Determined Ottl ready to fight for his place

Bayern youth product Andreas Ottl signed professional forms in July 2005. The local boy rounded off his first season in the senior side with a flourish, netting the equaliser in a 1-1 draw away to Kaiserslautern which earned FCB the Bundesliga title with a game to spare. Ottl made 24 appearances in the following campaign, but the combative midfielder was restricted to 19 outings last term, mostly as a substitute.

The player is determined to do better this season. “I’m not going to be satisfied with warming the bench,” the 23-year-old told reporters on Friday, although the Munich-born midfielder is fully aware of the intense battle for places in the team. “I’ll have to work hard in training and give it everything.“

Bowled over

Ottl believes he can profit from the many changes introduced under Jürgen Klinsmann. “You feel like a new player,” he revealed, declaring himself thrilled with the innovatory approach, especially on the practice ground: “The best part about it is that we’re always working with the ball.“ Like all the players, Andi is hugely impressed with the new performance centre too.

Ottl feels the current coaching staff can take the club a long way, especially with Klinsmann running the show: “He always wants to talk things through with you, he’s totally motivated.“ Assistant boss Martin Vasquez is “always there with help and advice,” the local lad reported, “I think it’s good having specialists for each individual area.“

Original ideas

As Klinsmann earlier predicted, Ottl feels at home with the newly-extended training schedule: “I’m completely comfortable with the eight-hour day.“ Finely-honed preparation, the squad lunch and the off-the-field training opportunities would help each player develop individually, he argued. Klinsmann’s widely-reported ban on mobile telephones was not a problem: “It’s fine, it would just be a distraction otherwise.“ Unavoidable calls could always be made on the centre’s fixed-line phones.

The performance centre is equipped to the highest technological standards in any case. So-called message boards, small screens built into the players’ locker doors, provide Ottl and Co with information about their daily schedules. “The displays help you optimise your preparation for the day,” the 23-year-old explained.