After the debacle in Leverkusen, FC Bayern is under pressure in the knockout games against Lazio. 90s world champion Riedle warns the people of Munich in particular about an ex-BVB star.
After the 3-0 defeat in the duel with Leverkusen on Saturday, FC Bayern wants to make amends in the Champions League. In the first leg of the round of 16, Munich will play Lazio in the Italian capital on Wednesday evening.
National striker Karl-Heinz Riedle moved there in 1990 after becoming world champion with the German national team in Italy. In an interview with t-online, he looks ahead to his former club’s duel with Bayern.
t-online: Mr. Riedle, FC Bayern experienced a sobering debacle in the game in Leverkusen (0:3) on Saturday. How dangerous will the first leg of the round of 16 on Wednesday evening at your former club Lazio Rome be for the record champions? Or is the role of favorite still clearly distributed?
Karl-Heinz Riedle: There is no need to make a secret of the fact that Bayern are favorites. Even if things aren’t going well for Bayern this year. So far in the Champions League yes, but in the Bundesliga they are no longer as dominant as we saw again in Leverkusen. Lazio has remained far below its potential, currently only ninth in the league. In the round of 16 duel it is still similar to the cup: in the two games something like this can go in a completely different direction. Bayern must not underestimate Lazio and have to be careful – especially Ciro Immobile. He is a player who can make the difference. Even if he is not a miracle striker who decides the games on his own.
An old friend from the Bundesliga. Why didn’t real estate work in Dortmund in 2014?
That’s a phenomenon why it didn’t work out for BVB. I only noticed in passing that he didn’t feel comfortable at the time and wasn’t really integrated. That was simply an episode in his career that he may have approached incorrectly, perhaps a misunderstanding on both sides. But he is an exceptional player with a brutal instinct in front of goal. He has proven this again and again before and after. The Italians know what they have in him.
And Bayern, what they have in Harry Kane, who scored as many goals and provided eight assists in 28 competitive games…
He couldn’t actually have had a better debut. So far he has more than fulfilled the great expectations placed on him.
For you, is he already the decisive difference-maker for Munich?
He is at least a player with great experience in the so-called crunch time games. It’s extremely important that you also have players who can decide games, but Bayern actually has enough of that anyway. Harry is certainly very important for Bayern, but also not the sole entertainer who has to decide the duel with Lazio.
What kind of atmosphere awaits FC Bayern at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome?
The championship is basically over for Lazio. That’s why they’re now betting everything on the Champions League. And playing in Rome is always a hot spot. The fans are very emotional, so it’s going to be a hot dance. But if you’ve already played at Galatasaray – like Bayern recently did – you don’t really need to be afraid anywhere in the world. Nevertheless, it will definitely be a cauldron again. The fans will push their team.