Heynckes: Don’t ask me when I’m 80
Veteran coach says no return as he sits in dugout for one last time with Bayern in cup final
>> BERLIN: Jupp Heynckes brings the curtain down on his fourth spell as Bayern Munich coach today, warning the German giants not to call on him again when he’s 80.
Heynckes takes charge of Bayern for the final time in the German Cup final against Eintracht Frankfurt, whose current boss Niko Kovac will take over the Munich hot seat.
The 73-year-old Heynckes took charge in October for his fourth stint when Carlo Ancelotti was fired.
He could bow out with the league and cup double after Bayern won the Bundesliga title by a massive 21 points.
“We want to put in a good performance for the fans and create another highlight,” said Heynckes.
He also offered a warning to Kovac, his replacement for next season.
“It is an incredibly labour-intensive, around-the-clock job,” said Heynckes, who holds the record of 1,037 German league games as a player or coach.
“Being coach at Bayern is a great opportunity — but also a huge commitment.”
However, he insists there will be no return for a fifth stint as coach.
“FC Bayern should not ask again when I’m 80, that was definitively not for me,” said Heynckes.
“I will not have withdrawal symptoms and no boredom, I have a lot of hobbies.”
Heynckes says he is looking forward to watching football as a fan alongside his wife Iris and dog Cando at the family home in Schwalmtal, near Moenchengladbach.
“That’s what makes me happy, so it’s easy for me to quit the job.”
Heynckes oversaw his last training session in Munich on Thursday before the team flew to Berlin for the final and the message is clear.
“If we have to say goodbye to our coach, then we want to do that with the double,” said Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
Meanwhile, Bayern star Thomas Mueller is struggling to be fit for today’s game as he is suffering from gastroenteritis.
The 28-year-old missed training on Thursday while winger Arjen Robben, who has a groin strain, and Joshua Kimmich, with a mild infection, trained separately.
“I’ll fly to Berlin, but whether I can play is still open,” Robben told German daily Bild.
With one eye on next month’s World Cup, Bayern fans’ main hope for the final at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium is that Germany captain and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer will make his comeback after eight months sidelined by a fractured foot.
The 32-year-old is expected to start on the bench with Sven Ulreich in goal.
WOLFSBURG SEIZE LEAD
Divock Origi scored and set up a goal to help Wolfsburg seal a 3-1 win over battling minnows Holstein Kiel in the Bundesliga relegation play-off, firstleg on Thursday.
The Belgium striker, whose loan deal from Liverpool expires after the two-legged play-off, tapped in an early opener at the Volkswagen Arena, then set up the third for Yunus Malli to leave Wolfsburg in pole position before Monday’s second leg.
Origi, 23, caused Wolfsburg some embarrassment in the build-up when he confessed knowing nothing about Kiel, but he made amends with an impressive display.
This was a true David verses Goliath clash as big-spending Wolfsburg’s annual squad salary budget is reportedly €60 million — ten times that of Kiel.
After Origi’s goal, Kingsley Schindler equalised before Josip Brekalo and Malli netted either side of the break for Wolfsburg.
For the second year running, Wolfsburg are in the relegation play-off after finishing 16th in Germany’s top flight, while Kiel qualified by coming third in the second tier.