Bayern jibes vex Mancini

Group A Manchester City v Bayern Munich:ROBERTO MANCINI has made it clear Manchester City do not intend to go out of the Champions League quietly, using what could be his final pre-match press conference in this season's competition to aim retaliatory strikes at Bayern Munich and Napoli, two clubs he suspects will take a malicious sense of pleasure from knocking out the leaders of the English Premier League.

Mancini is so aggrieved by the persistent criticisms from Bayern in particular that he intends to confront their chairman, Karl-Heinz Rumennigge, before or after tonight’s tie at the Etihad Stadium to ask for an explanation.

“I don’t understand Rummenigge’s behaviour against Manchester City,” he said. “This has been six months now that he talks against us. He says he hopes Napoli get through to the second stage [instead of City]. I don’t understand what has happened with Rummenigge, and tomorrow I want to ask him.”

Bayern president, Uli Hoeness, and honorary president Franz Beckenbauer, have joined Rummenigge in frequently revealing their distaste for City’s riches since the takeover of the Abu Dhabi United Group, particularly when it comes to Uefa’s financial fair play regulations.

However, it is Rummenigge who has done the most to get under Mancini’s skin, urging Uefa to take “strict penalties” against the club in one interview this week.

“I just don’t understand why, every time, an important man like Rummenigge, representing one of the top clubs, says things against us,” Mancini continued. “There are other teams in Europe that have problems with financial fair play, not just Manchester City.

“Rummenigge knows his football – he was an incredible player – but I just don’t understand why. I don’t know what his problem is.”

The Italian then turned his sights on the Napoli president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, who had reacted to his team’s 2-1 defeat of City at Stadio San Paolo last month by holding an impromptu press conference in which he said Sheikh Mansour, the man bankrolling Mancini’s team, had bought the club on “a personal whim” and could easily become bored and look for another “toy”.

City will drop into the Europa League unless they beat Bayern and Villarreal avoid losing to Napoli in Spain and, though Mancini rates his team’s chances at only 30 per cent, he believes De Laurentiis has spoken with undue haste as well as little tact.

“Fortunately Sheikh Mansour is not Italian,” Mancini said.

“First, he [De Laurentiis] has to respect Villarreal. And after that, [show respect] towards Sheikh Mansour because he [De Laurentiis] doesn’t know him. Sheikh Mansour is a good man and we can’t think about these stupid comments.”

Mancini was asked whether it was a sign that the established Champions League clubs were increasingly worried about the impact City could have in Europe.

His response was that “every team is worried about Manchester City” and, later, he returned to the theme when it was put to him that the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid would be happy for City to go out. “I think so,” he said, “and also that Bayern think this.”

Bayern have other incentives, too. Their manager, Jupp Heynckes, pointed out there was also the question of prize money and Uefa rankings when it comes to the question of whether the Group A winners will play to their maximum.

“It’s a question of having the right focus without the usual pressure, perhaps,” their goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer, added. “We want to play a good game, for our confidence but also for the fans who have travelled with us.”

Nonetheless, Heynckes is without the services of Arjen Robben and Toni Kroos while Thomas Muller and Mario Gomez made the journey but may also miss out. Netherlands star Robben and Germany international Kroos both have flu and have remained in Bavaria to recuperate ahead of the weekend trip to Stuttgart.

Mancini, who rates Micah Richards as a doubt because of a calf injury, may also be encouraged by Heynckes declaring he was planning to make “one or two changes anyway” and that the Bayern directors appear to be treating the trip perhaps a little less seriously than might normally be expected.

The men in power at the Bundesliga’s most powerful club have booked themselves a trip on the East Lancashire Railway’s “Rail Ale Trail” during the day.

Guardian Service