Bayern’s Ancelotti relishing his Jena return
embarrassing defeats on Friday when Bayern
Munich play minnows Carl Zeiss Jena in the first-
round of the German Cup.
Back in their heyday Jena once reached the UEFA
Cup Winners’ Cup final, beating Roma, for whom
Ancelotti was a player at the time, on the way.
Bayern’s new coach had one of the worst nights of
his career on October 1, 1980, when he lost 4-0 with
Roma, having netted in a 3-0 win in the home leg in
Rome.
The Italians bowed out of the first-round while Jena
advanced to the 1981 final, losing 2-1 to Dinamo
Tbilisi in Duesseldorf.
“I was in Jena in 1980, it wasn’t good,” said
Ancelotti on Thursday.
“The defeat is unforgettable.
“There are defeats in a career which linger and
when I hear ‘Jena’ you remember everything.
“I’m looking forward to going back there after 36
years.”
Having been a powerhouse in East German football,
Jena’s fortunes dipped after reunification in 1990.
Following spells in Germany’s second and third
divisions, they dropped to the fourth league in 2012.
The visit of defending Bundesliga champions and
German cup holders Bayern is a plum cup draw,
especially with Jena top of their regional league
after four straight wins.
“It’s a special game because the opponents are
special. This is the dream draw – an absolute
highlight,” said Jena’s coach Mark Zimmermann.
On paper, Jena’s team, which includes Namibia
international midfielder Manfred Starke and
Serbian defender Filip Krstic, has little chance.
But extra stands have been fitted at the Ernst Abbe
Sportfeld stadium to boost the capacity to a sell-out
crowd of 18,800.
Huge demand meant the club reckon they could
have sold 100,000 tickets and the hosts can count on
noisy support.
Ancelotti’s squad, boasting Robert Lewandowski,
Thomas Mueller and Manuel Neuer, want to avoid
an embarrassing slip, seven days before opening the
new Bundesliga season at home to Werder Bremen
and chasing a fifth consecutive title.
“It’s an important game for us and there are always
surprises,” said Ancelotti.
“We have to concentrate because Jena is a good
team who have won their first four games.”
— Bacon and eggs —
Jena want to turn the heat up on Bayern.
The club set bells ringing at the local fire station on
Wednesday morning.
The frying of bacon and eggs, for the first team
squad after the morning’s training session, set off a
smoke alarm which saw six fire engines hastily
dispatched to their ground.
“The alarm bells rang, we have rehearsed the real
thing. The fire brigade were there, now we can get
on with it,” said Zimmermann.
It has been eight years since Jena made history by
storming into the semi-finals of the German Cup.
Their 3-0 defeat at Borussia Dortmund remains a
record as 80,708 spectators, the highest attendance
for a cup match in Germany, packed into the
ground.
“All we know is that it will be quite difficult against
Bayern,” said Zimmermann.
“We must not be afraid of their world-class players,
the guys have confidence in themselves.”
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