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India Vs Bayern Munich Preview: Bhaichung Bhutia Prepares For The Final Hurrah
It would be a historic occasion as the legendary Indian striker Bhaichung Bhutia plays his last match for India against the giants of Europe Bayern Munich
By Debjit Lahiri
Getty Images
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PROBABLE LINEUPS |
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INDIA
 Karanjit Jaspal, Nirmal, Gouramangi, Nabi Ralte, Climax, Lamare, Miranda Jeje, Bhutia |
BAYERN MUNICH
 Neuer Rafinha, Boateng, Badstuber, Lahm Gustavo,Schweinsteiger Robben,Muller,Ribery Gomez |
 Indian Icon Bhaichung Bhutia Bids His Farewell |
Bayern are expected to field their full strength line up, with star striker Mario Gomez playing upfront, and Thomas Muller supporting him from a slightly deeper position. Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery on the either flanks will provide the width, while Bastian Schweinsteiger will be playing as a deep lying play-maker. Holger Badstuber, Jerome Boteng, Philipp Lahm and Rafinha are likely complete the defensive line up,with Manuel Neuer in goal.
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DID YOU KNOW? |
This match will mark the final appearance in Indian colours for legendary Indian striker Bhaichung Bhutia. Incidentally,Bayern's distinguished goal-keeper Oliver Kahn also made his last appearance for the Bavarians against Indian club side Mohun Bagan in 2008.
- This is Bayern Munich's 5th visit to India but for the first time they would be playing against the National Team.
- Mario Gomez, who will be playing in the match, won the Golden boot in last year's Bundesliga season and this year too he is leading the charts with 16 goals.
- Jeje Lalpekhlua has been one of the most prolific scorers for India this year, netting 8 times in 16 appearances.
- Philipp Lahm, the Bayern captain, is the youngest ever player to lead the German National Team to the World Cup. He achieved this feat in 2010 in South Africa.
- The Indian National Team, on the other hand, has never featured in the World Cup. Their biggest achievement so far has been a Gold medal in the 1951 Asian Games and a fourth place finish in the 1956 Olympic Games.
- However, India had qualified by default for the 1950 FIFA World Cup finals as a result of the withdrawal of all of their scheduled opponents. But the governing body, after some bizarre turn of events, decided against going to the World Cup, being unable to understand the importance of the event at that time. Reason shown by AIFF was that the cost of travel was too much, although FIFA agreed to bear a major part of the travel expenses, lack of practice time, team selection issues. Formers players have later regretted the decision and they had confessed that they then valued Olympics over the FIFA World cup.
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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
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India 0-9 Bayern
- 14.35 %
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India 9-0 Bayern
- 9.67 %
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India 0-5 Bayern
- 7.49 %
| Club Friendlies (FR) | 10-Jan-2012 | India 0 - Bayern 4 |
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India
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| 13-Mar-2012 | Korea DPR (PRK) 4 - India 0 | ACC |
| 11-Mar-2012 | Philippines 2 - India 0 | ACC |
| 09-Mar-2012 | India 0 - Tajikistan 2 | ACC |
| 27-Feb-2012 | Azerbaijan 3 - India 0 | FR |
| 23-Feb-2012 | Oman 5 - India 1 | IF |
Bayern
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| 23-May-2012 | Bayern 3 - Netherlands 2 | FR |
| 20-May-2012 | Bayern 1 - Chelsea FC 1 | UCL |
| 12-May-2012 | Borussia Dortmund 5 - Bayern 2 | GERC |
| 05-May-2012 | FC Köln 1 - Bayern 4 | GER1 |
| 28-Apr-2012 | Bayern 2 - VfB Stuttgart 0 | GER1 |
| 1 | Karanjit Singh | Goalkeeper |
| 22 | Syed Nabi | Defender |
| - | Govin Singh | |
| 19 | Gouramangi Moirangthem | Defender |
| 4 | Nirmal Chettri | Defender |
| - | C. Miranda | |
| - | Rakesh Masih | |
| 21 | Rocus Lamare | Midfielder |
| 32 | Reisangmi Vashum | Midfielder |
| - | Bhaichung Bhutia | |
| 18 | Sushil Singh | Striker |
| 25 | Subhasish Roychowdhury | Goalkeeper |
| - | Climax Lawrence | |
| - | Baldeep Jr. Singh | |
| 20 | Lalrindika Ralte | Midfielder |
| 10 | Jeje Lalpekhlua | Striker |
| 28 | Jewel Raja | Midfielder |
| 6 | C S Sabeeth | Striker |
| 16 | Samir Naik | Defender |
| 1 | Manuel Neuer | Goalkeeper |
| 5 | Jerome Boateng | Defender |
| 14 | Holger Badstuber | Defender |
| 16 | Philipp Lahm | Defender |
| 18 | Toni Kroos | Midfielder |
| 11 | Arjen Robben | Striker |
| 4 | Anatoliy Tymoshchuk | Midfielder |
| 7 | Bastian Schweinsteiger | Midfielder |
| - | Rafinha | |
| 23 | Mario Gomez | Striker |
| 13 | Thomas Müller | Midfielder |
| 7 | Franck Ribéry | Midfielder |
| 18 | Ivica Olic | Striker |
| - | Takashi Usami | Midfielder |
| - | Diego Contento | |
| 6 | Danijel Pranjic | Defender |
| - | Nils Petersen | |
| 16 | David Alaba | Midfielder |
| - | Luiz Gustavo Dias |
1 
22 
0 
19 
4 
0 
0 
21 
32 
0 
18 
1 
5 
14 
16 
18 
11 
4 
7 
0 
23 
13
Results
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cristiano Ronaldo
Striker Real Madrid |
5 | 1 |
|
Karim Benzema
Striker Real Madrid |
5 | 0 |
|
Heiðar Helguson
Striker QPR |
5 | 0 |
|
Jason Roberts
Striker Blackburn Rovers |
4 | 1 |
|
Wayne Rooney
Striker Man. United |
4 | 0 |