Bayern Munich’s second goalkeeper Jonas Urbig had to step up and start agains 1. FC Köln in the DFB-Pokal due to captain Manuel Neuer being suspended for the match. The youngster had a remarkable performance, making 6 saves, while conceding only one goal. Ahead of Saturday’s Bundesliga game against Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern’s CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen praised his performance on the match and his development so far: “Jonas can develop really well behind Manuel Neuer and Sven Ulreich. It wasn’t an easy situation in the knockout game in Cologne – he’s from Cologne, after all! He’s fully accepted by the team, has settled in really well. We’re happy to have him here and he’s developing superbly. That didn’t surprise us,” Dressen stated (via FCBayern.com)
On his part, Bayern’s coach Vincent Kompany remembered the circumstances Urbig joined the team and his immediate good showings (FCBayern.com). “When Jonas joined us, he immediately started in the Champions League against Leverkusen. Then came Inter Milan in the quarter-finals. He never disappointed; he helped the team when we needed it. During that time, we were very calm about his appearances. It was never about Jonas – I mean that in a positive way. He is part of our team, has shown that he can help us,” Kompany said.
The coach also gave an insight on how important patience is in the development of a youngster like Urbig, and how important a role model a veteran like Manuel Neuer can be. “We don’t need to increase the pressure on him. But when you have a keeper like Manuel Neuer, you can only build Jonas up calmly and not expect him to achieve everything Neuer has achieved in his career in just one or two games. We will build him up calmly. And when his moments come again, we will have just as much confidence in Jonas as we have had up to now,” he concluded.
With the midweek DFB-Pokal match out of the way, Bayern Munich returns its focus to the Bundesliga.
In this instance, the animosity in the board room might be greater than what we will see on the pitch as Bayer Leverkusen will make the trip to the Allianz Arena to square off with league leaders.
While Bayer Leverkusen has made a strong turnaround from where it was at the beginning of the season, this group is still far from Xabi Alonso’s group of “wonder boys”, who won the Bundesliga two years ago.
Let’s dive into this match and break it all down. This is what we have on tap for the next edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show:
