Four Takeaways as Bayern Munich defeat Mainz

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01 February 2020, Rhineland-Palatinate, Mainz: Football: Bundesliga, FSV Mainz 05 – Bayern Munich, 20th matchday. Bavaria’s coach Hansi Flick is on the sidelines. Photo: Torsten Silz/DPA – IMPORTANT NOTE: In accordance with the regulations of the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga and the DFB Deutscher Fußball-Bund, it is prohibited to exploit or have exploited in the stadium and/or from the game taken photographs in the form of sequence images and/or video-like photo series. (Photo by Torsten Silz/picture alliance via Getty Images) /

Flick for the Future

Once Hansi Flick was named interim manager for Bayern, the team’s form has been on an upward trajectory. The team started playing with passion, commitment, and intensity. Due to these positive changes, good results followed, and players started heaping praise on the coach for his man-management and tactical acumen.

Several good performances, including a 4-0 thrashing of rivals Borussia Dortmund have given life to Bayern Munich’s season and gave them a chance to retain the Bundesliga title.

There were a few questions or doubts I had about Flick, though. How would the team respond to his training sessions during the winter break, and how would the games go once the season got underway again? It’s one thing to just get back to basics and allow players to play in their natural positions, but a completely different ball game to implement tactics, and put your imprint on a team.

A good example is Manchester United who, under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, had a new manager bounce last year, and then, as the season went along the Red Devils started to underperform once his tactics were being implemented. And then, those kinds of results have continued ever since he has been given gig on a fulltime basis.

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So far, even after a winter training camp, Hansi Flick’s team has improved from their performances in the fall. The team is clicking and suffocating opponents while being potent in the final third. Even the veteran players are improving and have renewed confidence in their abilities.

It’s amazing what a team can do when they believe in the coach’s tactics, and those tactics get the best out of all players. If these results continue and the team continues playing this way, then the board will have no choice but to give the permanent job to FLick. Based on the current results, the board would be dumb to not and it certainly seems as if the players back him and believe him.