Unusual DFB-Pokal trip: Bayern make a rare exception in Wiesbaden | OneFootball

The mission to win the cup begins for FC Bayern with a trip to Hesse. But after the final whistle, the team faces a rather unusual journey home.

For the cup match against Wehen Wiesbaden, FC Bayern is resorting to a measure that is extremely rare in the everyday life of the record champions. According to Bild, the return trip after the match will not be by plane, but by team bus—a consequence of the night flight ban at Munich Airport.

The team will travel as usual by charter flight from Oberpfaffenhofen. After landing in Frankfurt, the Munich squad will check into their team hotel before heading to the stadium in Wiesbaden. But unlike usual, Bayern will forgo the return flight after the match. Instead, an overnight bus ride awaits—about 460 kilometers back to Munich, five hours or more on the highway.

According to Bild, the club deliberately decided against an overnight stay to allow the players to recover as quickly as possible in their familiar environment. The next competitive match at FC Augsburg is already waiting on Saturday evening.

Kompany doesn’t want to take any risks

Vincent Kompany leaves no doubt about the goal for the cup. “The hunger is definitely there. But I already felt that last season. Now the hunger has become even greater,” the coach explained at the press conference before the match. He’s not a fan of rotation: “I don’t like the word rotation. We want to go to Berlin, we want to reach the final.”

Even though the favorites are clear, the coach warns against the third-division side. “I always have to look it up geographically. I know it’s near Frankfurt. When you look at the lower leagues, sometimes mistakes are made,” the 39-year-old said at first. But above all, he is impressed by SV Wehen Wiesbaden’s quick transitions: “What they do very well are counterattacks. They do it at a high level with one or two touches, a lot of depth, and a good sense for space.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.