With a managerial CV that boasts
of 3 Bundesliga titles, 3 German Supercups, 2 UEFA Intertoto Cups, 1 Spanish
Supercup and 1 Champions League, it’s hard to imagine that someone would be
without a job, especially considering that he has taken his team to the
Champions League final after a League-winning season. Yet, that is where Josef
Heynckes finds himself.
Come this Saturday, when his Bayern Munich side take on domestic rivals Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League final, he will be managing this Bayern team for the last time. With Pep Guardiola set to take over the reins from Heynckes, following his year away from football, Heynckes will have departed quite possibly after delivering what is the ultimate prize in European club football, the Champions League crown.
The most telling contribution in
this, his third, stint as the manager of the Bavarian giants has been successfully
integrating key Bayern youth players Toni Kroos and David Alaba into the first
team. Heynckes, the man who’s managed in over 600 Bundesliga games, set the
team up to play their way to the Champions League final of 2012 at the Allianz
Arena, their home ground, only to have their hopes dashed by a resilient
Chelsea side. This year, he’s back again, guiding Bayern back to the final,
accounting for Arsenal, Juventus and the mighty Barcelona along the way.
The way they outplayed Barcelona
was a testament to the tactical acumen of Osram, as Heynckes is universally
known among German football aficionados, and would definitely be the high point
of a great season for the German tactician. What seems most bewildering is the
manner in which Bayern decided to dispense with his services at the end of this
season despite such good results, a win rate of 75.7% in the two seasons he’s
been in charge- it probably comes down to the appeal of hiring Guardiola to
guide the team to even greater heights.
So, it hardly is a surprise that
Heynckes isn’t short of suitors who want him to take over the managerial
duties, given his excellent record throughout his career. At the forefront of
the queue is Real Madrid, who themselves have decided to end their love affair
with “The Special One” Jose Mourinho which has turned bitter. The man, who has
brought Bayern on the verge of a treble, has also expressed that he is
considering retiring. We’ll have to wait to find out where he ends up next
season, but if he decides to retire, it will be a huge loss for the beautiful
game.
