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KUWAIT: Kuwait Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah and Information and Youth Affairs Minister Sheikh Salman Hmoud Al-Sabah and other Kuwaiti officials with the visiting Bayern Munich team. — KUNA Bayern thrash Kuwait SC 8-0
By Chidi Emmanuel tutes for the second half and with the Kuwaiti team finally tiring, the club world champions smoothly shift- KUWAIT: FIFA World Club Cup champions and German ed up gears. The 18-year-old Green needed just three champions FC Bayern Munich yesterday crushed AFC minutes on the field before adding his name to the Cup champions Kuwait Sporting Club at the Al-Kuwait score sheet with a fine individual effort. Gotze scored Sports Club stadium in a high-profile friendly game. in the 58th minute while Muller headed the fourth Bayern comfortably recorded an overwhelming victory goal four minutes later, both assisted by young Mitch of the mid-season training period with an emphatic 8- Weiser. 0 victory over Kuwait SC, the reigning domestic cham- With the home side’s resistance well and totally bro- pions and winners of the AFC Cup (Asian equivalent of ken, Muller completed his brace in the 65th minute. the Europa League). There was a brief lull in the scoring until the last ten The stadium was filled to capacity as Kuwaiti minutes. Thiago tapped in from Green’s thrust on 83th youths, fans and families struggled to catch a glimpse minute and Gotze added the seventh goal with a skim- of their favorite German team. An overexcited and mer from a Thiago pass straight from the kick-off. enthusiastic crowd cheered as the German club ran Finally, the Spaniard volleyed the eighth after latch- riot during the second half. Bayern’s Claudio Pizarro, ing onto a loose ball 12 yards out in the 90th minute. Julian Green, Mario Gotze (2), Thomas Muller (2) and Starke made another good save at the end as the Thiago (2) scored the goals. With Arjen Robben and home fans and the travelling Bayern supporters joined Daniel van Buyten not yet match fit, Bayern coach Pep forces to celebrate an entertaining and action-packed Guardiola started the game with an unfamiliar line-up warm-up encounter. In his remarks after the game, the which was captained for the first time by Jerome Bayern coach said he was ‘OK and happy’ with the Boateng. team’s performance. Thousands of boisterous fans saw Bayern struggle Bayern had a mid-season training camp in Qatar slightly for a rhythm in the opening exchanges, with from 5 January to 14 January. During the mid-season Kuwait SC making some promising moves. During the training camp, The German champions had two friend- second half of the game, the Bavarians wrested control ly matches. The first match was against Al-Merrikh SC, of the game and made their breakthrough. Bayern who lost 2-0 on the 9th of January, and the second strikers pushed on and created chances although match against Kuwait SC yesterday. Bayern returns to Mario Mandzukic, Xherdan Shaqiri and Pizarro failed to start the second half of the season on 24 January find the target. There was work for the defense too as against Borussia Monchengladbach. But prior to the the swift home team sporadically threatened. restart, Bayern will play another friendly match against Guardiola brought on all eight of his outfield substi- Red Bull Salzburg on 18 January. Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah greets Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola. — KUNA
KUWAIT: Kuwait Sporting Club’s Hussain Hakem (second right) goes for the ball as his teammates duel with the KUWAIT: Jarrah Al-Atiqi of Kuwait Sporting Club (left) vies for the ball with Claudio Pizzaro of Bayern Munich Bayern Munich players during the game yesterday. (right) during their friendly soccer match yesterday.
KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Marzouk Al-Ghanem, Kuwait Football Association President Talal Al-Fahad and other officials with Kuwait Sporting Club players and visiting Bayern Munich team. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat