ABU DHABI // It was not constructed with as much expertise as the Schlieffen Plan, but Bayern Munich managed to outwit a dozen or so journalists and a ton of persevering autograph hunters after a dozy sort of friendly match against Al Jazira. The German champions managed a 3-2 win of little or no significance before deciding they had done enough talking for the day. The American midfielder Landon Donovan made his debut for Bayern having recently signed a short-term loan agreement from the LA Galaxy, but will have to wait until the end of the month to participate in a proper game.
The Bundesliga emerges from hibernation when Bayern go to Hamburg on Jan 30. The Bayern coach Jurgen Klinsmann trotted out 19 players on Saturday, but Donovan and Christian Lell were the only players who finished what they started. Donovan yesterday admitted he was content. "For the first game, it was not bad." Klinsmann made nine changes at half-time to suggest the result was only marginally more important to Bayern than getting their towels down early for a dip in the pool.
The Bayern squad moved at breakneck speed to get out of an unfinished Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium. Bayern have, of course, some unfinished business back home, being locked in a joust with the unfashionable but enduring Hoffenheim at the halfway point of the season. The strength of this burgeoning Bayern squad, that includes the menacing pairing of the France playmaker Franck Ribery and the Italian poacher Luca Toni, suggests Bayern should encounter some niceties from here on in.
When they return to Germany, they could be without Lucas Podolski, who is apparently close to departing for Cologne. For the record, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Daniel van Buyten and Miroslav Klose, whose late, late winner was a goal of genuine quality, were on target for the visiting team. The strapping Van Buyten buried a free-kick from longish range, but also toed in an own goal. Jazira are a class beneath Bayern, but their manager Abel Braga, a coach who at times gives off the same type of air as Marlon Brando in his Godfather pomp, should realise their ambition of claiming the Pro League.
Braga can obviously spot a player. Fernando Baiano pierced the Bayern goal from distance early on, but he was ably supported by his fellow Brazilian Rafael Sobis, whose vibrancy suggests this is a man meant for better things. dkane@thenational.ae