Lothar Matthäus on Xabi Alonso links, Der Klassiker, Bayern's UCL tie against Arsenal & more

Published at :March 27, 2024 at 11:50 PM

Modified at :March 27, 2024 at 11:51 PM

(Courtesy : Lothar Matthäus)

Lothar Matthäus gives his opinion on Bayern Munich’s ongoing season & more

German football legend Lothar Matthäus was born on March 21, 1961. He was previously a professional player and manager. He won the Ballon d’Or after leading West Germany to victory in the FIFA World Cup in 1990, where he grabbed the World Cup trophy. He was the inaugural FIFA World Player of the Year in 1991, and he is still the only German player to have won the title. In 2020, he was also a member of the Ballon d’Or Dream Team.

We had the incredible opportunity to speak with one of the most well-known figures in football, Lothar Matthäus. The former player for Bayern Munich shared his thoughts with us in an exclusive interview, regarding the present state of the team and whether they can defeat Arsenal in the Champions League. Here is what Lothar Matthäus said in this exclusive interview:

Bayern Munich will return to action, and their match will be against Borussia Dortmund. Do you think a win over them will put some pressure on Bayer Leverkusen despite their lead of 10 points?

10 points is a lot, especially when you see how strong Leverkusen is, and I see no chance of Bayern winning the championship. and I am happy with that because the Bundesliga has shown international fans that the German league is not only about Bayern. We need more teams to compete for the title, and even Stuggart isn’t far behind, just four points behind Bayern.

This season has been filled with so many surprises, and while Bayern were not playing badly, the other team was playing well. This season was different in our competitions, and we saw high-level competitions. This makes the Bundesliga very interesting, but Bayern hasn’t shown that they are the only team to win the Bundesliga; we have Leverkusen now. There could be many reasons why Bayern wasn’t in the title; it could be that talks between managers and players weren’t friendly, you know, so there are many things.

So what do you think has been the reason that Bayern is playing this poorly and is on the verge of losing the title for a decade?

I think it’s good to have this situation because there have been too many influences from outside and players have not been able to concentrate, and Bayern will have to learn from this and bounce back next season with a new manager.

So Harry Kane has returned to training, so do you think Thomas Tuchel should risk against Borussia Dortmund or rest him and play against Arsenal?

I think Tuchel should rest him against Dortmund and play him against Arsenal because now the Champions League game is more important. Tuchel can play Chupo-Moting, Serge Gnabry, and Thomas Muller against Dortmund. They have 11 good players, not just Harry Kane. But Kane has been excellent this season, and both the team and Kane have been dependent on each other.

He has been 20+ this season, and I think he can break the Robert Lewandowksi record of 41 goals. So they will have to see the situation and schedule and take the decision, and if they want to win the title, they can hope Leverkusen loses some games, but I think they should not risk him and instead play him against Arsenal.

Bayern will now face a changed Arsenal given their past record where they won by fine margins, so what do you think will be the outcome this time?

I think Bayern Munich have more experience playing in these competitions, but this time it will be difficult with Arsenal because they are playing very fluent football in the Premier League, so this is not an easy game for us.

In what position do you think Bayern should reinforce the squad ahead of the next transfer window?

Well, they have to wait now and wait for the next manager to arrive, and then see which positions they need to reinforce the squad. Right now, what is going on with Alphonso Davies? His future looks uncertain at the club, followed by Sane and Goretzka. So first, they have to know what is going on with the players who are under contract and then look for other players to sign. While other players have been doing well, maybe we need a little bit of defence to create space for more signings.

Bayern have already announced they will part ways with Tuchel, and there are already many managers linked with Bayern jobs, one of the favourites is Xabi Alonso, so do you think he will be an ideal manager to lead the club next season?

Absolutely. We see him every week and how he managed to make Leverkusen into a title-contesting team this season, and they are on the verge of winning it this campaign. He is in a good position to win the German club title and the Europa League this season. Leverkusen’s games have been fantastic to watch under Alonso, and he has instilled self-confidence. They have great players, so I think he should lead Bayern next season.

Do you think sacking Julian Nagelsmann was a poor decision by the Bayern board?

I think Bayern will have to look at and think about each coach, if possible, and sure, Nagelsmann was not the right man to lead Bayern anymore because of the situation, and since then we have seen many changes in the board. However, for me, Naglesmann was a good manager because I thought they were performing very well under him as he had good connections with him, and now we are linked with managers Zidane and De Zerbi, but as per Alonso, he will be the man to become Bayern next season because he knows German and has played for us as well.

Do you think Kane will be able to achieve the 41-goal mark this season?

Absolutely, he has been terrific for us as long as he doesn’t pick up any injuries, so sure, he can break the Lewandowksi record, as he has shown many times he is a brilliant striker he has displayed in England, and here he has a great team here, and he is a good teammate for the team who brings leadership as well, and they profit from each other. He is the type of striker who has a great box presence, and Bayern always dominate the game with huge possession, so it is possible Harry Kane will break the record.

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