#21 Philipp Lahm

[Oliver_Kahn]

The squad emerged for Monday training a little later than planned as coach Felix Magath had a video to show before moving his men outside onto the practice ground. The players gathered in the professionals' quarters day room to study highlights featuring midweek opponents Sporting Lisbon, as the Reds step up preparations for a potentially decisive Champions League fixture.

Two days ahead of Wednesday's showdown, Magath and his men went through a last workout on home soil before taking Lufthansa flight LH5018 to the Portuguese capital on Tuesday morning ahead of final training at the Estadio Jose Alvelade in the evening.

Van Bommel and Pizarro report fit

The pre-match mood in the Bayern camp is quietly confident. "We'll concentrate on playing our own game. If we can keep producing what we did in the first hour against Hertha we could be going places this season," Mark van Bommel remarked, "we can beat anyone on that form."

The Dutch midfielder has shaken off a hamstring problem and has declared himself fit for the Lisbon clash, as has the other minor doubt, Claudio Pizarro. "I'm training normally," van Bommel announced.

Lahm calls for more concentration

Magath is thus in a position to name an unchanged side, and appears highly likely to stick with the line-up which defeated Hertha Berlin 4-2 at the weekend. Germany international Philipp Lahm reckons a win on Wednesday would all but guarantee Bayern's place in the Champions League last sixteen: "If we can come away from Lisbon with three points, we're basically through."

Lahm would like to see Bayern repeat their dashing attack-minded antics of the weekend, but urged his team-mates to avoid the carelessness which saw Hertha claw their way back to within a goal of the Reds after Bayern had been 3-0 up early in the second half. "We have to concentrate harder and be more aggressive," the left-back declared. "We have to play the way we did in Milan when it comes to the Champions League," van Bommel agreed. Magath and Co would happily settle for the 2-0 victory they registered in northern Italy last time out.

http://www.fcbayern.t-com.de/en/news...ffbc7d97ab996f

[Oliver_Kahn]

Bayern can win, I have faith in these guys.

[Oliver_Kahn]

Lahm played alright, Bayern beat Sportin 1-0

[Oliver_Kahn]

Reaction to Bayern v Eintracht Frankfurt:

Philipp Lahm: "We were more aggressive today. We played very well after the first 20 minutes, and we concentrated well for the full 90 minutes. We should probably have scored another goal before half-time, and we'd have enjoyed an even more comfortable second half."

[JD]

up there with zambrotta and cole as worlds best

[Oliver_Kahn]

For sure.
Great tackler, pacy, great atacking skills.
And just like Zambro, he can play LB (position he plays for Bayern) or RB (position he plays for Germany).

[Jose_Mourinho]

Is his defending as good as the other two though, there's no doubt about his attacking but not as solid at the back?

[Oliver_Kahn]

He isn't very tall so he has problems in the air, but when facing a winger who plays with pace and technique, he comes on top.

He stoped C Ronaldo during the WC.

[Jose_Mourinho]

Good point! A.Cole's not very tall either but he still manages to push his weight around.

[JD]

cole is an amazing athlete
his pace, recovery time and stamina puts him up there with two technically better players

[Jose_Mourinho]

...and he's just getting on top form for Chelsea, almost fully fit.

[JD]

don't think he'll ever be as good for chelski - as mourinho's negative tactics eliminate his ability to overlap ahead of the ball

[Oliver_Kahn]

Philipp Lahm was all smiles as he talked up FC Bayern München's chances of securing the victory they need against Sporting Clube de Portugal to guarantee progress to the UEFA Champions League knockout stages as Group B winners.

Strong start
The German international left-back has been in fine fettle this season, an ever-present member of a Bayern side that reached the halfway mark in the group stage with a 100 per cent record following victories against FC Spartak Moskva, FC Internazionale Milano and, a fortnight ago, Sporting. It leaves them five clear of their nearest rivals and a draw against the Lisbon side at the Fußball Arena München would all but guarantee their progress. However, Lahm is not a man to settle for second best.

Fully focused
"We're not even thinking about a draw - all our focus is on beating Sporting to ensure we finish top of the group," said the former VfB Stuttgart defender, perhaps wary of last season when Bayern were eliminated by AC Milan in the last 16 after only managing to finish runners-up in their section. It was particularly painful for Lahm who, having started the 1-1 first-leg draw in Germany, was confined to the substitutes' bench for the return, forced to watch as his team-mates were swept aside 4-1 by the Rossoneri.

Defensive steel
Eight months later and Lahm is now one of the first names on Felix Magath's team-sheet, a vital cog in a defence that is yet to concede in this season's competition. His form is such that he has been nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year award though personal gain is far from the 22-year-old's mind: "I'm focused on Sporting. It's a must-win game for them really and that could give us an advantage because we go into the game with the pressure off. And we're in good shape."

[Oliver_Kahn]

Reaction to Bayern v Borussia Monchengladbach

Philipp Lahm: "We started better than we have done recently and went 1-0 up, but we're not scoring the decisive goals to kill a match at the moment. We failed to follow up and score a second. We created some good chances but made too little of them. Our problem at the moment is that we allow our opponents a single chance, and they put it away every time."

[Oliver_Kahn]

Bayern have to concentrate more in defence, they are conceeding too many goals