Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola says he will have no excuses if he fails to beat Borussia Dortmund in the DFL-Supercup at Signal Iduna Park this weekend.
The former Barcelona coach will secure his first piece of silverware as the Bavarians with a triumph over last season's Bundesliga runners-up, but although the tie is on Dortmund home turf, Guardiola insists a defeat would be inexcusable for a club of Bayern's standing.
He told reporters: "It is the first time I will coach in Signal Iduna Park. I have been told it is a very special experience, but a final is always special.
"It is a title and a title is always important. It is an honor to challenge for this trophy but if you are Bayern coach, you have no excuses or apologies if you lose."
Bayern edged out BVB in last season's Supercup before beating them in both the DFB-Pokal last eight and Champions League final, but Guardiola is under no illusions as to how tough it will be to beat Jurgen Klopp's men this weekend.
"Klopp has done a super, super job with BVB. They are two-time Bundesliga winners and it is a good experience for me to play against his team," he continued.
"Dortmund have a very good goalkeeper with [Roman] Weidenfeller. [Mats] Hummels and [Neven] Subotic will be excellent like they were before and [Marco] Reus is very intelligent.
"They also have danger on the flanks, and up front there is a very good striker in Robert Lewandowski."
Much has been made of Mario Gotze ahead of the tie after his €37 million switch from Dortmund to Bayern, but Guardiola has confirmed the Germany starlet is part of a group of stars sidelined through injury.
"Manuel Neuer and Franck Ribery are injured so they will not play," he said.
"Bastian [Schweinsteiger] has barely played. We are also missing Mario Gotze and Holger Badstuber."
Saturday's Super Cup clash is scheduled to kick-off at 20:30 CET.
No comments:
Post a Comment