Ribery ponders taking German citizenship

BERLIN : Bayern Munich's French winger Franck Ribery has revealed he is considering taking German citizenship in an interview with daily newspaper Bild on Thursday.

The ex-France international has played for Bayern since 2007 and when asked whether he wanted to apply for German citizenship, he replied: "Why not? I can imagine staying in Munich after the end of my career.

"I have bought a very nice house, I feel good here and I like the mentality.

"My children are doing well at school, they have German friends.

"My son Saif was born here, he may even one day play for Germany."

Ribery, who turns 32 in April, says his decision whether or not to apply for German citizenship will be because of his family and "the future".

"My eldest daughter Hiziya always makes fun of my German, and I laugh with her," said Ribery, who was voted German player of the year in 2008.

"I did not learn the language in school, but in my daily life, from other people."

Ribery is one of the few foreign players comfortable with being interviewed in German live on air after Bundesliga matches and has a reputation for being the joker in the Bayern squad.

In Germany, a citizen from another European Union country can apply for German citizenship after eight years of residency, by proving you can speak the language and passing a naturalisation test, while retaining their original nationality.

Ribery won the Champions League title with Bayern in 2013 and has won both the German Cup and Bundesliga title four times, with Munich on course to claim a fifth German league title. – AFP

Bayern Munich eased into the German Cup third round

Holders Bayern Munich eased into the German Cup third round with a comfortable 3-1 win at Hamburg SV on Wednesday to continue their unbeaten domestic run as they prepare for Saturday's league clash against Borussia Dortmund.

Robert Lewandowski firing in on the rebound after a Heiko Westermann mistake had set up the hosts' lead in the seventh minute.

Bayern, undefeated in the league as well as the Champions League so far, then struck just before the break after an earlier effort had been ruled off side.

Austria international David Alaba found space outside the box and rifled in a long range effort that took keeper Jaroslav Drobny by surprise on the stroke of halftime.

Franck Ribery, back in the starting line-up after a lengthy injury break, killed off any lingering comeback hopes from Hamburg, seeing his deflected shot beat Drobny in the 55th.

Ribery also had a close encounter with a Hamburg fan who stormed the pitch in stoppage time, slapping the Frenchman with a Hamburg scarf and making an obscene gesture.

"I did not see him coming but it's ok," said a smiling Ribery. "It was important for me to play again after being injured. But it was more important for us to win and advance."

Hamburg managed a late consolation goal through Pierre-Michel Lasogga with a header at the far post after a deft chip from Raffael Van der Vaart.

Six Bayern Stars Nominated for the World Player of the Year

The footballing world has paid a huge compliment to Bayern and six of their stars with the nomination of Philipp Lahm, Thomas Müller, Manuel Neuer, Franck Ribéry, Arjen Robben and Bastian Schweinsteiger for the World Player of the Year award. The longlist of 23 candidates announced by FIFA on Tuesday includes half-a-dozen of the key figures from last season’s treble winners. The supremo who masterminded the historic campaign, Jupp Heynckes, is on the shortlist for Coach of the Year 2013.

Among the players, the shortlist of three will be announced in early December. The final vote is taken among the captains and coaches of the world’s men’s international teams, and a panel of international media representatives selected by leading magazine France Football. The winner of the vote will be announced on 13 January 2014 at the FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala in Zurich Kongresshaus.

The last German player to win the prestigious award was Lothar Matthäus in 1991. Argentina and Barcelona striker Lionel Messi has topped the vote for the last four years in a row. Bayern’s Franck Ribéry could be poised to interrupt that streak, as he was named UEFA Best Player in Europe in August ahead of Messi and rates as one of the top favourites for the World Player vote.

Six Bayern stars were initially nominated for the award in 2012, but only Manuel Neuer made it into the final 23.

World Player 2013 long list of 23:

Gareth Bale (Wales)
Edinson Cavani (Uruguay)
Radamel Falcao (Colombia)
Eden Hazard (Belgium)
Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden)
Andrés Iniesta (Spain)
Philipp Lahm (Germany)
Robert Lewandowski (Poland)
Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Thomas Müller (Germany)
Manuel Neuer (Germany)
Neymar (Brazil)
Mesut Özil (Germany)
Andrea Pirlo (Italy)
Franck Ribéry (France)
Arjen Robben (Netherlands)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany)
Luis Suárez (Uruguay)
Thiago Silva (Brazil)
Yaya Touré (Cote d’Ivoire)
Robin Van Persie (Netherlands)
Xavi (Spain)

Standing Ovation for Franck Ribéry

It’s not the first time the Allianz Arena crowd has awarded Franck Ribéry a standing ovation, nor that UEFA has named him Man of the Match. But just before midnight on Wednesday evening, no less a figure than Uli Hoeneß came up with the ultimate accolade, at least in German footballing terms. “What he does with the ball is like Rastelli sometimes,” enthused the Bayern president. if you know your Hoeneß, you will be aware there can be no higher praise.

“Franck was brimming with unbelievable enthusiasm today,” continued Hoeneß. The winger contributed two goals to FCB’s 5–0 victory over Viktoria Plzen and was practically unplayable for long spells. He sent over the most crosses (7) and set up the most shots at goal (7). “Franck is arguably the best player in the world at the moment,” declared Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, “if he keeps it up, he’ll be well on course to go into January’s FIFA [Ballon d’Or] vote in a very, very promising position. And I believe it’ll be a big target for him.”

At the present time, every Ribéry appearance emphatically restates his case for the top global honour. In his last seven matches for his club and country, the UEFA Best Player in Europe has been directly involved in at least one goal (5 goals, 6 assists). He has 14 scorer points (8 goals, 6 assists) from the last 11 matches since early September.