Interview: Paul Lambert - Taking On The World's Best & Winning
With the much anticipated all German Champions league final nearly here, we had a quick chat with Aston Villa manager and ex-Borussia Dortmund player Paul Lambert about what it feels like to taste Champions League glory. Lambert was part of the Dortmund side that beat Juventus in the 1997 final. So what advice would he give to the BVB players on Saturday?
Lambert moved to Dortmund from Motherwell for the 1996/97 season after impressing their manager Ottmar Hitzfeld when playing against them during the previous season. Playing in Germany took the Scot a bit of getting used to but he soon adapted.
"In my debut, I couldn't get a grip on it at all as I didn't know the language on the pitch which was really tough. Then I scored just before half time and my game started to come on. I remember saying to one of the lads at half-time can you explain to me the basic football language here, so I could understand what it was. I got it from there and my game just snowballed and it was great. It was at an era and place that was absolutely fantastic."
That season Dortmund didn't manage to defend the Bundesliga title they had won the previous two seasons but did make the UEFA Champions league final. Going up against a Juventus team that included Zinedine Zidane and Alessandro Del Piero, they were seen as massive underdogs. But Lambert didn't see it that way and was confident of success.
"Even though people say we were the underdogs I always say to them look at the Dortmund team of that era. You've got half the German National team who had just won euro 96, guys that had won Serie A, Bundesliga and guys who had won the Champions League. If anyone wanted to beat us they'd have to be a really top team."
Dortmund surprised the masses and won the game 3-1 with Lambert setting up the opening goal and doing such a cracking job in midfield that Zidane didn't get a look in. Playing against one of the world's best is something he relished. "At that time he was arguably the best player in the world. I played against him a couple of times after that and nothing changed my mind. He was just a fabulous, world-class footballer".
However when we when asked him who was the best player he ever played against, it wasn't Zidane's name that came up. Serbian winger Milinko Pantic, who was part of the Atletico Madrid team that topped Dortmund's group, took that honour. "I never touched the ball against him, couldn't get near him for love nor money."
So to Saturday's Final against Bayern Munich where once again Dortmund are the underdogs. Lambert says "The big thing is you don't regret it, you don't come out of that game thinking if only or should have. They're a fabulous side, Borussia Dortmund, there's no two ways about it. The lads will be ready, the management will be ready, the fans will be ready. You just don't want to have any regrets in a Champions League final ".
Pretty sound advice if you ask us. We also asked him about his own influences and he was again spot on. "Every manager I've played under you always take things from them but you never stop learning. You take good things from good people and you try and use them the best you can. But I've always said, ultimately you're your own person."
Lambert will be re-united with many of his ex team-mates on Saturday night. "I can't wait to see a lot of the lads, they were a special team and when you have a special team like that you try to keep in touch as much as possible. It will be a great night".
However he has no time for sentiment, he hasn't got a clue where his winner's medal is and when we asked him if he kept any of his old boots his answer was pretty blunt. "No, it wasn't something I really collected, I was too busy trying to win games rather than worry about my boots!"
While on the subject of boots we quizzed Paul on how far he thought boots had come on since his playing days. "They've moved with the times, football is always evolving, it changes and it moves, balls move differently and everything changes. Football boots are the same and it only bodes well for the game".
Paul Lambert was speaking to SoccerBible at the adidas lab, showcasing the latest innovations at the cutting edge of football. For more information visit www.adidas.com/football or join the conversation on Twitter @adidasfootball #allforthis
