Laimer scored two of his four international goals so far this fall from the new offensive position that team boss Ralf Rangnick had in mind for him. “If you play a little more offensively, that’s good for every footballer,” said Laimer. “I am very clear, very simple. I feel most comfortable in midfield.” He doesn’t care about the exact role. “I know where I have to go. And in the end I want to win.”
The 26-year-old is a key player in pressing. In the absence of the injured David Alaba and Marko Arnautovic, the Bayern legionnaire needs to take on even more responsibility. “It’s always cool when everyone is there,” said Laimer. “I’ve already experienced a bit and want to do my part.” His role wouldn’t change much due to the absences of Alaba and Arnautovic. “Nothing is being reinvented now. There are still enough football players there who know how business works.”
ÖFB star Laimer: “We want to have great success”
Konrad Laimer has become an important pillar in the national football team in recent years. The 26-year-old spoke in an ORF interview about the training camp in Marbella and the coming time in the national team and his club Bayern Munich.
One of them is Michael Gregoritsch, “who has always played excellently up front in the last few games. We’re completely relaxed and doing our thing. We want to continue where we left off last year.” The European Championships in Germany in the summer are now omnipresent. The test matches on Saturday (6:00 p.m.) in Bratislava against Slovakia and on Tuesday (8:45 p.m., both live on ORF1) in Vienna against Turkey are “an opportunity for a long time to play friendly games and to practice one thing or another and to test.”
“Now we’re looking forward to getting started.”
Laimer wants to start the European Championship year with a positive result – and also with a good team performance. “Now we’re looking forward to it starting on Saturday,” said the Salzburg native. After his calf injury, he is 100 percent fit again and feels “great”. Of course, people in the club also talk about the European Championships from time to time. “It’s a bit of a tingle.”
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The high intensity is also noticeable in the ÖFB training sessions in southern Spain. “That’s exactly what we need in a Euro year like this, for everyone to get the most out of themselves,” said the 32-time international. “We now have a good, broad squad in which there is a certain level of competition. That’s good, everyone is hot.” This should also be evident in the two tests.
Bayern have been unbeaten since Laimer’s return
In his first season at Bayern, Laimer often had to help out as a right-back. Since Salzburg returned from his calf injury in mid-February, Munich have not lost a game. The series champions are ten points behind Bayer Leverkusen with eight rounds to go. “There is still a very interesting April to come, where you can have a very good season at the end,” emphasized Laimer. “We are still in the Champions League.”
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England’s league leaders Arsenal are waiting there in the quarter-finals. “There are definitely easier opponents,” admitted Laimer. “Arsenal is a top club that needs a top performance twice. But we know that. When you play at FC Bayern Munich, you want to play and win games like this.” The championship seems out of reach, however, the mood at the club has changed after the recent liberation against Lazio Rome (3:0), Mainz (8:1). and Darmstadt (5:2) but improved.
“Interesting final phase”
“The demands are so high that you win everything. But I can easily understand myself because I have these demands myself,” explained Laimer. That’s why he immediately felt at home in Munich. “It is normal that clear words were spoken after the results in February. We know that was not our aim. Now it will be another interesting final phase.” And then the European Championships await.
