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Olic strike keeps Bayern´s dream alive

Croatia striker Ivica Olic’s second-half strike kept Bayern Munich’s fading dream of reaching the Champions League’s knock-out phase alive after the German giants beat Maccabi Haifa 1-0 on Wednesday.

With group leaders Bordeaux beating Juventus 2-0 in Group A, Bayern are now just one point behind the Italians and must win their final game at Turin’s Stadio Olimpico on December 8 if they are to reach the knock-out phase.

Having drawn their last three league games, this victory was badly needed in Munich.

“I think it was very important that we won and put this dark period behind us,” said Olic who was making only his second appearance after injury.

“I had a bad injury and it was a long break and it was pleasing to get the winning goal.

“I owe a lot to (Munich’s team doctor) Dr. Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt, the coach wanted to take me off at the half-time break, but I said I felt good and I told him I wanted to score a goal.”

The victory takes some of the pressure off Bayern’s under-pressure coach Louis van Gaal who suspended want-away Italian striker Luca Toni on the eve of the game for saying the pair’s relationship has completely broken down.

“We are 100 percent behind the coach, everything he does is good and I hope we win everything up until the winter break,” said Olic.

Glum-faced Toni spent the game in the stands next to French midfielder Franck Ribery while Bayern’s fellow walking-wounded Arjen Robben and Miroslav Klose looked on.

But with Germany’s rising stars Thomas Mueller and Mario Gomez causing the Israeli team constant problems, in the end Bayern’s superior fitness made the difference.

In a busy first-half, the best chance fell to Olic, but his shot was saved and there were loud whistles around Munich’s Allianz Arena as the teams trudged off with the scores locked at 0-0 at half-time.

But Bayern took the lead in the 62nd minute when captain Mark van Bommel found Gomez in the penalty area and he fired his shot to the left of Haifa goalkeeper Nir Davidovitch.

The Israel national goalkeeper made the save, but the rebound fell into the path of Olic who slotted home to keep the dream alive.

Haifa remain pointless at the foot of the table and their slim hopes of claiming entry into the Europa League by finishing third in the table are now over.

Elisha Levi’s Haifa remain the only team of the 32 in the group stage yet to find the back of the opposition’s net and they host the group winners Bordeaux in their final game next month.

Should Bayern fail to reach the knock-out stages, this would be the first time they have missed out on a place in the last 16 in their five previous attempts.

The last time they failed to do so was in 2002/03 when they finished bottom of their group with just two points.

MUNICH (AFP)

Tags: allianz arena, Bayern, bayern munich, Bordeaux, captain mark, captain Mark van Bommel, croatia, dark period, doctor dr, Elisha Levi, fading dream, franck ribery, Germany, israel, israeli team, long break, loud whistles, louis van gaal, luca toni, mario gomez, Mark van Bommel, miroslav klose, Munich, stadio olimpico, team doctor, thomas mueller, Toni, turin, wilhelm mueller

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Trezeguet looking to Juve revival

Juventus striker David Trezeguet has urged his team-mates to put all thoughts of their defeat against Napoli to their back of their minds as they seek victory against Maccabi Haifa in Tuesday night’s Champions League clash.

The Bianconeri go into the game on the back of Saturday’s surprise 3-2 loss, which saw them drop seven points behind Serie A leaders Inter Milan. And the result marked Juve’s first league defeat at home in nine months.

“It’s an ugly defeat considering we were leading 2-0,” said Trezeguet.

“But we need to have a positive outlook.

“There are still many games left to play in the domestic season and, although we know we have a lot of work to do, we are aware that we will have a chance to recover.

“We cannot think too much about this defeat because on Tuesday we have a crucial Champions League game.

“Depending on how we respond to this game, it will reveal the true value of this group.”

The Turin giants travel to Israel sitting second in Group A, two points behind group leaders Bordeaux.

With the French side facing a more challenging task when they travel to the Allianz Arena to meet third-place Bayern Munich, Ciro Ferrara’s men know a win in Israel could see them take command of the group.

“It’s a key game for us in our European adventure,” said Juve forward Amauri. “We cannot fail, we must take all three points.”

