Azzurri hitman Luca Toni is enjoying life at Bayern Munich and loves playing alongside teammate Franck Ribery.
The towering striker has taken the Bundesliga by storm with a sensational tally of 36 goals to his name since arriving at the Allianz Arena from Fiorentina last summer.
Toni and French winger Ribery have been one of the most effective combinations in Europe and the two foes at international level are now friends on and off the pitch.
“I have to talk about Ribery because goals are always the product of a team effort,” Toni explained in Bild.
“I knew that Franck was a great player, but I didn’t imagine that we could get on so well in our professional and personal lives.
“We often go out to dinner together. He speaks good Italian, even if he speaks it with a funny accent.”
After their unexpected obliteration in the UEFA Cup semi-final at the hands of eventual winners Zenit St Petersburg, Bayern will need to strengthen if they are to be a force in next season’s Champions League.
“We need a squad of 16 or 17 top players,” Toni said. “It’s obviously up to our new Coach Jurgen Klinsmann to make the moves in the market.
“Gattuso? I’d say that there are several Italian players who could reinforce us tactically and technically.”
Toni concluded by pledging his immediate future to Die Roten and responding to suggestions that he could captain the side after the retirement of veteran goalkeeper Oliver Kahn.
“I’m happy here at Bayern,” Toni enthused. “The Germans are punctual, precise and effective, and I want to be a little more German.
“However, they need to learn how to celebrate from us and let themselves go a bit at the end of the season.
“There are other people at the club ahead of me in line to be captain, but if they asked me I wouldn’t think twice.”
