a goal scorer, Harry Kane is known and feared at Arsenal. Then Bayern have Sané, Coman, Gnabry, or Musiala; individuals who can make the difference internationally. Bayern still have very good individual players. And with Neuer as the goalkeeper, they have an advantage. These will definitely be very good games."