The Bianconeri will be without the injured Alessandro Del Piero, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Jonathan Zebina and Mohammed Sissoko.

However, winger Mauro Camoranesi has travelled with the team despite needing four stitches in a head wound he sustained against Napoli.

Maccabi will be hoping to break their duck having failed to claim a point or even score a goal so far in the group.

But Juve will not take Maccabi lightly, and for good reason.

Elisha Levi’s side made life difficult for the Turin giants last month, with Giorgio Chiellini’s goal proving the only difference between the two sides.

Even though Levi’s team had to play with 10 men for 22 minutes in Turin following Tiago Dutra’s sending off and he believes they can reverse the outcome.

“It’s going to be difficult because Juventus have lots of stars,” said Levi.

“But we already showed that we can put them under pressure in our last game and, hopefully, we can take a good result at home.”

The Israeli champions go into the encounter in buoyant mood after continuing their perfect start to the Ligat Ha’Al by beating Maccabi Netanya 2-0 on Saturday.

The result marked their eighth successive league victory but the hosts will be without midfielders Baram Kayal and Dutra, who are both serving one-match bans.

Midfielder Eyal Golasa is still sidelined with a hip injury while Levi will be hoping Brazilian midfielder Gustavo Boccoli recovers from an ankle problem.

Abhimanyu Rajput

Tags: Al, Alessandro Del Piero, Bayern, ciro ferrara, david trezeguet, Elisha Levi, european adventure, french side, giants travel, giorgio chiellini, group leaders, Gustavo Boccoli, inter milan, israel, jonathan zebina, juventus, league game, mauro camoranesi, Milan, mohammed sissoko, napoli, positive outlook, seven points, team mates, turin, vincenzo iaquinta, winger

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Chiellini winner puts Juve back on track

Juventus laboured to an unspectacular 1-0 win over 10-man Group A minnows Maccabi Haifa in the Champions League here on Wednesday.

Centre-back Giorgio Chiellini scored the only goal of a disappointing game played in front of a pitifully small crowd of less than 19,000 and in gloomy, rainy conditions.

The win did at least propel the Italian giants into second position in a tough group also containing Bayern Munich and Bordeaux as they now have five points from three games.

That leaves them second and two points behind Bordeaux with three more games to play, a position Juve coach Ciro Ferrara is happy with.

“For us the win was important, not what happened in the other match (Bordeaux beat Bayern),” he said.

“It’s a group that seems to be very close, the Champions League is very tight, we saw that yesterday with some results that no-one expected.

“Of course we could have done better but we have the number of points that we deserve.

“I’m very satisfied with tonight and also the points we have in the standings. Things are looking good.”

Haifa coach Elisha Levi felt his team could have got more out of the game.

“We played well but we can’t get carried away because we haven’t got anything out of it,” he said.

“Of course I’m a bit bitter about the result but I can’t but be satisfied with this young team who played with a lot of commitment.”

Ferrara took a gamble before the game began by changing his formation and playing bit-part Frenchman David Trezeguet as a lone forward with three midfielders behind him.

The idea was to leave Diego free to roam in the centre and hence cause more problems, but that hardly happened in an insipid first half.

Maccabi should have gone in front on two minutes when a cross from Eyal Meshumar found Georgia striker Vladimir Dvalishvili unmarked eight yards out but although his header was well placed, Gianluigi Buffon made a brilliant one-handed save.

Chances were few and far between with Maccabi goalkeeper Nir Davidovitch beating away a Fabio Grosso free-kick on 9min.

Trezeguet should have done better when Grosso’s cross found him seven yards out but the former France forward poked the ball well wide of the far post after Maccabi’s defence had gone wandering on 20 minutes.

Lior Rafaelov lashed a wild shot over the bar for Haifa and Momo Sissoko headed a Mauro Camoranesi free-kick wide while Diego ended the half by sending a direct free-kick wide before the referee mercifully brought a drab period to a close.

The game needed a goal and it got one two minutes after the restart as Diego’s curling free-kick from the left was headed home by Chiellini – although questions will be asked of a Haifa defence and goalkeeper that allowed him a free header from two yards.

