MUNICH: German champions Bayern Munich were beaten 1-0 by club side Urawa Red Diamonds in a friendly in Tokyo on Monday – and picked up a cool 1.5mil-euro fee for their efforts.
Bayern lost to an 89th-minute Teruaki Kurobe goal, but general manager Uli Hoeness said the trip was worthwhile to raise Bayern’s profile in the lucrative Asian market.
“We wanted to make long-term contacts and create a presence. Bayern are still relatively unknown in Asia,” Hoeness said.
Bayern, who included German World Cup stars Philipp Lahm, Oliver Kahn, Lukas Podolski and Bastian Schweinsteiger in their travelling party, had little time for sightseeing – they face Schalke 04 in Munich today in the semi-final of the League Cup before kicking off the Bundesliga season against Borussia Dortmund on Aug 11. – AFP
