German Bundesliga powerhouse Bayern Munich is gearing up to face
the Chinese Olympic team in a friendly match on Saturday
afternoon.
A press officer of the club told Xinhua that head coach Ottmar
Hitzfeld would announce the lineup one hour before the match.
Bayern would send several "star players" to the field like
Italian International Luca Toni and German striker Miroslav
Klose.
However, the press officer said French midfielder Franck Ribery
would not show up because of flu.
According to the club, as many as over 50,000 tickets have been
sold for Saturday's match.
"We mustn't underestimate them (Chinese Olympic team). They're
flexible and compact, good at letting the ball do the work," Bayern
defender Marcell Jansen said.
He recalled the 2005 U-20 World Cup in the Netherlands when
Jansen was part of the Germany team which knocked the Chinese out
of the tournament 3-2 in the Round of 16.
The current Chinese Olympic team, coached by Serbian Ratomir
Dujkovic, includes more than half of the 2005 squad, all of them
born in 1985.
Another defender Philipp Lahm warned his teammates to be aware
of the "hard-running, quick and flexible" Chinese wingers.
"They're definitely a good team and they won't be easy to beat,"
he added.
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(Xinhua News Agency January 12, 2008)