Holders Bayern Munich will host Borussia Dortmund in the German Cup semi-finals and third-tier Arminia Bielefeld will play VfL Wolfsburg.

Bundesliga leaders Bayern, who advanced on penalties against Bayer Leverkusenon Wednesday and will now face last season's finalists, are chasing a treble of titles, including the Champions League.

"We cannot control the draw," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola told Germany's ZDF television. "Ok, we play at home but Dortmund are a strong team.

"If you want to win the Cup you have to beat the best team."

Dortmund are struggling in the league this season and see the Cup competition as their best chance for a European spot.

The semi-finals will be played on April 28 and 29.



http://www.eurosport.com/football/holders-...209/story.shtml






https://gfycat.com/RepentantCelebratedIberianbarbel#

FC Barcelona vs. FC Bayern München



What a draw.
Can't wait to watch it!

Niemals aufgeben!

Arjen Robben Could Return for Bayern Munich Against Hertha

Arjen Robben has not featured since suffering an abdominal injury against Shakhtar Donetsk in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on March 11.

Arjen Robben could make his return after injury for Bayern Munich against Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga on Saturday after taking part in training on Thursday, chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said.

"The coach will decide whether to select him for Saturday or keep him until Tuesday," said Rummenigge.

Bayern face Hertha on Saturday and could secure another Bundesliga title this weekend if they better the result of second-placed Wolfsburg, who play on Sunday.

Pep Guardiola's side then host Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday in the semi-finals of the German Cup.

Dutch winger Robben, 31, has not featured since suffering an abdominal injury against Shakhtar Donetsk in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on March 11.

Rummenigge also said that "everything was going well" for Javi Martinez, who is back in training after a long spell on the sidelines with a knee injury, and added that defender Mehdi Benatia will be back "very soon".

However, fellow defender Holger Badstuber, who has suffered with so many injury problems in recent times, will miss the remainder of the season after tearing a thigh muscle in the 6-1 Champions League quarter-final second-leg win against FC Porto on Tuesday.

Bayern said that the 26-year-old will undergo surgery in the coming days and will be out for "three to four months".

In addition, David Alaba will need a little longer after undergoing knee surgery, but Rummenigge expressed hope that Franck Ribery's comeback will not be too far away with the Champions League semi-finals coming up at the start of next month.

"We need him. We have vital matches coming up and we need our best players on the pitch," he said.

http://sports.ndtv.com/football/news/24110...-against-hertha

FC Bayern München crowned 2014/15 Bundesliga champions

FC Bayern München have been confirmed Bundesliga champions for a third successive season and 24th time overall.

Following the Bavarians' workmanlike 1-0 win over Hertha Berlin, second-placed VfL Wolfsburg had to beat Borussia Mönchengladbach to keep the title race alive, but Sunday's 1-0 defeat means the Wolves can no longer catch Pep Guardiola's men with only four games left of the 2014/15 campaign to play.

The title represents the record German champions' 25th national crown and 24th since the Bundesliga's inception in 1963.

http://www.bundesliga.com/en/liga/news/2014/0000319004.php

FC Bayern München's Path to Glory



http://www.bundesliga.com/en/liga/news/2014/0000318937.php






FC Barcelona vs. FC Bayern München

06/05/2015 Camp Nou, Barcelona
12/05/2015 Allianz Arena, München

Bayern in Beijing - Audi FCB Tour






FC Bayern München - FC Valencia 4-1 | FT




Scorers: Müller (2), Thiago, Lewandowski

Bundesliga heads East in search of favor, fans and fortune

Bayern Munich are heading to the Far East for their preseason tour, but even before the competitive football season starts, there is a drive raging on. The question is - why is the Bundesliga so keen on Asia?

Twenty-thousand kilometers, eight days, seven training sessions and three friendlies: Bayern Munich's preseason tour to China is a prime example of the business behind the all-encompassing beast that is modern football. Long gone are the days preseason tours were selected for their climate or opposition. Now it's about target groups, investment and social media - and in preparation for their tour, Bayern have gone all out.

They have revamped the Chinese version of the club's website, created an App specifically designed to bring Chinese fans the information they want from a team on location, and finally tried to entice as many of the half a billion social media users to follow one or all of their four Chinese social media profiles. While the players on the field make the headlines, competition in football remains just as fierce off it, and the modern preseason tour has become a veritable oasis of opportunity

"We'll be going flat out to expand in this market over the next few years,” declared Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge on the club's website. "We're not going there on vacation. We have to find a middle ground between FC Bayern's marketing interests and our preseason preparations.” Rummenigge went on to suggest the club are already playing catch up in the market, but, as ever, it is hard to believe. According to the club, the number of China-based Bayern fans is equal to the population of Germany, so the club's market position remains elite. That said, the question still remains: why Asia, and why now?

"I know so many big European clubs trying to enter the Chinese market in recent years - it's the place to be," says Mads Davidsen, coach and scout at Shanghai SIPG. Davidsen, who has been in China since 2012 after coaching the Brondby youth with Bayern's Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, added: "Most Chinese clubs have a huge company as the main owner."

Young fans the target

While the deep pockets of China's clubs have increased international interest, domestic football remains in Europe's shadow. In Bayern and Dortmund, the Bundesliga has two powerhouses carrying the flag for German football. "The Premier League realized the potential of the Asian market before the Bundesliga,” says Philipp Kupfer, a marketing expert at the international sponsoring consultancy, Repucom. "While many fans have already got a European team… many of the younger generation hasn't. It is these young people the Bundesliga are trying to woo.”

The time for a preseason tour is, of course, now and the presence of a Bayern Munich or a Borussia Dortmund in Asia is unmatchable. There are even plans to open a club office in the world's most populated country, which would be the next logical step after opening one in New York last year. In the US, a record number of fan groups were registered this year, and sponsorship deals with Univision and MSN were penned. With over 90 million followers in China and a cooperation with media giants CCTV5 in place, Bayern want to have a 365-days-a-year approach much like in the US.

Dortmund, meanwhile, already has a foot in the door after opening an office in Singapore last year. Shinji Kagawa's presence helped the club get a strong footing in the Japanese market, but as the club's director of sales and marketing, Carsten Cramer, stated at the opening of the Singapore office, the club's sales in other Asian markets had tripled. That was a year ago. The club's reception on this summer's tour suggests those numbers continue to rise.

One of the reasons for Dortmund's sustained success in the international market, even after the club's dip in success and the departure of Jürgen Klopp last season, is their personal approach. David Görges, head of new media at BVB, said to DW back in April that the club's marketing campaign was to be real with the club's fans. It has a slightly more interactive feel than Bayern's, although Bayern are on more international platforms. Both have enabled the clubs' fan base to expand well beyond the stands and streets of their respective cities.

Source: http://www.dw.com/en/bundesliga-heads-east...tune/a-18593536