Interview with Ram: Levan is certainly Haaland's role model; the benchmark in football is still Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

Recently, Bayern star Ram was interviewed by the official media of the Bundesliga, talking about his views on Levan, Haaland and some young players, and making suggestions for their development.

The full text of the interview

Let's talk about the title race, how close do you think Bayern are to the title?

I would say that before the bayern-Dortmund match, the point gap between them was very close, but Bayern won Dortmund, causing Dort to lose a few points, so the gap appeared little by little.

We all know bayern lead is wonderful and they are still the biggest favourites to win the title, but that's after they won Dortmund.

Aside from Levan and Haaland, what other players in the two teams impressed you?

At Bayern, I would say Hernandez, so far he has had a great season, fortunately he hasn't been injured regularly and he hasn't been injured as much as he did last season, which is important.

It's very important for him to play regularly to get his own rhythm of play and I think he's in really good shape right now.

He's a good defender – strong, fast and a very good passer, so this year, he's a surprise.

Sane is another player I want to highlight and I think it's really good that he's still in shape after so much criticism from the outside world. He's not the oldest player in Bayern, but he already has a lot of experience and he has to overcome these challenges.

He had to do that because after he changed clubs, everything didn't go the way he expected. Nagelsman is also very good at the work he's done, which is actually not surprising and it's nice to see him come back after going through all this.

On the Dortmund side, I think Bellingham's performance is fantastic, he's a dynamic player who plays with passion. And, for his age, being so young but showing a certain level of maturity, he really impressed me.

How do you compare Levan and Haaland? Champions and successors? Or the top star and challenger?

It's hard to compare because they're opponents, but you don't forget that it's a team sport, it's actually a match between Bayern and Dortmund.

If you want to talk about the top level of these sports, then the benchmark is still Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo because they've done so many incredible things over the last 15 years. In this period, they have always been the benchmark of everything in the football world, and this must not be forgotten.

Levan has been working hard to achieve this goal and has been at the top every year, he has been at the top for several years, and Haaland is now on his way to the top, he has the ability, and I am happy to watch him continue to improve. You can certainly call them masters and challengers.

To what extent do you think they will pay attention to each other's performance?

I'm sure they'll pay attention to each other's performance. They're all strikers, and at the end of the season, they all want to be champions, they all want to be top scorers, so they keep an eye on each other, just for that reason.

In addition, Lewandowski is a benchmark for young strikers, he also went through a journey to Germany, had a difficult start at Dortmund, and then became a top player, or one of the top players here.

Then he moved to Bayern, where he didn't go according to his plan at first, but he improved year by year until he became what he is today, becoming a top player. I think he's a role model for a lot of young strikers, and certainly a role model for Haaland.

Three words describe Haaland

Energetic, competitive, and ambitious, but I can only judge from a distance because I have never gotten to know him personally.

In which cases can he be prevented and in which cases cannot?

I think in a lot of situations it's hard to defend Haaland because he's a really good player, he's dynamic, he's fast and he's a good, good finisher, which makes it hard to be defended.

As a defender, you need to have good ability, and when two good players meet two good players, it often depends on the team on the day and the individual players playing on the spot.

It's always difficult to assess under what circumstances a player is easy or difficult to defend.

Another striker who really had an impact, what was your first thought about him?

He is a very strong sporty player who is perfectly suited to the style of the Bundesliga and the tactical style of play. He has a great connection with Kruzer and it's nice to see that they can complement each other.

My first impression was that he had a feeling at home in the Bundesliga, especially in Union Berlin.

With an average of about 3 goals per game so far this season, is there any goal that makes you feel particularly beautiful?

Dorsch's goal came to my mind, it happened recently, and he was the one who used to train and play with me, it was an incredible shot, the trajectory of the shot was amazing.

And Pantović's goal in Bochum, I thought about it too. It was also a long-range shot, somewhat far away. In fact, he has two such goals, one in the Bundesliga and one in the Bundesliga.

I've also played with him at Bayern and these are the two goals I can think of right now, but there are definitely more great goals and there are a lot of goals like you just said.

Many teams have performed surprisingly this season, which team do you think of first and why?

It must be Freiburg because they have been outstanding this season. They have managed to maintain the continuity between leading the team and the managerial management.

They moved to the new pitch in the first half of the season and they did a very good job. When you talk about relegation, you don't mention Freiburg by name again because they've already established themselves in the Bundesliga and you'll find that they've been very good in the Bundesliga this season, you'll feel like they're aligning themselves with the top of the table and it's really interesting to watch Streishi's team play.

Cologne also played strong football and stood with the fans, what role did the coach play in this process?

