Eric Dier played for Sporting and Bayern, asked who he wants to win | OneFootball

Eric Dier, former player of Sporting and Bayern Munich, said he has no favorites and admitted that his heart will be divided for the Champions League clash between the Bavarians and the Lions at the Allianz Arena. Even so, the English international offered high praise for the qualitative leap the green and whites have made in recent years.

"I just hope it's a great game. Of course, Sporting will be the underdog, but I always root for them, just as I do for Bayern. In these situations, I just hope both teams play well," he began by telling the Bavarian club's official media, before addressing the growth of the Lions, who are interested in a player from the German club.

"The club's identity is its academy and the development of players, who usually always make it to the first team. They have a great history in this regard and are proud of it. In the last five or six years, they have also achieved great success and won titles, which hadn’t happened for some time. This success has given Sporting new confidence and redefined its identity – it’s once again a club that wins a lot!"

Eric Dier recalled his time at Alcochete: "At the Academy – and today I look back with greater clarity – they always placed great importance on our development as people, not just as players. We spent a lot of time there, often more than with our families. That responsibility towards us was taken very seriously and we experienced a very disciplined environment; they provided us with the best possible conditions in every aspect. They were also innovative – in fact, it was one of the first academies of its kind in Europe with this structure. It was created in 2002, long before other clubs even had anything like it. Sporting was ahead of its time".

The current Monaco player analyzed both teams: "Recent times have been very good. They won a championship and had great moments under Ruben Amorim's leadership. Rui Borges then took over the team in a challenging context, but managed to win the championship again. On the other side will be a complete team – Bayern – with and without the ball, but Sporting has the quality to create opportunities. However, they need to be very effective when those chances arise, because there may not be many... They have to be rigorous and defend very well, because Bayern's quality is incredible," he concluded.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.