Philipp Lahm made his comeback in FC Bayern München’s 4-0 win over Werder Bremen after a four-month spell out due to injury. The World Cup Winner made his first competitive appearance for Bayern since their 4-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga on 8th November last year. The FCB captain spoke on his first brief appearance, the win in Bremen and a possible starting place.
Question: Mr Lahm, how did it feel to be back playing in the Bundesliga for the first time since 8th November 2014 in FC Bayern’s 4-0 victory of Eintracht Frankfurt?
Philipp Lahm: It’s of course not nice to be out for four months and spend lots of time in the gym. Therefore you’re happy when you can be back out there in a stadium at some point.
Question: You had to wait until the 82nd minute when you were subbed on for Mario Götze. How did you see the game from the outside up until then for Bayern?
Lahm: Our victory wasn’t a foregone conclusion, we had a decisive game in midweek against Donetsk in the Champions League and placed a lot of focus on this game to play concentrated football. I have to give huge compliments to the manner in which we went about our business and played today! It was good for me that I came on when we were already 3-0 up.
Question: You were injured for almost four months and only took part in team training for a week. Were you surprised to be in the squad against Donetsk and now made your first appearance against Bremen?
Lahm: It’s not that I wasn’t on the training pitch prior to Monday. The boss spoke to me on Wednesday that he’d like to have me in the squad and then it’s an easy choice for me. Of course I’ll always try to give it my best. There was almost no other option today as there were no other players in the squad (laughs).
Question: How long will it take for a starting place to come in to question?
Lahm: I’m not sure. I now have a week until the Gladbach game this coming Saturday. That probably comes too soon for a start but we’ll see. Then there’s a two-week international break, in which I can train fully. Then I will have trained for four weeks in total. Then we’ll see how my foot’s doing and feeling. But it’s going well at the moment and I have no problems.
Question: You comfortably won 4-0 in Bremen with stars such as Robben, Ribery and Alonso all out. Are you amazed sometimes about the form of the team that they can produce a result like this away to one of the strongest sides of 2015 such as Werder?
Lahm: It doesn’t surprise me. We train with one another day-to-day and the manager has been there for a good year and a half. Everyone knows what to do. The boss has a clear image of how we should play football and that’s different from game to game. Sometimes it even changes during the game.
Question: Was it a completely different game without the wing play of Robben and Ribery?
Lahm: Yeah, it was different. As they’re two excellent footballers, who have quality in a one-on-one situation. If you saw out game than we didn’t have as much quality in one-on-ones. Then we have to adapt our playing style. But our manager can send us on the pitch with a different game philosophy. It’s a mixture for the players.
Question: Also Bayern’s individual class is the difference.
Lahm: Yes, the quality of the players particularly if you look at the quality of the goals that we scored today, such as the opener. The counter prior to that was executed well and then Thomas struck it into the back of the net with his weaker left foot - no one else can do that. The way he finished it was sensational. The free kick of David Alaba too, no one else can do what he does. The team is always hungry. Even if they’ve played in the Champions League in midweek, then they’ll come here and play with concentration. Everything just fits together perfectly.
Question: As Hannover did last time out, Bremen defended very deep too.
Lahm: It's often the case that the opponent has a few problems come the end of the game if we have 70 or 80% possession. The opponent has to have run lots. I watched the Hannover game at home and saw that the difference in running in the first half was around 4km. That’s our playing style: It’s easier to play with the ball then not with it. It requires more energy. The opponent then gets a little tired.
Question: How good is it to have a free kick specialist such as David Alaba in the side?
Lahm: It’s not so easy to not give away any free kicks just outside the box for the opponents. We have a weapon in the form of David when we get a free kick. I'm hesitant to say that every shot goes in but he has a very good record.
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Philipp Lahm made his comeback in FC Bayern München’s 4-0 win over Werder Bremen after a four-month spell out due to injury. The World Cup Winner made his first competitive appearance for Bayern since their 4-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga on 8th November last year. The FCB captain spoke on his first brief appearance, the win in Bremen and a possible starting place.
Question: Mr Lahm, how did it feel to be back playing in the Bundesliga for the first time since 8th November 2014 in FC Bayern’s 4-0 victory of Eintracht Frankfurt?
Philipp Lahm: It’s of course not nice to be out for four months and spend lots of time in the gym. Therefore you’re happy when you can be back out there in a stadium at some point.
Question: You had to wait until the 82nd minute when you were subbed on for Mario Götze. How did you see the game from the outside up until then for Bayern?
Lahm: Our victory wasn’t a foregone conclusion, we had a decisive game in midweek against Donetsk in the Champions League and placed a lot of focus on this game to play concentrated football. I have to give huge compliments to the manner in which we went about our business and played today! It was good for me that I came on when we were already 3-0 up.
Question: You were injured for almost four months and only took part in team training for a week. Were you surprised to be in the squad against Donetsk and now made your first appearance against Bremen?
Lahm: It’s not that I wasn’t on the training pitch prior to Monday. The boss spoke to me on Wednesday that he’d like to have me in the squad and then it’s an easy choice for me. Of course I’ll always try to give it my best. There was almost no other option today as there were no other players in the squad (laughs).
Question: How long will it take for a starting place to come in to question?
Lahm: I’m not sure. I now have a week until the Gladbach game this coming Saturday. That probably comes too soon for a start but we’ll see. Then there’s a two-week international break, in which I can train fully. Then I will have trained for four weeks in total. Then we’ll see how my foot’s doing and feeling. But it’s going well at the moment and I have no problems.
Question: You comfortably won 4-0 in Bremen with stars such as Robben, Ribery and Alonso all out. Are you amazed sometimes about the form of the team that they can produce a result like this away to one of the strongest sides of 2015 such as Werder?
Lahm: It doesn’t surprise me. We train with one another day-to-day and the manager has been there for a good year and a half. Everyone knows what to do. The boss has a clear image of how we should play football and that’s different from game to game. Sometimes it even changes during the game.
Question: Was it a completely different game without the wing play of Robben and Ribery?
Lahm: Yeah, it was different. As they’re two excellent footballers, who have quality in a one-on-one situation. If you saw out game than we didn’t have as much quality in one-on-ones. Then we have to adapt our playing style. But our manager can send us on the pitch with a different game philosophy. It’s a mixture for the players.
Question: Also Bayern’s individual class is the difference.
Lahm: Yes, the quality of the players particularly if you look at the quality of the goals that we scored today, such as the opener. The counter prior to that was executed well and then Thomas struck it into the back of the net with his weaker left foot - no one else can do that. The way he finished it was sensational. The free kick of David Alaba too, no one else can do what he does. The team is always hungry. Even if they’ve played in the Champions League in midweek, then they’ll come here and play with concentration. Everything just fits together perfectly.
Question: As Hannover did last time out, Bremen defended very deep too.
Lahm: It's often the case that the opponent has a few problems come the end of the game if we have 70 or 80% possession. The opponent has to have run lots. I watched the Hannover game at home and saw that the difference in running in the first half was around 4km. That’s our playing style: It’s easier to play with the ball then not with it. It requires more energy. The opponent then gets a little tired.
Question: How good is it to have a free kick specialist such as David Alaba in the side?
Lahm: It’s not so easy to not give away any free kicks just outside the box for the opponents. We have a weapon in the form of David when we get a free kick. I'm hesitant to say that every shot goes in but he has a very good record.
