Welcome confidence-booster for Andreas Ottl

Andreas Ottl was a man in a hurry, controlling Christian Lell’s throw-in with a single touch, before advancing a couple of paces and unleashing a belting left-foot drive towards Tim Wiese’s goal. The Bremen keeper hurled himself to his left, but Ottl’s thunderbolt passed perfectly between the angle of bar and post to make the score 4-0 and ice the cake of Bayern’s victory over arch-rivals Werder Bremen.

The 22-year-old, Mark van Bommel’s replacement just five minutes earlier, thus took his total to three goals in 33 Bundesliga appearances and also chalked up a double premiere: Ottl completed his first outing of term, but also registered Bayern’s first goal not scored by a new signing in a competitive fixture this season. “Really? I didn’t know that, so I’m even more delighted now,“ the player responded after fcbayern.de informed him of the fact on Sunday morning.

Second-string status

Ottl made no secret of the goal’s potential importance to him personally. “It was definitely good for me to come on and hit the target straightaway. I’ve not had a lot of time on the pitch so far.“ The youngster spent the whole of the Cup visit to Burghausen and the Bundesliga opener against Rostock watching from the bench, as his favoured defensive midfield berth is currently occupied by two of the club’s biggest-name stars.

“I think I did well in pre-season and I’m in good shape. But unfortunately, it’s a simple fact that I have to be content with a place in the background at the moment. Zé Roberto and Mark van Bommel are first-choice players,“ acknowledged Ottl, described by coach Ottmar Hitzfeld as a “problem case” a few weeks ago: the youth product is playing perfectly well, but his rivals are even better.

Tricky situation

“It’s not an easy situation for me right now, but it’s early in the season. All I can do is try and deliver the goods and put myself forward. Every day in training, I think I prove I have what it takes to play in the first team,” Ottl declared. Hitzfeld confirmed he would have no hesitation in picking the Munich-born midfielder, “in the event Zé Roberto or Van Bommel couldn’t play for once.“

Ottl is privately hoping for more time on the field in the autumn, when the start of UEFA Cup hostilities means Bayern will frequently be in action twice a week. His personal triumph in Bremen had at least been “a real confidence-booster. I think I’ll clock up plenty of appearances in the course of the season.”