Bayern's Ancelotti happy at dugout debut looms
Carlo Ancelotti says it has been a "good first week" as he prepares for his first test as coach of FC Bayern München.
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A week after arriving in Munich to coach the record champions, the Italian was back in front of the cameras giving his first press conference at the club's Säbener Straße headquarters. The reason? To discuss Saturday's first fixture of his reign at SV Lippstadt 08 - a game arranged to mark the 60th birthday of Bayern's CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who played for the club before moving to Bayern, and the proceeds from which will go to the amateur club and local refugees.
"This game's there for us to improve our condition, organisation and tactics," Ancelotti told the gathered media. "I would like to see a good game and a good team spirit from my team." If he gets either, it will confirm the impressions he has already garnered from his first few days based in Bavaria.
"It's going to be great for the fans, to see Guardiola," Ancelotti said. "And it's nice for me too to meet an old friend." That game will be more of a gauge of where Bayern stand in their preparations for a season Ancelotti expects to be a difficult one, not least given the work being carried out by Bayern's main rivals.
"Dortmund have bought some new, young players and they're very competitive," he said, sounding the first warning that Bayern do not expect to coast to a fifth straight Bundesliga title and insisting that the "results don't matter" – at least not yet.
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