Bayern will have more bite with Heynckes in the dugout
MICHAEL GANNON IN MUNICH
JUPP HEYNCKES enjoyed a hero’s welcome on his return to Bayern Munich but the legendary boss revealed he still ended up in the doghouse.
The 72-year-old got off to a winning start at the weekend as the Bundesliga giants stuck five past Freiburg at the Allianz Arena.
The Bayern fans hailed one of their club greats as he kicked off his fourth spell in charge but it didn’t wash with his beloved pet pooch Cando.
Heynckes joked his dog had gave him the all-clear to come out of retirement after Carlo Ancelotti got his jotters.
But he admitted his furry friend hasn’t got used to the fact his master is back in business in the dugout.
Heynckes said: “Cando has not eaten for two days. I’ve already sent him a video message but that did not help. Instead, my cat Nero has answered in a video of my wife. He roared like a Sachs engine.”
His pet might be in a huff but Bayern fans reckons Heynckes is the dog’s b ****** s.
The entire mood of the club has lifted after the gloomy final days of Ancelotti. The Italian was ousted by a dressingroom pact – with senior pros such as Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery complaining to chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge about the training and tactics.
It was a happy camp on Saturday as Freiburg were fed to the lions. Heynckes won’t be fooled though. He admitted Celtic will provide a much sterner test in Munich on Wednesday night and his side can’t afford the couple of first-half lapses Freiburg couldn’t capitalise on at the weekend.
He said: “This is a natural start. But there’s still a lot to do. That was quite good but we also allowed clear chances of the opponent.
“We will have to talk about this. There is a lot of work ahead of us.
“Of course the criticism is at a high level but we have also seen wonderful football. But you can not take the 5-0 as an occasion to say everything is wonderful again. Against Celtic we’ll have tougher opponents.”
Bayern looked pretty formidable against Freiburg despite the manager’s grumbles. The Bundesliga minnows had a couple of sniffs when it was still 1-0 but once the Bavarian big guns grabbed a second they cruised the rest of the game.
Midfielder Thiago was immense in a deep-lying role alongside Javi Martinez m.gannon@dailyrecord.co.uk – who will miss out against Celts with an injured shoulder – and the Brazilian admitted the change in manager has shaken the club out of its early-season slumber.
He also notched a sensational goal in the rout and said: “We felt really good on Saturday. As a team it has been a long time since we have played like that.
“It’s all about the mentality and we were very motivated. We always want to win, it’s the same every week but we need to keep the focus.
“If we show the same mentality as we did against Freiburg I am certain we can beat anybody.
“I was happy to get the goal. It felt awesome. But what felt even better was being able to help the team get the three points.”
The manager issue is the elephant in the room at Bayern though. Ancelotti was chased out due to player power but they seem a content lot with the club hero back in charge.
Heynckes won the Champions League at Bayern is his last spell there – as part of the Treble in 2013.
He has been drafted in to clean up the mess left in Ancelotti’s wake after Munich slipped behind Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga and were hammered 3-0 by PSG in their Champions League group game in Paris.
Thiago said: “I don’t want to talk about the difference between him and Carlo. There are good things and bad things about every player and person.
“What happened before wasn’t the manager’s fault – it was our fault. We were criticised after losing in Paris but that is football.
“We have to work to get better and that is exactly what we have done.
“The performance was as good as we have turned in for a long time.
“We have to learn lessons from the defeat to PSG and use that in the next European games.”
Thiago didn’t want to put the boot in to his former gaffer in public but he was keen to talk up the new man in the hotseat.
Heynckes won’t have a problem with talent – as he also has the likes of Robben, Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller and Kingsley Coman on the books.
But it’s the club’s mega egos he needs to keep on a very tight leash ahead of the crunch clash with the Hoops this week.
Thiago said: “The new manager is a great coach with a lot of experience in football. He has shown his ways and what he wants you to do. You can see he knows so much about the game.
“Whether he has had a talk to me individually is a personal matter. That will remain within the team.
“What does he expect from me? It’s about the team. It’s not about me, Lewy or Thomas or anyone. It’s about the team – not players. We win as a team and lose as a team – and that’s what he wants.”
Celtic will have their work cut out against this lot but, as Heynckes knows all too well, every dog can have their day.