BayernForum.com

15.02.2007

Ottmar Hitzfeld is well known as a stickler for detail. "Micho!" he called out on Thursday, suddenly bringing a training routine to a halt, "Micho, your shoe's coming off!" Argentine enforcer Martin Demichelis looked puzzled for an instant, but then swiftly attended to his footwear and the session resumed, Bastian Schweinsteiger swinging a corner into the penalty area.

The crowds gathering daily to watch Hitzfeld at work see the coach with his feet apart and hands clasped behind his back, always stationed in the thick of a crowd of players and exuding a blend of authority and control. The former, newly returned coach is utterly focused on the task at hand, keeping an eagle eye on his charges and stopping the play to correct the smallest error – such as an unlaced boot, for example.

<b>Beckenbauer delighted</b>

"He's doing everything he can to point the team in the right direction again. I've not seen him like this for a long time," Bayern President Franz Beckenbauer enthused at the Bulls Cup tournament in Salzburg on Tuesday. "He's got the fire in his belly again, like he did many years ago."

For their part, the players have expressed approval of Hitzfeld's training methods. "I'm very pleased. We needed to work on tactics," Lucio commented. The Brazil centre-half and his fellow defenders provide the General's key focus at the present time. "We still have a few areas to work on," the boss recently commented.

<b>Discipline and organisation</b>

Thursday's set routine saw Philipp Lahm, Daniel Van Buyten, Lucio and Hasan Salihamidzic in the back four, behind holding midfield pair Owen Hargreaves and Andreas Ottl, fending off attacks mounted by a six-man offensive unit. Hitzfeld watched closely and stepped in whenever a defender made an error of positioning or movement.

"We're continuing to work on doing the basics automatically," Van Buyten told the scheduled news conference afterwards. The rearguard looked a great deal more solid last weekend at home to Bielefeld, and will be looking for further improvement at Aachen's Tivoli stadium on Saturday. "We know our positioning's already better, both at the back and in midfield," the Belgian colossus continued.

<b>Mutual praise from Ottmar and Mark</b>

"Ottmar Hitzfeld works very hard on the details. The small things are extremely important for us," commented Mark van Bommel. Hitzfeld frequently called the Dutch midfielder over to his side during the training workout. "He's an on-field leader. He gets behind the other players. He's genuinely inspirational," Hitzfeld remarked. "We're heading in the right direction," Van Bommel responded. That new course is set to cntinue in Aachen on Saturday.