Boateng travels to Madrid, Atlético optimistic

Bayern Munich are on their way to Madrid. Ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League semifinal, Bayern Express takes a look at all the latest news and developments for you.

Tuesday morning meant the final training session at the Säbener Straße for a total of 19 Bayern players.
Going into Wednesday’s game at Atlético Madrid’s Estadio Vicente Calderón, there were good news regarding Jérôme Boateng. Still on the sidelines when the club faced Hertha BSC, the centre-back is back in the squad for the big Champions League game.

It is doubtful that he will get a spot in the starting XI, but Pep Guardiola has surprised with his personnel decisions before. If the Spaniard thinks that Boateng is ready to go, he will replace the inexperienced Joshua Kimmich in a central position.

Guardiola’s team talk in the morning extended way past the scheduled time. 35 minutes after their supposed arrival, Bayern players entered the training pitch. After a relaxed 20-minute warm-up with media presence, the session went private behind closed curtains.

At 14:30 CET, the plane to Madrid lifted off. At 19:00 CET, the official pre-match press conference will take place in Madrid and include the likes of Pep, Philipp Lahm and Xabi Alonso.

Referee Clattenburg

Tomorrow’s refereeing team comes from England. Mark Clattenburg will be in charge of a Bayern game for the first time since 2015. Back then, he was the official for Bayern – Barcelona at the Allianz Arena (3:2) at the semifinal stage as well.

Atlético: outsiders but optimistic

Atlético Madrid will be without three players in the first leg against Die Roten. Aside from the most prominent absentee, centre-back Diego Godín, this includes offensive midfielder Óliver Torres and central midfielder Tiago. kicker projects the following lineup for the home team tomorrow:
Oblak – Juanfran, Giménez, Lucas, Filipe Luís – Koke, Gabi (C), Augusto Fernández, Saúl Níguez – Griezmann, Fernando Torres.

The general atmosphere among Atlético’s players is a positive one. Left-back Filipe Luís judges that “it will be difficult, but we have our chances”. An outsider role is just what the players like. “We are playing against a club with a large history”, says Augusto Fernández. “We are outsiders”.

An extremely strong collective is probably the main reason why Atlético is still in the competition. “Noone is thinking of themselves, everyone of the team. This is our biggest strength”, explains Filipe Luís. Goalkeeper Jan Oblak agrees with his teammate: “We have a superb atmosphere in the dressing room, that is our secret of success. It will be two narrow games. Lewandowski and Müller are hard to stop, but we believe in ourselves”.

Estadio Vicente Calderón

The stadium in which the game will be played in tomorrow is a special one. Not only Xabi Alonso knows how hard it is to play in the Estadio Vicente Calderón: “It is always difficult in the Vicente Calderón. The atmosphere there is very heated and special. Atlético’s fans are enthusiastic and lively. They support their team with a lot of passion”.

54.851 supporters will pack the stadium to its limits Wednesday evening. Compared to all the modern arenas across the world, the Calderón is like a travel back in time. Its standalone main stand with a roof is accompanied by an open three-stand semi-circle. Stadium construction was finished back in 1966.

A very unusual feature for a stadium is the M-30 dual carriageway running below the main stand.

CREDIT TO:http://www.bayerncentral.com/2016/04/boateng-travels-madrid-atletico-optimistic/