Be on your toes
Hummels demands ‘100% focus’ from Bayern in Cup clash
BERLIN: Bayern Munich defender Mats Hummels has warned his team not to underestimate second tier minnows FC Heidenheim in their German Cup quarter-final clash.
Bayern are expected to stroll into the semi-finals when they host Heidenheim today, just three days before their key Bundesliga meeting with title rivals Borussia Dortmund.
Yet Hummels, who follows the second tier club closely, said Bayern should not get ahead of themselves in what could be a season-defining week.
“We have to be 100 per cent focused against Heidenheim because they won’t be a pushover,” he said yesterday.
“A good friend of mine is a big Heidenheim fan, so I watch them quite a lot. They play good football, particularly going forward.”
Heidenheim are currently sixth in the German Second Division Bundesliga 2, and have punched above their weight in recent seasons. They reached the German Cup quarter-finals thanks to a shock victory over Bayer Leverkusen in the previous round.
Hummels reserved particular praise for the “powerful headers” of striker Robert Glatzel, who has been linked with a move to several Bundesliga clubs.
He insisted that Bayern need to stay cool if they are to stay on course for a domestic double this season.
“If we were only thinking about the Dortmund game on Saturday, then we would be fired up,” he said.
“But first it is all about the Cup. We obviously want to get into the semi-finals, because winning the Cup is one of the two major aims we have this season.” Bundesliga leaders Dortmund have been dealt a double injury blow ahead of Saturday’s crucial showdown at Bayern, with defenders Achraf Hakimi and Abdou Diallo both ruled out.
The pair were injured in last Saturday’s 2-0 win at home to Wolfsburg, which left Dortmund two points ahead of second-placed Bayern before this weekend’s top-of-the-table clash at the Allianz Arena.
Morocco international Hakimi, 20, on loan from Real Madrid, will now miss the last seven league games of Dortmund’s season after breaking a bone in his right foot.
“Hakimi will be operated on in Madrid and is out for the rest of the season,” said the club in a statement on Monday.
Centreback Abdou Diallo, 22, is out with a leg injury, but Dortmund say it is “still unclear” how long he will be sidelined for.