Indian players look forward to take on FC Bayern Munich stars

On a cool Sunday morning the Indian national football team had their first training session at Delhi's Ambedkar Stadium as they eagerly await to face FC Bayern Munich in the Audi Football Summit on Tuesday, January 10.

When the India players were asked about the players whom they like to face on Tuesday or who they admire most then the names of Thomas Mueller, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Arjen Robben were the most often named. Here some of the Team India statements and comments.

2010 AIFF Player-of-the-Year Gouramangi Singh said, " There are a lot of players I like at Bayern Munich. I admire Philipp Lahm as a Germany captain, but also we will be able to see from close players like Mueller and Gomez, who we normally only watch on television. Especially having to face Gomez will be a test for our defence."

India's utility player Syed Rahim Nabi said, "I have played against Thomas Mueller in Kolkata, but the player I really like is Arjen Robben. It isn't about winning or losing, but about learning from players who have played at World Cups."

Defender Nirmal Chetri said, "I will lookout for a number of players, but my pick has to be Thomas Mueller. The best part is that three years ago when I first played against him he was an unknown youngster, but now he one of the stars in world football. It is great to see his progress, lets see how we can stop him."

Wing-back Samir Naik said, "I'd like to play against Schweinsteiger, Bastian Schweinsteiger. He is my favourite because I love the way he plays his game."

Meanwhile Baichung Bhutia was happy to be back amongst the Team India players and there was huge media interest to hear from him ahead of his farewell match. When asked about whom at Bayern Munich he most wants to see in action, a diplomatic Baichung said, "They are all world stars, but to take out one is difficult though surely I look forward to seeing Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Arjen Robben in action here in Delhi."

"It is a good chance for our youngsters to learn from the best, then the Bundesliga is one of the strongest leagues in the world," Baichung added.


More information about the match and where to buy tickets online are available at www.audifootballsummit.in

The official Twitter account of the Audi Football Summit can be found under www.twitter.com/AudiFS2012 .