Shortly after Diego almost added a second but his delectable chip just cleared the bar with Davidovitch beaten.

Juve started to really boss the game and Davidovitch blocked Trezeguet’s close range shot on the slide from an inviting Grosso cross before he dived full length to stop Sebastian Giovinco’s fierce effort.

Any chance Maccabi had of salvaging something ended in the 69th minute with a very questionable decision by the referee who gave Tiago Dutra a straight red card for a 50-50 challenge with Chiellini.

Even so Dvalishvili stung Buffon’s hands with a late effort that had Juve’s fans holding their breath before Camoranesi hit the post for Juve.

There was still time for Buffon to make another fine save from Mohammad Ghadir deep into time added on.

TURIN, Italy (AFP)

Tags: bit part, Bordeaux, champions league, Chiellini, ciro ferrara, david trezeguet, Diego, elisha, Elisha Levi, Fabio Grosso, five points, France, frenchman, Georgia, gianluigi buffon, giorgio chiellini, haifa, Italy, levi, Lior Rafaelov, man group, mauro camoranesi, midfielders, minnows, Mohammad Ghadir, rainy conditions, sebastian giovinco, striker, three games, turin, vladimir, Vladimir Dvalishvili

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Bayern, Haifa ready to lock horns

German giants Bayern Munich and Israel’s Maccabi Haifa clash in their opening Group A Champions League clash on Tuesday buoyed by convincing domestic wins at the weekend.

While Bayern got ready for the trip to Israel by hammering Borussia Dortmund 5-1, Haifa bounced back from conceeding an early goal to enjoy a 3-1 win over Hapoel Ramat-Gan, who were promoted to Israel’s top league last season.

This is Haifa’s second appearance in the Champions League proper but in 2002-03 they played home matches at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia, Cyprus, so Bayern can expect a warm reception at Tel Aviv’s Ramat Gan stadium.

Elisha Levi’s men are seeking to become the first Israeli club to progress from the group stage but Louis van Gaal’s Bayern are unlikely to be daunted having played at the Ramat Gan once before – beating Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC 1-0 in the 2004/05 group stage.

Maccabi are third in the Israeli Premier League, while Bayern are fifth after Thomas Mueller, who celebrated his 20th birthday on Sunday, hit two late goals in Dortmund.

The win over Dortmund was Bayern’s highest ever score against Borussia and coach Louis van Gaal will want his team to get off to a good start in Group A which they share with their Israeli opponents, Bordeaux and Juventus.

Bayern take virtually a full strength side to Tel Aviv, but Germany striker Miroslav Klose has been left behind to boost his fitness.

Klose, 31, came off the bench to score twice against Azerbaijan in last Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier as Germany sealed a 4-0 win, but van Gaal left the striker out of Saturday’s squad to face Borussia Dortmund.

Klose, who took longer than expected to get over a leg injury in the summer, will now spend this week in Munich on a tailored sports rehab training programme, designed to boost his fitness level.

“I’m still not at 100 percent, even after scoring two goals (for Germany),” said Klose.

“I need fitness to play decent football, and I’m a long way short of that. If I travel to our upcoming games, I won?t be able to train as much. This is the best solution.”

He has been omitted from the squad for Tuesday’s game unless there are any injuries from Saturday among the Bayern substitutes.

“In that case, we’ll obviously include Klose,” commented Van Gaal.

Klose has good memories of playing against Israeli teams. He scored a 15-minute hat-trick for Germany in a 7-1 victory against Israel in Kaiserslautern in February 2002.

TEL AVIV (AFP)

Tags: 20th birthday, Bayern, bayern munich, Bordeaux, borussia dortmund, Cyprus, elisha, Elisha Levi, full strength, Germany, group stage, GSP Stadium, haifa, home matches, israel, juventus, leg injury, Louis, louis van gaal, maccabi tel aviv, miroslav klose, Munich, Nicosia, nicosia cyprus, premier league, ramat gan stadium, striker, Tel Aviv, thomas mueller, upcoming games, Van Gaal, warm reception, world cup qualifier

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