Ribery ready to compete with Coman for Bayern place
Franck Ribery is delighted with the strength in depth at Bayern Munich but insists he does not fear for his place in the side.
A series of injury problems has limited the now retired France international to just 10 appearances for all competitions under Pep Guardiola this season, though he has not missed a Bundesliga match since mid-February.
The absence of Ribery and Arjen Robben at different times this season has allowed Kingsley Coman and Douglas Costa, signed last year, to flourish in the first team at the Allianz Arena.
But the former Marseille winger, who turns 33 next month, is adamant he still has plenty to offer the German champions even if he can no longer start every match.
When asked by Omnisport whether he feared for his spot, he said: “I’m never scared. I’ve done it every time. I know me and I’ve played every time after an injury break. But I can’t play 45 games a year. I’m not a machine, I’m human.
“I want to play football. Even if I am not that young anymore and I’ve won a lot of titles, I want to continue playing football. My body says yes and I want to continue playing for some years if it stays like this. I am hungry all the time.”
Rumour has it #Ribéry is still out on the training pitch balancing the ball! pic.twitter.com/majgKViWzw
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) March 25, 2016
Assessing his current fitness, Ribery continued: “At the moment it’s good. My body is back at a 100 per cent level. Against Juventus I felt great.
“Now I hope for the best and that I can play without injuries and at a high level. We need every player now, because it isn’t easy to play every three days.”
With Bayern still fighting for a potential treble as the final few weeks of the season approach, Ribery welcomes the strong squad at Guardiola’s disposal.
“It’s nice to see,” he added. “You need many quality players at a big club like Bayern Munich. It’s impossible for 11 players to play 40, 45 games per season.
“Look at the current situation: we play in the Champions League quarter-final, in the Bundesliga and in the semi-final of the DFB-Pokal. Every game is important now. So we need every player in the squad to be successful. That’s the only important thing for me at the moment.”
