German Bundesliga powerhouse Bayern Munich is gearing up to face the Chinese Olympic team in a friendly match on Saturday afternoon.

A press officer of the club told Xinhua that head coach Ottmar Hitzfeld would announce the lineup one hour before the match.

Bayern would send several "star players" to the field like Italian International Luca Toni and German striker Miroslav Klose.

However, the press officer said French midfielder Franck Ribery would not show up because of flu.

According to the club, as many as over 50,000 tickets have been sold for Saturday's match.

"We mustn't underestimate them (Chinese Olympic team). They're flexible and compact, good at letting the ball do the work," Bayern defender Marcell Jansen said.

He recalled the 2005 U-20 World Cup in the Netherlands when Jansen was part of the Germany team which knocked the Chinese out of the tournament 3-2 in the Round of 16.

The current Chinese Olympic team, coached by Serbian Ratomir Dujkovic, includes more than half of the 2005 squad, all of them born in 1985.

Another defender Philipp Lahm warned his teammates to be aware of the "hard-running, quick and flexible" Chinese wingers.

"They're definitely a good team and they won't be easy to beat," he added.
 
(Xinhua News Agency January 12, 2008)