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| June 2, 2005 | Thursday | Rabi-us-Sani 24, 1426 |
Bayern Munich set new World Cup arena alight
MUNICH, June 1: Bayern Munich set their new World Cup stadium aglow inside and out with a blazing 4-2 victory over a Germany XI on Tuesday. Sebastian Deisler, one of five Bayern players representing club rather than country, opened the scoring in the fifth minute and a Robert Huth own goal made it 2-0 just before the break.
A Tim Borowski penalty brought Juergen Klinsmann’s side back into the game at the start of the second half but Willy Sagnol and Hasan Salihamidzic scored either side of a Miroslav Klose blast to clinch a Bayern win.
The result sealed an ideal housewarming for the breathtaking new Allianz Arena, the 280 million euro ($345.1 million) venue that will stage the opening ceremony and the inaugural match at the 2006 World Cup.
“That was a nice present for the fans,” Klinsmann told a news conference.
“The result didn’t matter at all. We were just trying to get some rhythm after the players had come back from holiday.”
The stadium was designed by Swiss architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron and built in 2-1/2 years.
By day, the greyish-white oval Arena could be described as looking like a rubber dinghy afloat on a motorway junction.
By night, it is something else entirely, with the outer skin glowing red if Bayern Munich are playing or blue when city rivals TSV 1860 are the home side.
The chameleon-like ground will be literally a beacon for fans.
The match was an opportunity for Bayern to celebrate their league and cup double, while giving the fans a first taste of what life will be like following the move from the Olympic Stadium.
The presence of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Deisler, Torsten Frings, Oliver Kahn and Michael Ballack in the red shirts of Bayern rather than the white of the national side tipped the balance.
Klinsmann must have been worried at the way his weakened side failed to keep the ball in the first half after Schweinsteiger had beaten the offside trap and teed up Deisler to slide in the opening goal.
Bayern controlled the game throughout the first half but could only manage one more goal, when Huth deflected in Schweinsteiger’s cross-shot.
Martin Demichelis gave away a marginal penalty with a foul on Klose and the Germany side enjoyed a few minutes of possession before Bayern regained their appetite.
After a handful of near-misses, Sagnol struck from the edge of the box and the ball went in off the post to make it 3-1 in the 74th minute.
Ballack hit the post as Bayern pressed before Klose got the second for Germany, driving the ball past substitute keeper Michael Rensing in the 86th minute.
A minute later, Salihamidzic turned in Deisler’s excellent cross from the right to keep the fans cheering before the start of the post-match firework display.—Reuters
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