Contrasting fortunes of two Marios at Bayern
Source: Agencies |
April 12, 2013, Friday
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MARIO Gomez scored 41 goals for Bayern Munich last season yet he now finds himself shunted onto the substitutes bench by a player deemed surplus to requirements by mid-table VfL Wolfsburg.
Mario Mandzukic spent Euro 2012 not knowing where he would be playing this season after Felix Magath, then in charge at Wolfsburg, decided the Croatian forward was more trouble than he was worth.
Bayern, however, liked what it saw from Mandzukic at the tournament and, although his signing raised a few eyebrows, he has been the most important addition to a team which finished runner-up in three competitions last season.
Mandzukic's performance in the Champions League quarterfinal, second leg against Juventus on Wednesday, where Bayern completed a 4-0 aggregate win, was a classic lesson in how to play as a lone center forward.
He tussled with defenders, created openings for his teammates, closed down Juventus when the home team tried to play the ball out of defense and capped it all by scoring the first goal, effectively ending the Serie A team's challenge.
"I'm delighted about scoring, but I'm even more delighted we're through," he said after a 2-0 win at the Juventus stadium, where substitute Claudio Pizarro added Bayern's second in stoppage time.
"The crucial factor was that we played the way we did in Munich... We knew we had to keep our cool and score one goal, which is what we've done."
Mandzukic's performance made a mockery of his previous reputation for having a poor work rate, being tactically indisciplined and throwing tantrums.
Gomez was prolific last season but Bayern may have become overdependent on him for goals, a limitation exposed in the Champions League final when the German striker failed to hit the target and contributed little else to its performance in the loss to Chelsea.
"To be successful, a team needs a squad of top players, not just 11, and that is maybe what we lacked in the Champions League final last summer," coach Jupp Heynckes said before the Juventus tie.
"That's why the transfer policy for this season was so important."
Mario Mandzukic spent Euro 2012 not knowing where he would be playing this season after Felix Magath, then in charge at Wolfsburg, decided the Croatian forward was more trouble than he was worth.
Bayern, however, liked what it saw from Mandzukic at the tournament and, although his signing raised a few eyebrows, he has been the most important addition to a team which finished runner-up in three competitions last season.
Mandzukic's performance in the Champions League quarterfinal, second leg against Juventus on Wednesday, where Bayern completed a 4-0 aggregate win, was a classic lesson in how to play as a lone center forward.
He tussled with defenders, created openings for his teammates, closed down Juventus when the home team tried to play the ball out of defense and capped it all by scoring the first goal, effectively ending the Serie A team's challenge.
"I'm delighted about scoring, but I'm even more delighted we're through," he said after a 2-0 win at the Juventus stadium, where substitute Claudio Pizarro added Bayern's second in stoppage time.
"The crucial factor was that we played the way we did in Munich... We knew we had to keep our cool and score one goal, which is what we've done."
Mandzukic's performance made a mockery of his previous reputation for having a poor work rate, being tactically indisciplined and throwing tantrums.
Gomez was prolific last season but Bayern may have become overdependent on him for goals, a limitation exposed in the Champions League final when the German striker failed to hit the target and contributed little else to its performance in the loss to Chelsea.
"To be successful, a team needs a squad of top players, not just 11, and that is maybe what we lacked in the Champions League final last summer," coach Jupp Heynckes said before the Juventus tie.
"That's why the transfer policy for this season was so important."
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