Mueller fired up by Heynckes’ return

Bayern Munich has “no more excuses”, interim captain Thomas Mueller told AFP after veteran German coach Jupp Heynckes took over as manager of the Bundesliga champion.

Heynckes, 72, came out of retirement to take charge of the squad — his fourth stint with Bayern — when Carlo Ancelotti was fired after a stinging 3-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

“A change of coach always releases energy, and I think we, the players, must now give a lot of ourselves. There are no more excuses,” said Mueller, at the Ingolstadt headquarters of Audi, a major sponsor of the club.

“The sacred fire is still there with Jupp Heynckes, he has given off a lot of energy since Monday with his team of coaches,” the striker added.

Heynckes has reunited the coaching team which in 2013 helped steer Bayern to a firstever treble of Bundesliga, Champions League and German Cup titles.

According to the German press, the Bayern stars were critical of Ancelotti’s soft training methods, but Mueller said the team have enjoyed the sessions under Heynckes.

“So far we’ve trained very well,” he said. “We had two intensive sessions and we had a lot of fun.” Bayern is currently second in the Bundesliga, but already five points behind leader Borussia Dortmund after just seven matches. The defeat in Paris...