Saturday, August 31, 2013

Guardiola hailed Philipp Lahm

The Spaniard led his side to victory on Friday night and praised the full-back as a cut above any professional he has taken charge of in his career to date Pep Guardiola hailed Philipp Lahm as the "cleverest player he has ever worked with" after Bayern Munich lifted the Uefa Super Cup following a 5-4 penalty shootout win over Chelsea. Chelsea led twice on the night, with Fernando Torres making it 1-0 before Franck Ribery levelled to take the game into extra time. The Blues again took the lead, this time through Eden Hazard, but then saw Ramires sent off for a second yellow card, with Bayern leaving it late to pull level as Javi Martinez's last-gasp strike ensured a penalty shootout. David Alaba, Toni Kroos, Philipp Lahm, Franck Ribery and Xherdan Shaqiri all converted their spot-kicks, while Manuel Neuer saved from Romelu Lukaku, to hand Bayern the trophy. "Philipp Lahm is perhaps the most intelligent player I have ever trained in my career. He is at another level," Guardiola told reporters. The 42-year-old was also quick to pay tribute to his predecessor Jupp Heynckes and thanked the former Bayern boss after the game. Guardiola said: "Heynckes is the architect and creator of this title, I want to dedicate it to him." Heynckes guided Bayern to the treble last season, but the club opted to appoint Guardiola his successor before the end of last season, with the Spaniard unnattached after embarking on a year-long footballing sabbatical upon leaving Barcelona. The 42-year-old has guided Bayern to three wins and a draw from their opening four Bundesliga games but lost the DFL-Super Cup to Borussia Dortmund.