Bayern Munich begin their 2009 campaign with a testing last-16 German Cup tie at Stuttgart, the same team who held the German champions to a 2-2 draw in their last match of 2008.
After a one-and-a-half-month winter break, a training camp in the Dubai sunshine and five wins from five friendly matches, Bayern must steel themselves for a return to competitive action.
The Bavarian giants, second in the German championship on goal difference behind leaders Hoffenheim and into the last 16 of the Champions League, need to step up another level in order to win trophies , according to president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
Bayern s league campaign resumes with a trip to Hamburg on Friday.
The team, unbeaten in sixteen matches and reinforced by the arrival of American m…