‘We carry on’':R&R precedes assault on domestic double

The FC Bayern squad boasts almost a dozen fathers, led by four-time dad Franck Ribéry and followed by Xabi Alonso, Mehdi Bentia and Arjen Robben with three kids apiece. This Thursday is Father’s Day in Germany, and thanks to the FCB training schedule the dads in the squad and father-of-three Pep Guardiola can enjoy the day to the full. There is no official training session so the Bayern stars will spend a sunny spring day with their families, moving on mentally from the disappointment of their unlucky and avoidable Champions League exit.

“It’ll weigh heavily on us for a day or two,” observed father of twins Jérôme Boateng shortly after Tuesday night’s bittersweet victory over Atlético Madrid. Wednesday was set aside for regeneration, and Thursday for relaxation. That’s all the time there is for the stars to lick their wounds, said father-of-five Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: “We start again on Saturday.” That is when the Reds could seal their first trophy of the campaign.

A win away to Ingolstadt would see the men from Munich claim the Bundesliga crown regardless of the outcome of Dortmund’s trip to Frankfurt in a parallel fixture. A fourth domestic league title on the bounce would be a historic first. “We’re determined to win the championship this weekend and set the record,” declared Philipp Lahm, who has a son, “and we have the cup final still to come.” Trophies will be the best way to ease the last vestiges of frustration in the Champions League.