themselves in the dock for the cold, rather off-hand
manner with which they went about the whole
business: the pre-prepared statements to the media,
the cliched words of appreciation, the end-game
finality of it all.
And why the need for permanent exclusion? It
surely would have made more sense for Low to keep
his options open, pick his squad from game to game,
and to leave the selection door ajar. Hummels and
Muller still start for Bayern, they are only 30 and 29
years old respectively, and might well have forced
their way back in. The trio deserved more respect.
Their Bayern and Germany team-mate, defender
Joshua Kimmich apparently agrees. “When I look at
it from the standpoint of a player, my view is that the
way this was done was not OK,” he told the Munich
daily Abendzeitung. “I can see why the boys
concerned are disappointed. I myself was surprised.
“I only know the national team with these three
guys in it. In the last 10 years they shaped the team.
They helped make us world champions.”
It’s often forgotten how ruthless “Jogi” Low can be.
He did not blink a decade ago when erasing skipper
Michael Ballack from his plans.
In the case of the “Bayern Three”, he has proved
similarly unsentimental.final first legs 2-0 in the USA,
beating New York Red Bulls and
Houston Dynamo respectively.
PARAGUAY: Adrian Martinez
scores twice in the opening
four minutes as Libertad beat
Universidad Catolica of Chile
4-1 in the Libertadores Cup.
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:
Winners for the past three years,
Real Madrid go out of this season’s
competition in the round of 16 after
losing 4-1 at to home to Ajax, while
Tottenham Hotspur beat Borussia
Dortmund 4-0 on aggregate.
Wednesday March 6
CHILE: Patricio Rubio becomes the
first Chile-born player to score four
goals in a Libertadores Cup game
as Universidad de Concepcion beat
Peru’s Sporting Cristal 5-4.
ENGLAND: On paid leave since
January 2018 following accusations
of racism and bullying, Newcastle
United confirm Peter Beardsley has
left his role as under-23 coach.
HOLLAND: Jaap Stam, who took
charge at PEC Zwolle in December
on an 18-month contract, will take
over from Giovanni Van Bronckhorst
as Feyenoord coach in the summer.
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: VAR
gives Manchester United victory
over Paris Saint-Germain with a
94th-minute penalty and Porto
success against Roma, also with
a spot-kick, in extra time.
Thursday March 7
ARGENTINA: Lionel Messi is
named in an Argentina squad for
the first time since the 2018 World
Cup, ahead of friendlies against
Venezuela and Morocco.
ENGLAND: UEFA open a formal
investigation into Manchester City’s
financial conduct and alleged
Financial Fairplay violations.
EUROPA LEAGUE: Arsenal and
Benfica lose away to Rennes and
Dinamo Zagreb respectively, while
Slavia Prague draw 2-2 at Sevilla.
ITALY: Roma sack coach Eusebio
Di Francesco following Wednesday’s
defeat by Porto in the last 16 of the
Champions League.
WALES: Colwyn Bay will leave the
English pyramid and return to a
Welsh league next season.
Saturday March 9
ENGLAND: Raheem Sterling’s
hat-trick gives Manchester City a
3-1 victory over Watford to move
them four points clear of Liverpool,
who have a game in hand.
GERMANY: Robert Lewandowski
scores twice to become the all-time
top-scoring non-German player inWORLD SERVICE