‘I’m determined to play at the Euro’

Ottmar Hitzfeld made no secret of his feelings on hearing of Hamit Altintop’s injury. “It’s come as a bad shock,“ the Bayern coach exclaimed after the Turkey international sustained a broken metatarsal. Altintop, an ever-present this term apart from three matches on the sidelines with a previous injury, underwent corrective surgery in Munich last Thursday. fcbayern.de phoned the player in hospital and found him in resilient mood.

Interview: Hamit Altintop

fcbayern.de: Hamit, this is a dumb question, but how are you feeling today?
Hamit Altintop: “I’m lying here flat on my back and the lads are on their way to play Nürnberg, so you can imagine how I feel. The decisive weeks lie ahead. Every game is like a final, and I’d have really liked to help the team. I’ll make sure I’m at the stadium for all the remaining home games, I’ll cheer the team on and offer my support as best I can.“

fcbayern.de: How did the injury happen?
Altintop: “I was playing for Turkey in a friendly against Belarus, and an opponent unluckily landed on my foot in a challenge.“

fcbayern.de: What happened after that in Minsk?
Altintop: “They took my straight to hospital locally. The doctors suspected a break and put me in plaster. My brother then accompanied me to Vienna and then on to Munich, where I saw Bayern doc Müller-Wohlfahrt on Thursday. He took one look at the MRI scan and sent me for immediate surgery.“

fcbayern.de: You’ve already had the operation. How did it go, and how long do the medics think you’ll be out of action?
Altintop: “The operation went very well. Now we’ll have to wait and see how the bone heals. It’s hard to say whether I’ll play again this season.“

fcbayern.de: What about this summer’s Euro 2008?
Altintop: “I’m determined to play at the Euro. Obviously, it would be fantastic if I was able to feature in the match when we take delivery of the championship shield.“

fcbayern.de: Has anyone been assigned to help you mentally over the next few days?
Altintop: “No. Injuries are part and parcel of the game, you have to cope with them as a footballer and find the strength to come back from them.“

Local boy Lell billed as Germany contender

Christian Lell must by now have realised that Ottmar Hitzfeld holds him in high esteem. The defender has made 32 appearances for Bayern this term, more than any other recognised full-back in the Munich squad. Nevertheless, a statement by coach Hitzfeld mooting Christian as a potential candidate for the German senior side has taken the FCB youth product by surprise.

"I'm a bit overwhelmed to be honest,“ Lell said, obviously struggling for words on being quizzed about Hitzfeld's remarks. "If he keeps it up, he'll definitely be a candidate for [Germany coach] Jogi Löw,“ the General told a news conference on Thursday.

Carpe diem

"Obviously I'm delighted if Ottmar Hitzfeld chooses to say something like that,“ Lell responded, denying he had been harbouring any hopes of making the Germany team, let alone leaping aboard the Euro 2008 express at the last minute. "I'm just going to continue trying to perform to the best of my ability,“ he continued. He has done exactly that in convincing fashion of late.

Lell has simply stretched out both hands and seized the chance presented by Willy Sagnol's injury-related absence for the whole of the first half of the season, and spells on the sidelines for Philipp Lahm and Marcell Jansen. "That's the reason I've made so many appearances and had the chance to show what I can do,“ Lell reflected.

Profitable time on loan

"After an unbelievable first half of the season, I just hoped it would carry on,“ he continued. He missed last Saturday's Bundesliga encounter with Leverkusen due to suspension, but could be back for the weekend trip to Nuremberg. "I'm personally not surprised Christian's played so often,“ Hitzfeld observed.

Lell himself regards his progress as part of a development process. "I agreed to go out on loan to Cologne in order to gain experience.“ In a spell with the Rhineland club from 2004 to 2006, he appeared in the first and second divisions, and also the third division north. "All in all, I'd say it was a complete package," he smiled. Perhaps not quite: a call-up for Germany would complete the set.

Klose, Podolski, Ribéry on target for national teams

Bayern's international stars returned to Munich from a round of friendly internationals in midweek with a record of four victories, a draw and two defeats. The biggest smiles belonged to Miroslav Klose, Lukas Podolski and Franck Ribéry, who not only ended up on the winning side, but also showcased their talents in imposing style in the final tests before the naming of squads for this summer's Euro 2008.

Germany took on Euro co-hosts Switzerland in Basel and rattled up an impressive 4-0 victory, Klose opening the scoring on 23 minutes with his 38th goal for his country, thereby overtaking Oliver Bierhoff to go seventh in the German all-time scoring chart. The remaining goals in Germany's 800th senior international fixture came from VfB Stuttgart star Mario Gomez (61, 67) and 58th minute sub Podolski (89), who now has a remarkable 25 goals in 46 appearances for his country.

France down England

"We were prepared to run and we were well-organised,“ analysed Philipp Lahm, one of four Bayern men in the Germany starting line-up alongside Klose, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Marcell Jansen. With 74 days remaining until the start of hostilities this summer, the Germans restored a lot of the reputation lost in a lethargic 3-0 win against the other co-hosts Austria a short time ago. "We can get even better once we've had a decent period of time together,“ reflected Lahm, "we'll be an even better team at the Euro than we were today.“

Over in Paris, France underlined their European championship ambitions with a 1-0 victory over England, Ribéry scoring the only goal of the game from the penalty spot on 32 minutes after a foul on Nicolas Anelka. Ribéry was the most dynamic player on display in a tactical encounter at the Stade de France, where the home side were rarely threatened by a disciplined but toothless England, for whom David Beckham earned a 100th and potentially final international cap.

Wins for Lucio and Micho

Lucio emulated Ribery in completing 90 minutes on Wednesday, helping Brazil to a 1-0 success against Sweden in London. Inter hitman Pato struck for the Lucio-captained Seleção, who were without superstars Ronaldinho and Kaka. Two goals settled the issue in Cairo where Argentina took on African champions Egypt. In a low-paced match, Agüero (66) and Nicolas Burdisso (84) netted for the Gauchos, for whom Martin Demichelis featured until the 82nd minute.

Hamit Altintop spent considerably less time on the pitch for Turkey away to Belarus in Minsk. The Bayern man was forced out of the action after just 22 minutes and watched as the match ended 2-2. The home side twice took the lead through Vitali Kutuzov (34) and Aliaksandr Hleb (64), but Tuncay Sanli (37) and Tümer Metin (72) levelled for the Turks.

Toni out of luck

Bayern's losers on the night were Luca Toni and Daniel van Buyten. The Italian and his team-mates fell 1-0 to Spain in Elche, although the result was a shade harsh on the Squadra Azzurra who failed to convert a string of decent chances. Toni, who played the first half for the Italians, was unlucky to see a 12th-minute header ruled out for an alleged offence, and Mauro Camoranesi hit the bar shortly after half-time. The Spaniards' winner came from an opportunistic David Villa strike 13 minutes from time.

In Brussels, Van Buyten and Belgium fell to a sobering 4-1 home defeat against Morocco. Soufiani Alloudi (14) and Tarik Sektioui (35) struck as the Belgians turned in a dismal first half display, but the Red Devils fought back and Axel Witsel reduced the arrears on 51 minutes. However, Nabil El Zhar (83) and Abdessalam Benjelloun (90) netted in the closing stages to seal the Moroccan victory.