BERLIN (AFP) - Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann insisted on Sunday
the hype around Bayern Munich's "dream team" will only be justified
if the German giants win the Champions League in the next two
years.
Bayern splashed out 69 million euros on a summer spending spree to
recruit players like French star Franck Ribery, Italian World Cup
winner Luca Toni and German striker Miroslav Klose, with much
fanfare.
But Lehmann, 37, Germany's number one goalkeeper, says the hype
around Bayern's reconstruction is unjustified and they will have
proved nothing until they win a Champions League title to be
European champions for the fifth time.
After finishing fourth in last year's Bundesliga, Bayern missed out
on a Champions League place for the first time in 11 years and will
contest the UEFA Cup this season.
"The hype around Bayern is exaggerated," Lehmann told German
newspaper Bild am Sonntag after Bayern opened their Bundesliga
campaign on Saturday with a 3-0 win over newly-promoted Hansa
Rostock.
"Whether they are good enough to win the Champions League remains
to be seen, because there are so many strong teams.
"Only two of them (Ribery and Toni) played in last year's World Cup
final.
"A world star only really makes his mark in the Champions League,
where the competition is fierce.
"So, for example, a player like Philipp Lahm, who always plays well
in the Champions League, is a real world star."
There has been much speculation the 46-times capped Lehmann will
play out his career back in Germany and with three young children,
the former Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund star admitted he wants
them to be brought up in his homeland.
"The Bundesliga is an interesting league," he said.
"For our children, it would also be good to live in Germany.
"The future prospects for children in Germany are shining, because
there are less children there and with a good education, they will
have a better chance of a good life."
Having ousted former captain Oliver Kahn from the German team,
Lehmann is under pressure from talented 22-year-old Polish
goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski to keep his place in the Arsenal
team.
But the German says his country have as good a chance as anyone of
winning the Euro 2008 title, providing they continue their so-far
successful qualifying campaign.
Germany top Group D by five points from rivals the Czech Republic
and face qualifying away games against Wales and the Republic of
Ireland in the next two months.
"At the European Championships, there are only a few games and you
really have to make your mark," said Lehmann.
"And we rank alongside the likes of Italy, France, England and
Holland amongst the top favourites."