Managerial limbo and the not so hidden problems of Bayern Munich – Part 1
By Tim Richards
Despite bringing back positive results and improving performances greatly at Bayern Munich, this must be Jupp Heynckes’ last at-bat in Bavaria.
After coming off of several very poor performances, the sacking of Carlo Ancelotti and his staff on the 28th of September appeared logical. It allowed Bayern Munich to welcome Jupp Heynckes back out of his second (read second) retirement with open arms. The improvement the club and players witnessed speaks volumes about the change of direction he brought, and how necessary it was.
As enjoyable as the results have been and nostalgic it is to see Javi Martinez in midfield, what lies beneath this shotgun-appointment is indicative of a larger problem at the club.
The problem is resulting in public outcries of desperation that has the potential to plague the club for longer than anyone would like. Hyperbole, maybe … But ignoring the embarrassment of perennial President Uli Honess claiming he would drop his trousers in order to keep the twice-retired and rapidly approaching 73-year-old Jupp Heynckes in his job rather than offer it up to literally anyone else shows a reluctance to adapt to the ever-changing game of soccer.
“There is no Plan B”
Jupp Heynckes is set to retire for the third time in his career at the end of this season. Although technically a caretaker manager, much to the consternation of Bayern’s upper management, Uli Honess and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge have both publicly stated that they want him to stay longer than this season. The former admitted in a moment of raw honesty, “there is no plan-B.”
Whether they meant it this way or not, the pulse of shame that races through those words could be enough to guilt-trip Heynckes into changing his mind. A club that he loves and to whom he has given so much having no direction with to turn could make Heynckes concede.
The problem here, though, is that Jupp Heynckes is 72-years-old and has retired from coaching twice before.
Pardon the repetition, but this is a big problem.
If his decision wasn’t as final as he has made it abundantly clear, what’s to say that he wouldn’t constantly be called upon as Bayern’s get-out-of-jail-free card any time a new manager didn’t live up to expectations?
Imagine for a moment that after David Moyes was sacked from Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson was asked to come back and re-do everything that had been undone. After this, Louis van Gaal didn’t do well enough and then Sir Alex Ferguson is brought back again, and so on, ad infinitum.
The club would be seen as stagnant and unable to move forward, which is exactly what Bayern are in danger of becoming.
As a caretaker, Jupp Heynckes should see out the remainder of this season and be granted the retirement and fanfare that he has earned … again.
Next: The Bavarian Collective: What moves should Bayern make in the summer?
Following from this, Honess and Rummenigge should delete his number, his email address and just take comfort in knowing that a man who owes them nothing is at home, in his garden and enjoying the retirement that he has been promising himself for the best part of the past decade. Quite honestly, Bayern Munich simply cannot keep on turning to Jupp Heynckes to bail them out any time the going gets tough.