Heynckes is raring to go in return to Bayern role

Jupp Heynckes has claimed love for Bayern Munich, rather than any personal ambition, is what lured him out of retirement for a fourth stint at the helm of the Bavarian side.

The man who left the club in 2013 after leading them to the treble, making way for Pep Guardiola, yesterday stepped into the position vacated by Carlo Ancelotti and said his advanced age would be no obstacle.

“Some people are old at 45, others young at 70, I’m one of the latter,” said the 72-year-old who takes a caretaker role until June 2018.

Heynckes is a close personal friend of the club’s iconic president Uli Hoeness and hasmanaged the team on three previous occasions: 19871991, 2009 and 2011-2013.

“I owe Bayern a great deal,” he said. “Without them I might never have gone to Real Madrid and won the [Uefa] Champions League with them.”

Heynckes’s guided Real Madrid 1998 to their first European Cup for 22 years.

“This is no personal ambition, I had no intention of coming back,” he said.

“It’s not for me, it’s for Bayern. This gives them the time to choose the right person.”

Ancelotti was dismissed following a run of three games without a win, including the 3-0 Champions League defeat against Paris Saint-Germain last month and giving up a 2-0 lead twice in domestic matches.

Trailing five points behind leaders Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga after seven games as they aim for a sixth successive title, the Bayern board swung the axe.

Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge described Heyneckes as “the ideal coach for Bayern”.

Top of his to-do list will be to take control of the dressing room that was rebelling against Ancelotti.

One of his major challenges will be to get Thomas Muller performing at his best again after the German international had struggled in Ancelotti’s 4-2-3-1 system.

Heynckes’s first game back in charge will be on Saturday at home to Freiburg.