Sammer: Bayern’s core is world class

Feb 28, 2013 7:40:00 PM

The Roten sporting director believes his side have leaders all over the pitch, but refused to talk up their chances of winning the treble this season

Bayern Munich sporting director Matthias Sammer has labelled the club’s core “world class” after their 1-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal on Wednesday.

The Bavarians are on course to claim an historic treble this season, and the former Germany international feels they have benefited from having big personalities where it matters.

“When we talk about leadership, I see Bastian Schweinsteiger, Dante, Philipp Lahm and Manuel Neuer as our core. They are world class, no question," he told Spox.

“[Schweinsteiger] was very mobile, tactically excellent and he played with a charisma that has shown before but missed lately.

“The same goes for Dante and Neuer, and the incredible security they bring. Lahm has been world class for us for years anyway. This is important in these games that these players show their presence.”

Sammer was reluctant to pour praise on Wednesday's goalscorer Robben, but admitted that the winger had scored with an excellent strike at the Allianz Arena.

“We appreciated all [the players’ performance], so I have not paid attention to individual players. He scored a super goal but we should be modest. We’re happy, yes, but we should have a sense of normality soon.”

Bayern are currently making excellent progress on all three fronts, but Sammer is refusing to talk about winning the treble.

“I am not speaking about this. I said during the winter break that you get what you deserve in the end. And now we should work on making that true and not to [band about] these words or phrases.”

Sammer also stated that no player should expect to play regularly, with Robben and Mario Gomez finding starts hard to come by of late.

“A strong, big club must be 15, have 16 regular players. We should stop talking only about the top 10; there are at least five or six players who are also [there or thereabouts].

“Accordingly, the team is always important, not the individual. Football is daily job, and currently issues are emerging that tomorrow may already be solved.”