I would say that coaches play a huge role. Baumgart's results in cloning are similar to his time in Paderborn, where his style of play has always been aggressive and passionate.

Everyone has their own role proposition, which brings Cologne fans on board, who want to see the team full of passion and want the coach to show a passionate side on the sidelines. So Baumgart's move must have played a big role in their development.

Union Berlin is consolidating its great season last year, they are still the capital's number one club, what are the advantages for you?

They have a clear style of play and can follow the coach's leadership. You can see very clearly that they don't take a big risk when they have possession, but they have a clear idea of what kind of football they want to play and how they want to attack.

There are a lot of teams in the Bundesliga that take a lot of risks when they have possession, which leads to the loss of the ball often. Union Berlin has done a very good job, they have as little risk as possible in the backcourt, they hit the ball directly and quickly into the front and you can clearly see how they are doing on the pitch, which is of course the hallmark of the manager.

Bochum, as a promoted horse, has climbed up from the bottom three position, what are the expectations for them this season?

Their goal is to stay in the Bundesliga, which looks promising. They're always playing as a team, they can create a lot of chances and be able to score goals. So it's not surprising that they're doing well and I think they're definitely going to be able to achieve their relegation goals for the season.

Leipzig and Gladbach are going through a rollercoaster season, do you think Leipzig will take an important step towards success after changing managers?

For me, I was a bit surprised that Leipzig had not been able to build on the last few seasons, they lost a lot of league points and were very easy to lose points.

I don't know if the change of manager is a positive sign for the development of the team, we can only wait and see.

They lack a balance between attack and defense, they have conceded too many, too many easy goals, and they have not played well defensively. It makes it very difficult for the team, especially when people expect you to hit the top of the table.

Just like the case with Leipzig, once you start losing games, once you start losing, losing points, you find yourself in the middle of the league, which is not where you expected, and I'd love to see how things go in Leipzig.

Borussia Moncheng has excelled in some games, such as against Bayern, but they are still in a hurry to complete the relegation task, how can such a differentiated performance be explained?

First of all, I would say it's not a question of team ability, because Borussia Mönchengladbach's ability is there.

Again, conceding the ball is because they lose the ball too easily, they take too many risks in some low-risk situations, and they have to minimize the risk or avoid the risk.

Hitting the ball in front of the field at the risk of the backcourt has become a fashion in football today, but I don't think it's necessary. The risk should be borne by other positions on the pitch, not in the backline.

This happened all the time in Gladbach, which also led them to lose the game and get into a small predicament. They need to try to show everyone their strength again as soon as possible because they have that ability.

Bellingham is 19 years old, but he is an absolute leader, what are his best qualities?

He brings passion to the pitch, he wants to win every game, he always wants to prove he deserves to win.

He always wants to prove that he deserves a position at Borussia Dortmund, he wants to show what he can do as a dynamic player, he's very good at tackling tough and he's a good passer, he believes he can get involved in attack, even at 19 he can bring a certain maturity to the pitch, I don't know where that feeling comes from, but it's really fun to watch him play.

It's hard to imagine what makes Bayer Leverkusen different from other talents without Wertz? How much potential is he?

He has a lot of potential and ability because he is very strong in technology. I think when you look at how he creates opportunities and how he helps his teammates play in the team, you think he's a little bit mature.

He knows where he is, he knows he can't concede goals, which is very important when the players are young. When you're young, when you're a technical player, it's very important. You need to know where, you need to know where to carry the ball, where you can or can't concede the ball.

This makes him stand out because he is technically talented, but he can also judge the situation of the game. He's not playing "youth soccer" like many of his peers, he's playing professional football.

Nmega has made his mark in Wolfsburg, what do you think of him?

I think he's a very typical striker, in the box he's very capable. He needs the team to help him because he can get help from his teammates.

He's also fairly fast, which means teammates can pass through the opponent's backline and pass to him. He was a great fit for Wolfsburg because that's what Wolfsburg played. He's a typical striker, and that kind of striker isn't much anymore.

What do you think are the stumbling blocks for young players?

The most important thing for young players is that they really go to the game and get experience from it. On the other hand, clubs, coaches and teams must accept the fact that the performance of young players fluctuates.

But I think sometimes things always happen too fast and players can't wait to change clubs and go somewhere else. They want to take the next step, even if they don't consistently perform well.

I recommend that young players first reach the right level and show their best performances at that level before taking the next step and going to another club or a better club.

Then repeat the previous process at this club, where you establish yourself, perform well and get the support of the club.

We see that in Sane and there can be some volatility after the club change. But clubs, teams and coaches all believe in the ability of the players and they all go through the process.

My advice to every player is to first put up your good performances at a high level for as long as possible so that you can take the next step with confidence.