Plain text at BILD on TV!
Jens Lehmann (52) was a guest on Sunday morning on the show “Die Lage der Liga”. The former goalkeeper knows the Bundesliga very well, having played for Schalke (315 competitive games), Dortmund (179) and Stuttgart (90). In 1997 he won the Uefa Cup with the royal blue, and in 2002 he also won the German championship with BVB.
Lehmann spoke to moderator Walter M. Straten and chief columnist Alfred Draxler about, among other things, Bayern’s disgrace against Bochum (2:4). And the ex-national keeper (61 international matches) made a statement about Bayern professional Joshua Kimmich (27) that made one sit up and take notice.
Lehmann: “He plays as a six, but I don’t know if that’s a real six.”
So isn’t Kimmich a real six?: “Joshua Kimmich is a good player, but his strengths lie more in offense than in defence. I know other sixes who were more defensive and a little more aware.”
Lehmann also sees a very big problem with BVB superstar Erling Haaland (21). He says: “One thing is clear, you are a world-class player if you always play. He needs to improve there. I don’t know if he’s prone to injury, but he won’t play today because he’s injured. He has to do more for his body.”
And further: “Messi and Ronaldo have played every game for what feels like 10 years, including Lewandowski and Lahm. When it comes to Ronaldo, we all think it’s great that he lives an ascetic life. And as a young player I would take that as a role model. He needs to do more for himself.”
After his playing career Lehmann, he was part of the coaching team around Arsène Wenger (72) at his former club FC Arsenal in the 2017/18 season. In mid-May 2020, he was appointed to the Hertha BSC Supervisory Board as a representative of investor Lars Windhorst (43), succeeding Jürgen Klinsmann (56). He stayed there until the beginning of May 2021.
In addition, Lehmann spoke about …
… New representative Sven Ulreich (33): “If you look at the goals, Ulreich couldn’t do anything about it. Manuel could not have done anything about the goals themselves. No goalkeeper in the world can prevent the 4-0. Unless he’s extremely speculating on it. And the other hit from an acute angle, you can’t save that either.”
… mentality problem at Bayern: “I wouldn’t see it as bad. You have to pay Bochum a big compliment. They were not afraid and were brave. If something like that happens within 15 minutes, and that can happen to any team in the world, I wouldn’t dismiss it as a mentality problem.”
… Nagelsmann: “Julian Nagelsmann is a good coach, without a doubt. But first he has to win something with Bayern Munich, it’s not that easy. He’s a good coach, does good things on the pitch.”
… the question of who he thinks is the best coach in the Bundesliga: “You have to say that Reis is always brave. That was a good player himself, a gambler. He does it well. The prank is good in its own way. Steffen Baumgart shot Cologne with his means.”
… the Bundesliga: “The Bundesliga trains differently. The pace, the intensity is not that high. You can compare the mileage. I had worked in England and it’s different. But the Bundesliga should be the best league in the world in terms of the conditions.”
… Niklas Süle: “I see other defenders in the Premier League and Niklas Süle is a top player there. That’s good for Dortmund. He’s a player you go to the stadium for, a national player you like to see.”
… the Bayern defense: “Bayern also conceded a lot of goals under Hansi Flick. But that also makes it fun because there are a lot of goals. If you want to defend well, you have to coach very well. And Thomas Müller is good at coaching, but he’s an attacker. You need players who can coach. And Bayern speak little at the back. Manuel Neuer never had to do it, he never learned it.”
… Bayern-Boss Oliver Kahn: “I think the line-up is very good because Bayern always had someone in the position who also played. Oliver has the Bayern gene, he understands the club.”
… Kimmich’s initial doubts about the corona vaccination: “Some are afraid that they will get Corona. The others are afraid of the vaccination. I can understand it. You have to understand, because it’s not mandatory.”
… Lars Windhorst and Hertha BSC: “We weren’t really that divided. It wasn’t so much about Windhorst. I was on the supervisory board at Hertha. That was a little weird. I always had a good relationship with everyone there and then it quickly fell apart. There are one or two who have always traveled a little differently.”
