Kahn: All the pressure on Bayern

Oliver Kahn says the pressure to win the Bundesliga is much higher at his former club Bayern Munich than at champions Borussia Dortmund.

Dortmund have won consecutive Bundesliga titles, and the retired Germany custodian believes Bayern have to respond in 2012/13.

“No-one demands that Dortmund be the champions again. What do they have to lose?” Kahn told Bild.

“The larger pressure lies elsewhere. At Dortmund you can be the champion. But at Bayern you have to be the champion. That is a huge difference.”

The 43-year-old opened up about the plight of Bayern midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, who, after struggling with an ankle problem for months, is set to be benched for the side’s season opener against Greuther Fuerth on Saturday.

“Right now he (Schweinsteiger) is at a crossroads. He must transfer all of the doubt into positive energy. That means a lot of hard work. But if you do that, you will usually be rewarded,” Kahn said.

“Football is a business, it is not fair. Others will move quickly to replace you. You must ask yourself, ‘Am I willing to put away the negative energy? Can I go beyond myself?'”

Kahn also defended Mario Gomez, who has been ruled out of action for a month with an ankle injury and sees his place at club level threatened by new signings Claudio Pizarro and Mario Mandzukic.

“Mario is one of the best penalty-area forwards in Europe at the moment. Having said that, there is some scope for improvement,” he said.