Done: Hansi Flick led Bayern to their 9th championship title in a row
Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick doused the number nine serial championship title with bubbly on Saturday. The 6-0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach fell out in style for David Alaba and Co. and opened triple packer Robert Lewandowski the great opportunity to beat Gerd Müller's goal record. “The game was worthy of a master,” enthused Flick, who is about to say goodbye.
It was less because of this that he became briefly thoughtful at the moment of triumph. “Unfortunately, this year it was only the championship,” he said, looking back on the Champions League loss against Paris Saint-Germain. Would the eternally hungry Bavarians have succeeded if Lewandowski had been fit? “In an important phase in particular, important players were absent,” said Flick briefly.
It is quite possible that Lewandowski would have made progress. The Pole demonstrated his class on Saturday with goals 37, 38 and 39 and has two chances to break Gerd Müller's legendary 40-goal record in the remaining games against Freiburg and Augsburg. “It doesn't help if you want it too badly,” said the Pole. But everyone could see beforehand on the pitch how much he wanted it.
This never-ending greed for goals, victories and titles, this winning mentality makes the star ensemble led by Flick around Manuel Neuer, Lewandowski and Thomas Müller the national dominator. “This feeling of winning, of being better than your opponent, that gives you the kick,” remarked Müller, with ten titles on a par with the Alaba player record champions, who left at the end of the season.
Under Flick's successor Julian Nagelsmann, championship number ten will follow en suite in 2022. In any case, the future CEO Oliver Kahn immediately rekindled the hunger. “No team on this planet has yet succeeded in such a series,” reveled ex-Titan Kahn – at least not in one of the major European leagues. Except for Juventus, which also has nine series titles on its account.
Flick's future is the other big issue. The gate to the DFB is wide open, even if, from his point of view, “not everything has been said” about Joachim Löw's successor. But all statements aim at that. In the ZDF sports studio, DFB Vice President Rainer Koch reported on “good discussions”. Bavaria also wants Flick in the meantime. With the DFB, the Munich even agreed on a “smart gesture” from the association for a flick change, as Rummenigge revealed. A financially lucrative game between Bayern and the national team would be the solution.
“There was enormous appreciation, enormous loyalty that drives me. These things are there, I have a deep trust in Oliver Bierhoff,” said Flick. DFB director Bierhoff selects Löw's successor. Flick is a sought-after coach in Europe, he's in a strong position. He will want to create a working environment according to his taste and with people he trusts.
In the happiness of winning the title, he didn't even rule out a later return to Bayern. Ottmar Hitzfeld or Jupp Heynckes are well-known examples. “Bayern Munich have always been my club,” noted Flick. First he was a fan, then a player, then a coach. “These two years have been very valuable to me,” he said. Now something new follows. “I want to continue to be a coach,” said Flick. Whether with a club or association, it doesn't matter: it has to be a team “that is able to win titles”. The national team belongs to this category for him, also because of the many Bayern players.
