A trio of Bayern Munich defenders eager to play at the Olympics are about to feel some heavy-duty arm-twisting by club manager Uli Hoeness, who is not at all happy about the idea of Martin Demichelis, Lucio and Breno missing pre-season training and the first few games of the campaign to play in China.

“We’re going to do everything we can to see that players who are already on their country’s top international team are not going to be called up for the Olympic selection as well,” Hoeness told Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper this weekend. 

“We’re not going to take that lying down. We’re going to pull every lever we can to prevent that. It’s not going to happen.”

The 27-year-old Demichelis, who just missed a place at the 2006 World Cup, was nominated last week for Argentina’s Olympic squad, who will be defending the gold medal won in 2004 in Athens. According to media reports, Lucio (29) likewise wants to go as an over-age player for Brazil. His countryman Breno is 18 and was recently called up to the Olympics squad.

As Brian Homewood wrote last month, soccer at the Olympics carries a great deal of prestige in Latin America.

Hoeness appears less enthused with Olympic spirit and that could be bad news for Brazil and Argentina because the long-serving Bayern chief is an old hand at this game.

Ze Roberto, for example, was urged to formally retire from the Brazil international side before Bayern Munich would re-sign him last year and before that there was repeated friction with Elber and his international career for Brazil.

PHOTO: Lucio (L) celebrates a goal with team mate Martin Demichelis during Bayern’s Champions League match against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, February 20, 2007. REUTERS/Victor Fraile