Germany's ex-Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann says he
knows a secret recipe to contain Portugal's chief play-maker
Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of Thursday's Euro 2008
quarter-final.
"Ronaldo is a player who can make all the difference," said
Lehmann, who has signed a one-year contract to play for VfB
Stuttgart next season.
"He is very pleasant to watch playing, but my former colleagues in
the Arsenal defence found a very good recipe to stop him.
"I will not explain to you now how this recipe works, but I know
how you can play effectively against him and I have already spoken
to our defender Arne Friedrich about it."
Lehmann stressed 23-year-old Ronaldo, who was again voted the
Premier League players' player of the year for the second season
running, was not Portugal's only attacking weapon.
"This team, unfortunately, has other good players, it is necessary
that we are well positioned to avoid letting them get into
positions to score goals," said Lehmann.
Should Thursday night's game in Basel be decided by penalties,
Lehmann says he expects to be handed a detailed analysis of where
the Portuguese players like to hit their spot-kicks prior to the
game.
The German goalkeeper famously read notes on a piece of paper in
the 2006 World Cup quarter-final penalty shoot-out with Argentina
just prior to facing the South Americans' spot-kicks to intimidate
his opponents.
The move paid off and Germany went through 4-2 on penalties.
"I do not know where I will put this piece of paper, maybe I will
slip it into my socks," he smiled.
"But I hope we will have secured victory before we come to a
shoot-out."
