“Little sleep, lots of singing and lots of drinks. The players of FC Bayern celebrated the win of the 13th “double” of the club Saturday evening first in the team hotel in Berlin, then they drove by taxi to the party in the “Soho House”. On Sunday morning the Tross flew back to Munich, at noon the crew was received in the town hall.
With the 4-2 (2-0) against Bayer Leverkusen in the final of the DFB-Pokal, the Munich team had crowned their magnificent return round without defeat. And football history is written. Hans-Dieter “Hansi” Flick is the first coach of the Bundesliga to take over a team during the season and won both national titles with it. The 55-year-old is also the first German to win the double as a player and coach. Only the Croatian Niko Kovac had managed to do that before him.
With the success in the capital, the Bavarians set records: it was their 20th cup victory, their 50th national title, their 200th victory in the DFB-Pokal, their 17th victory in a mandatory game. On the turf, the players threw their coach into the air shouting after the whistle.
“It was nice to fly a little bit. I didn’t know my team was that strong,” Flick said with a laugh. Champagne was also sprayed. “Now it’s just joy that we won the double,” the coach said.
The dream of the Triple at FCB lives
‘The players can go down for a couple of days now and then we’ll prepare for the Champions League. We will approach them like a European Championship or a World Cup.” Flick is experienced in this: he was assistant to the German coach Joachim Löw for eight years, who sat in the stands in Berlin.
The dream of the triple in the club lives. Experts and fans also trust the Munich players in the Champions League. The Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal seemed to be a more demanding training camp for Flick’s team, but it was rarely demanded. The international encounters will show how far this team is.
The season in the top division is to continue in Portugal in August, with Bayern taking on Chelsea in the return leg of the quarter-finals( 3-0). From the quarter-finals, unlike usual, there is no return game, only one game per round.
This Monday, the team will meet again at Säbener Straße, with sponsorship dates, among other things. After that, players have 13 days off. On their return, they have to go to a short quarantine because of the Corona pandemic, as Karl-Heinz Rummenigge explained at the weekend. “If you get the double and you are represented in the third competition, then that’s a la bonne heure,” says the club’s chief executive.
He indulged in a cigar after the victory. “You can only give the team a big compliment. Hansi Flick made the team top again, then football was FC-Bayern-like again.”
Rummenigge did not want to take a side-stroke on Kovac. The second-round match at VfL Bochum (2:1) was a “terrible” game for His Bayern. “After that came the game against Frankfurt, after which Hansi became head coach.” Flick had “let the team play Bayern-like football again and brought empathy back into the team.”
His club uses the break until the resumption of the premier class for a special foreign tour. Actually, the team would have travelled to China in the summer, it should be a mixture of training camp and PR tour. This tour is now organized virtually by FC Bayern.
The tour runs from 25 July to 2 August and is intended to give fans the opportunity to witness the preparation of the team in real time. The tour includes digital autograph sessions and interactions with international athletes.
In addition, Bayern will play a test match – quite real, not virtual. Soon the focus will be entirely in the top class. “We have big goals,” Rummenigge said. And midfielder Leon Goretzka said: “Right now I don’t see a limit.”
Boateng succeeds in history
Jéréme Boateng, Thomas Müller, David Alaba, Manuel Neuer and Javi Martinez are the first players to win the double defense for a second time. Alaba has not yet extended his contract with the record holder, which runs until 30 June 2021, and several top clubs are said to be interested in him. Against Leverkusen he scored the 1-0 with a free kick.
Flick hugged him and Thiago, who He said he was about to make a move to Liverpool fc after the whistle and spoke to them. “I will stand up with everything I have that we can keep two such quality players. Even though I know it’s not that easy with Thiago,” Flick said. It is human that Thiago is toying with another top league after the stints of FC Barcelona and Bayern.
The coach has more hope with Alaba: “He knows that he has a huge appreciation at the club. It would be very special if David ended his career here at Bayern.” It is not too often that a player plays until the end of his career at the club in which he was trained. “He could go ahead,” Flick said.
Alaba had matured into a special player in the position of the interior defender. ‘Ultimately he’s a very important player for us, at the heart of it. He is not only an absolute world-class player, but also important off the pitch.” The 28-year-old defender declined to comment on his future Saturday, saying only: “Celebrate today.”
Flick is already the big winner this season. He exudes determination. The team follows him, the Bavarians are still hungry for success. “We will definitely prepare ourselves perfectly,” said captain Manuel Neuer, referring to the Champions League. “And do our best to get the triple.”
