Happy Birthday, Rudolf Schels!

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, Rudolf Schels!

Happy Birthday, Rudolf Schels! Our 1st Vice President turns 66 years old today.

Schweinsteiger Menang Goal of the Month

Congratulations to Bastian Schweinsteiger! The FC Bayern vice-captain’s superb strike direct from a free-kick in the Reds’ 2-1 victory away to Mainz on Matchday 17 has topped the viewers’ poll in the long-running ARD Sportschau Goal of the Month feature. Schweinsteiger’s curled effort earned some 34 percent of the votes cast. Bastian received the trophy at the Säbener Strasse HQ from his team-mate Holger Badstuber.

Bayern Patient Over New Pep Deal as Lahm Steps Up His Recovery

Bayern Munich are keen to extend Pep Guardiola's stay as manager beyond his current deal, but admit they will not pressure the Spaniard into signing.

Guardiola, who is tied to the German champions until 2016, said late last year that he had no plans to sign a new deal at that stage.

Reports had claimed that Bayern were bracing themselves for the former Barcelona boss's departure but CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says the club will approach the matter with patience.

Speaking to a Catalan newspaper, ​Rummenigge revealed he had told Guardiola: "We will not bother you about extending the contract in the upcoming months.

"We will not do anything until the summer, and then we maybe talk in the second half of 2015."​

Guardiola has shown a preference for short-term deals in the past and Rummenigge added: "He can stay as long as he wants.

"Pep is not someone who needs security. He does not a five-year contract to know just how much money he earns at Bayern. That's not Pep Guardiola.

"Pep Guardiola lives for the present, and I accept that."

Meanwhile, Bayern captain Philipp Lahm says his recovery from an ankle injury is progressing as scheduled.

FC Bayern Muenchen - Training Session

The World Cup winner was sidelined for three months after picking up the injury during a training session in November and underwent surgery, which left him on crutches.

But following a course of intensive physiotherapy Lahm no longer needs the crutches and is currently using an exercise bike as he returns to full fitness.

​The 31-year-old told Bayern's official website:"It's all going to plan. I'm going really well.

"It feels great to be rid of the crutches and in a position to go for it again."

The versatile full-back is set to see a specialist in order to build up his stamina ahead of the Bundesliga's return to action later this month.

Lewandowski Kesal Mengundi Ronaldo Untuk Ballon d'Or

Robert Lewandowski mengaku yang dia menyesal mengundi Ronaldo berbanding rakan pasukan Manuel Neuer. Menurut Lewandowski, dia patut mengutamakan rakan sepasukannya. 

Poland's captain put Cristiano Ronaldo first, followed by Bayern teammates Manuel Neuer and Bastian Schweinsteiger, but says he would go back and change his vote if he could. 

"Voting for Ronaldo instead of Neuer was a mistake," Lewandowski. 

Bayern Dominate World Player Poll

The 2014 Ballon d’Or Gala concluded with Thierry Henry reading out the name of Cristiano Ronaldo as the new World Player of the Year, but when world governing body FIFA later released the results of the vote in full the evidence of Bayern’s dominant position in the world game was indisputable: the positions immediately behind Lionel Messi and Manuel Neuer in second and third were filled by Arjen Robben, Thomas Müller and Philipp Lahm, meaning four of the six best players on the planet play their club football for Munich.

“It was a fantastic evening for FC Bayern,” club captain Philipp Lahm told FCB.tv in Zurich. “We can all be very pleased. I’ve just been standing alongside a few guys I’ve played with this year. It shows just how good we were.” Neuer added: “That was a successful evening for we Bayern players and for German football.”

Despite coming third overall, the 28-year-old felt anything but a loser. “It’s a complete success from my point of view,” said the Bayern number one. The World Cup-winning keeper was not surprised by Ronaldo’s victory in the vote, “but I had a fantastic 2014,” he summarised. FCB chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said he was “incredibly proud. It’s fantastic that, after Franck Ribéry last year, a Bayern Munich player has been named one of the three best footballers in the world for the second year running.”

Speech would have been improvised

During the ceremony at Zurich Kongresshaus, Joachim Löw was named world coach of the year, VfL Wolfsburg’s Nadine Keßler claimed the women’s world player crown, her club coach Ralf Kellermann was voted the top coach in the women’s game, and Neuer, Lahm and Robben all made the FIFA world team of the year. “I was totally relaxed,” Manuel revealed, before adding with a grin: “I didn’t prepare a speech. I wouldn’t have had a clue what to say if it had been me.”

Despite the final result, Neuer does have one thing the skilled individuals Ronaldo and Messi lack – a World Cup winner’s medal. The 28-year-old was a key member of a well-drilled and tactically excellent Germany team at the tournament in Brazil last summer, as national team boss Löw reminded reporters: “We didn’t have a solitary superstar who stood out from the rest, unlike Portugal, Brazil or Argentina.”

Neuer’s brief excursion away from the Doha training camp rates as a fine way to round off a year that brought the World Cup and a domestic double. Prior to flying back to Qatar on Tuesday morning, Manu was already eyeing the challenges that lie ahead. “We’re on track with Bayern. We’ll try and win all three trophies,” he declared. In that case Germany’s biggest club would undoubtedly dominate the Ballon d’Or Gala for the second year in a row.

Ballon d'Or Top Ten

Place	Name	Votes
1	Cristiano Ronaldo	37.66%
2	Lionel Messi	15.76%
3	Manuel Neuer	15.72%
4	Arjen Robben	7.17%
5	Thomas Müller	5.42%
6	Philipp Lahm	2.90%
7	Neymar	2.21%
8	James Rodriguez	1.47%
9	Toni Kroos	1.43%
10	Angel di Maria	1.29%