competitive games. Compare and
contrast that with Flick’s rearguard
statistics: two clean sheets and not even
allowing Olympiakos or Dortmund a
single shot on target. That is quite a feat
for a makeshift back line that included a
left-back David Alaba at centre-half and
a teenage Canadian winger Alphonso
Davies at left-back.
By no stretch of the imagination has
Flick suddenly turned this Bayern side
into a catenaccio outfit obsessed with
defending in numbers and hitting on the
break, but first and foremost he aims to
avoid unnecessary risks. Bayern under
Kovac were especially susceptible to
opposition counter-attacks, too easily
losing shape and with the midfield
department often failing to track runners.
It was highly telling that in the
Olympiakos and
Dortmund wins, Flick
could not find room in
his starting line-up for
Bayern’s two most
creative midfielders,
Thiago Alcantara and
Philippe Coutinho. He
preferred the more
physical engine-room
attributes of Joshua
Kimmich and Leon
Goretzka, and in the
final analysis the blend
worked extremely well.
Another interesting
innovation from Flick was
his decision to rehabilitate
Muller, whom Kovacclearly did not rate. The 30-year-old
was absolutely outstanding against
Dortmund, relentlessly active in the
attacking third, full of bright ideas,
responsible for setting up two of his side’s
goals and even finding time to call the
pressing instructions.
“I see myself in a position of
responsibility,” said Muller afterwards.
“To do a lot of organising, make many
runs and give the team structure.”
Some rightly pointed out that
Dortmund offered practically no
resistance in Munich, which was a
peculiar state of affairs for such an
ambitious club and one which spent so
heavily on new recruits in the summer.
But were the Schwarz-Gelben just in
the wrong place at the wrong time and
forced to feel the wrath of a Bayern team
with a new coach to impress?
Flick’s Bayern were superior to
Dortmund in every category: quicker
over the ground, stronger in the tackle,
more resourceful, agile, single-minded
and, perhaps most important of all,
far more effective out of possession.
Describing Bayern’s high press as
intense does not begin to do it justice;
this was gang warfare.
So, could Flick become more than
a stopgap at Bayern? While that is hard
to say at the moment he has at least
managed to restore a smile to the
squad, the Allianz Arena fans and the
boardroom. And that, for now, counts for
a lot in the results-driven sphere that is
Bayern Land.
Nick Bidwellopposite of what the Bayern squad were
looking for in a coach. They wanted to
dominate, flood forward and play to a
sophisticated plan. A defensive-minded,
counter-attacking specialist, Kovac
offered them nothing of the sort.
Bayern’s appointment of assistant
coach Hans-Dieter “Hansi” Flick as
caretaker was the obvious call.
Although only on the Bayern payroll
since July, the 54-year-old has certainly
been around the top-level coaching
block, notably enjoying a long and
successful period, from 2006 to 2014,
as the right-hand man to national-team
chief Joachim Low. Flick also used to play
for Bayern, featuring as a hard-running
midfielder in the late 1980s, taking part
in the conquest of four Bundesliga titles
and picking up a runners-up medal in
the 1987 European Cup.
In Flick’s first two games in charge
- a 2-0 Champions League victory over
Olympiakos and a 4-0 home drubbing
of Borussia Dortmund - Bayern certainly
looked a revived force, catching the eye
with their defensive organisation and
much-improved discipline.
During Niko Kovac’s last two months in
situ, the defence had been falling apart,
conceding no fewer than 17 goals in eight
Impressive...Robert Lewandowski scores in the 4-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in Munich
“There definitely was a tendency
within the team who wanted to get
rid of the trainer”
Uli Hoeness on former Bayern boss Niko KovacPEOPLE AND PLACES IN THE NEWS
Tense...criticism of Thomas Muller
(left) did Niko Kovac no favours