Uncle Heynckes is back. The Grandfather of Bayern.
The man who finally took down Klopp's young and vibrant Dortmund, and the man who gave Bayern that most rare of feats...the treble.
With Bayern in disarray, the club getting undressed by PSG and trailing Dortmund in the league, and sacking Ancelotti amidst internal issues...the board had to act.
Enter a legend.
And before Bayern fans start preparing for a season of success and maybe even a deep run in the Champions League, I would advise them to please relax and take a deep breath.
Heynckes is entering a different state of football than what he left back in 2013. Four years is a long time in football, and a lot has changed since then.
The core of that treble-winning team have either retired or are four years older and not as sharp as they once were.
He's also coming into a team who have a lot of issues. Morale is low. Players are out of form, and this Bayern Munich are forgetting what it means to wear that shirt and the level of excellence that is required.
Heynckes's first job has to be to get the players back on track mentally. Getting them together and re-energizing them to a stage where they start believing in themselves and their ability, and most importantly....they start playing as a team.
That has been the biggest problem that I've seen from Bayern lately. It's how disjointed they are. A bunch of individuals playing without a fixed system.
One thing that is heavily in Jupp's favour, is the respect he will get instantly the moment the players see him. That's what will be impossible to achieve for the stand-in, Willy Sagnol, who has not come close to the achievements of Heynckes.
Having that respect, will make his job a little easier in trying to get his players to respond to his instructions and strategy. Because the quicker that happens, the better it will be for Bayern, so as they don't lose even more ground to Dortmund before they face each other.
I am still very surprised at the hiring, and I don't know whether this should be seen as desperation by Bayern or simply a club turning to a known calming presence to guide the team till the end of this season until they are sure of a long-term replacement.
Did Hoeness and Rumenigge have a name or a few names they wanted to go for, but they were too afraid to hire in case they failed which would plunge Bayern into further problems?
I wish Heynckes luck and I hope he does well. His achievement from 2012-2013 was exemplary, and he helped in reminding people that pure football can defeat the hipster tic-tac-toe that was trying to stifle the fun from football.
From that standpoint, I will always be eternally grateful.
What will help Heynckes the most is to try and be adaptable. He can't rely on his achievements four years ago. This is a different, older team, and he must assess and re-dress them appropriately in order to achieve what is most important....results. HH
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