The real Makaay

Dutchman finally set for Bayern Bundesliga debut

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- Bayern Munich made Roy Makaay the most expensive signing in the history of the club. General manager Uli Hoeness described the club's new striker as five times more valuable than David Beckham.

Makaay will get the chance to prove Bayern managers right -- or wrong -- when he makes his eagerly awaited Bundesliga debut Saturday against Bochum in the third round.

In his first match in Bayern's red colors, an exhibition game against second-division Nuremberg, the Dutch striker went scoreless in the 70 minutes he played.

Hoeness wasn't worried, saying Makaay wasn't brought in to "score goals in Nuremberg," but to help Bayern remain successful over the next four years, the duration of Makaay's contract. More importantly, Makaay's job will be to score goals to help Bayern win the Champions League again.

In the Bundesliga, the striker pair of Giovane Elber and Claudio Pizarro combined for 36 goals last season, with Elber sharing the scoring crown with 21 and Pizarro adding 15. But they were ineffective in the Champions League and Bayern managers decided to bring in the man who notched four goals in two games against Bayern.

Makaay's protracted transfer from Deportivo de La Coruna reached soap opera proportions before it was concluded last week with Bayern paying a club record euro18.75 million (US$21.18 million) for the striker who led the Spanish league last season with 29 goals. That also made Makaay the second most expensive player in Bundesliga history, after Borussia Dortmund's Marcio Amoroso.

Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld has said Makaay will start against Bochum, although the striker is not yet 100 percent fit.

"I haven't played for three months, I still need some time," Makaay said during his official presentation Wednesday.

"He's practiced with us just a few times, but he's already shown his class. I am pleased with him," Hitzfeld said.

But the coach said he wasn't giving any "starter guarantees, not even for Makaay".

"I have to remain credible, I can't field a player just because he cost a lot of money," Hitzfeld said.

Hoeness said he didn't expect Makaay to have an immediate impact.

"In Deportivo, they just sent long balls to him. We play differently, our team is not used to that," Hoeness said. "It will take weeks to get everything to work well together."

"You can't change the system for one player," Makaay said.

Makaay's arrival means that either Elber or Pizarro will have to move to the bench.

Pizarro has been impressive in the opening two games, scoring two goals. Elber, on the other hand, has a had a quiet start to the season.

Hoeness hinted earlier this week that Bayern may be willing to release the Brazilian before his contract runs out at the end the season.

But Elber reportedly turned down an offer from Monaco to move immediately to the Champions League contender, according to the Kicker magazine.

"Pizarro is ahead right now, but my time is coming. I am a long way from being written off," Elber said earlier this week.

Bayern's bigger problem Saturday may be the absence of midfield star Michael Ballack, who will miss the match because of a calf injury.

Midfielder Mehmet Scholl also will be out with a back problem, but French defenders Bixente Lizarazu and Willy Sagnol are available again.

Bayer Leverkusen, the only team to win both matches at the start, travels to Hannover 96 for an intriguing showdown against the team that held Bayern to a 3-3 draw last week. Jan Simak, Hannover's mercurial forward, spent an unhappy season at Leverkusen before returning to his old club this summer and will be eager to leave a better impression.

Borussia Dortmund, which slipped to a 2-1 loss at Brugge in qualifying for the Champions League, will have the chance to redeem its at 1860 Munich.

In other Saturday match, it's Kaiserslautern vs. Werder Bremen, Borussia Moenchengladbach vs. Stuttgart, Hertha Berlin vs. Freiburg and Hansa Rostock vs. Eintracht Frankfurt. On Sunday, Wolfsburg hosts Hamburger SV and Schalke meets Cologne.

 

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