Heynckes aiming to bow out with a bang
Marc Fox
There have already been whispers about Bayern Munich boss Jupp Heynckes postponing his imminent retirement to take a lucrative final job in the Premier League, perhaps at Chelsea or Manchester City.
However, with a 23rd Bundesliga title already in the bag for Heynckes' record-breaking side, the 67-year-old's final, albeit unlikely, audition for a last high-profile management job might just come down to the simple matter of beating both of Spain's leading lights over the forthcoming month.
Victory over Serie A leaders Juventus on Wednesday night helped earn Bayern their third Champions League semi-final place in four years, but Heynckes acknowledges that facing La Liga's champions-elect Barcelona in the semi-final will be an altogether less straightforward challenge.
Get past that and a possible Champions League final at Wembley awaits against Real Madrid or compatriots Borussia Dortmund.
The Bavarians have been touted as the finest domestic champions of all time in some quarters of Germany after sealing the title with six matches remaining, most notably by the manager of their predecessors.
"It's been an incredible season," the coach of the deposed champions Borussia Dortmund, Jurgen Klopp, said after Bayern's 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt gave them an unassailable 20-point cushion at the top of the Bundesliga table.
"It could possibly be the most unbelievable season in the history of football.
"I don't know if there has ever been a champion in any other country with so many points that Bayern are probably going to have this year. It was pretty tough for us last season to get 81 points (which was a league record), yet Bayern have made it look easy."
The figures support Klopp's superlatives. Bayern have lost just once – to Bayer Leverkusen – in 28 league matches this season, scoring 79 goals and conceding just 13.
However, although Heynckes believes "too much praise is not good," their 4-0 aggregate victory over Juve in the quarter-final has done little to dampen enthusiasm.
"In the last weeks there's been a lot of praise but the positive thing is the team has not been influenced by this," said Heynckes.
"We are (domestic) champions and that was our aim but we also have other aims.
"We now have to see if we are on par with Real Madrid and Barcelona."
Heynckes has the required experience after leading Bayern to a penalty shootout win over Real in last season's Champions League semi-final before losing in the same way to Chelsea in the final.
Coincidentally, the tactician was also in charge of Real when they broke a 32-year drought in European competition to lift the 1998 crown, one of two managerial spells Heynckes has enjoyed in Spain.
Nonetheless, the time for Heynckes must be right now, with former Barca coach Pep Guardiola already primed to replace him in July regardless of the amount of silverware he recoups this season or the manner in which it is garnered.
After three stints as manager of Bayern spanning 26 years, Heynckes is as aware as anyone connected with the club of the overpowering pressure to erase the memories of their recent finals defeats in 2010 to Jose Mourinho's Inter and last year in their own Allianz Arena to Chelsea.
© Marc Fox & Soccerphile.com
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