Bayern Munich are a force again under Jupp Heynckes

Back in September, the Champions League was just a pipe dream for Bayern Munich. 

Kylian Mbappe and Neymar had obliterated them in Paris, the club had promptly sacked Carlo Ancelotti and the atmosphere in the dressing room was poisonous. 

The days in which Bayern were among the three or four favourites to win the European Cup appeared to be over.

After a group stage defeat in Paris to PSG, Bayern’s Champions League hopes looked to over

Experienced Italian Carlo Ancelotti was soon dismissed and the club turned to Jupp Heynckes

Experienced Italian Carlo Ancelotti was soon dismissed and the club turned to Jupp Heynckes

Not for the first time, though, the old adage held true: you can never write off the Germans. Or at the very least, never write off the eternal German champions.

When Bayern face Besiktas in the first leg of their last-16 tie on Tuesday evening, they will do so as a team revived. Under Jupp Heynckes, brought out of retirement to replace Ancelotti and save Bayern in October, the Bavarians are back to their best. 

Heynckes has won 22 of 23 games in all competitions since taking over. Having trailed Borussia Dortmund by five points when he arrived, Bayern are now 19 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga. 

In December, they enacted their revenge on PSG with a comfortable 3-1 win in the Allianz Arena. From this vantage point, winning the Champions League is a realistic goal.

‘This is simply an awesome team,’ grinned Thomas Muller after Bayern’s victory over Wolfsburg on Saturday. 

It is Heynckes who has made it so, transforming the fortunes of individual players and instilling an unassailable team spirit. 

Muller is just one of the beneficiaries. After a miserable season under Carlo Ancelotti, the gangly forward is back to his best, and combining brilliantly with James Rodriguez, a situation which many had considered impossible at the start of the season.

Arturo Vidal has also been transformed, his attitude and fitness problems suddenly disappearing after some stern words from Heynckes. 

Thomas Muller looks rejuvenated under Heynckes and hailed Bayern's current 'awesome team'

Thomas Muller looks rejuvenated under Heynckes and hailed Bayern’s current ‘awesome team’

Real Madrid loanee James Rodriguez is now an integral part of the Bayern side

Arturo Vidal's form has picked up with the guidance of Heynckes

Midfielders James Rodriguez and Arturo Vidal have seen their form improve under the veteran

Goalkeeper Sven Ulreich, standing in for the injured Manuel Neuer, is unrecognisable. 

Accident prone and unassertive under Ancelotti, he is now eyeing a surprise World Cup place.

As all the great Bayern sides have been, however, this team is more than the sum of its parts. That has led to inevitable comparisons with Heynckes’ treble-winning team of 2013.

‘I don’t like such comparisons,’ said the Bayern coach on Monday. 

‘But Thomas Muller is right: this team is awesome. They never give up, they are always hungry for success. That has always been the credo at Bayern: keep going, never give up, always get better.’

In his last spell, Heynckes won the Champions League to secure Bayern a famous treble

In his last spell, Heynckes won the Champions League to secure Bayern a famous treble

The achievement brought his retirement but the veteran boss is hungry to repeat the success

The achievement brought his retirement but the veteran boss is hungry to repeat the success

Heynckes, it seems, has rediscovered what they call ‘the Bayern gene’, an insatiable addiction to winning. The latest proof came against Wolfsburg on Saturday, when Bayern snatched victory from the penalty spot in stoppage time.

‘When you win again even after being 1-0 down and you look at your opponents wondering how on Earth it didn’t work out, it feels great,’ said Muller.

Bayern will no doubt be chasing that sadistic high once again when they host Besiktas on Tuesday. 

With the Bundesliga title all but in the bag and the German Cup going swimmingly, there is now a tangible belief that they can launch a significant assault on the Champions League. 

Yet Heynckes, true to form, has warned against complacency. Arrogance is the yin to the yang of Bayern’s self-belief, and the experienced coach has warned his players not to believe the received wisdom that this is an easy draw.

While many hailed drawing Besiktas, Heynckes has warned against complacency creeping in

While many hailed drawing Besiktas, Heynckes has warned against complacency creeping in

‘After the draw, the mood in the German media was that this was a lucky draw for us,’ said Heynckes. 

‘But I have studied Besiktas. They are a team full of international experience, they play really good football with a really good structure. It wasn’t for nothing that they won their group and all three away games in the last round.’

Aside from complacency, Bayern may also have to fight off the flu on Tuesday, with a wave of influenza sweeping through Bavaria in the last week. 

Heynckes, who has himself been struggling with illness recently, said that he is prepared for last minute changes to the squad.

The Bavarians have been fighting off flu this week and it may impact the team on Tuesday night

The Bavarians have been fighting off flu this week and it may impact the team on Tuesday night

‘I have a line-up in my head, but I’m only going to tell the players tomorrow,’ he said on Monday. 

‘With a wave of flu like this, anything can happen.’

With football, too, anything can happen, and yet there is a familiar, crushing inevitability to Bayern’s form at the moment. 

It is not that they seem indestructible, but rather that they have simply forgotten how not to win football matches. 

Flu or not, that is no bad state to be in ahead of a Champions League knockout tie.



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