Heynckes coy as Bayern claims historic treble
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Bayern Munich midfielder Franck Ribery pours beer over head coach Jupp Heynckes while celebrating after his team won the final soccer match of the German Cup against VfB Stuttgart on Saturday at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. Christof Stache / Agence France-Presse |
Manager says he will announce future upon return to Munich
Treble-winning trainer Jupp Heynckes said he will reveal his future plans on Tuesday having finished his two-year tenure by coaching the most successful side in Bayern Munich's history.
Bayern's 3-2 victory over VfB Stuttgart in Saturday's German Cup final completed the set, after winning both the Champions League and Bundesliga, to become Germany's first team to land the treble.
Ex-Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola will take charge on June 26 as Heynckes ends his third stint as Bayern coach.
Bayern claimed its 16th German Cup crown thanks to two Mario Gomez goals and Thomas Mueller's first-half penalty as Bayern cruised to a 3-0 lead before Stuttgart fought back.
A bullet header on 71 minutes, then a well-placed shot 10 minutes from time, both from Austria's Martin Harnik, ensured a nervous finale as Bayern weathered Stuttgart's late onslaught
The 68-year-old Heynckes reneged on his pre-match promise to reveal his future, preferring to explain his plans at Bayern's Saebener Strasse training center rather than Berlin's Olympic Stadium.
"I'll give a press conference at Saebener Strasse, so I can say goodbye to the Munich journalists I know and I will say then whether I will continue or not," said an emotional Heynckes.
Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has already told Heynckes he has "Carte Blanche" and can pick his future role at the Bavarian giant after winning the Bundesliga by a record 25-point margin.
Heynckes has said he is too old to coach overseas and, having broken or equaled 25 Bundesliga records, he has insisted he has no desire to coach another German league side after Bayern.
He has been linked to a return to Real Madrid, which he coached to the 1998 Champions League title at the end of his single season as coach, but Heynckes leaves Bayern in the rudest of health.
"This is an emotional moment, the team has given me the most amazing gift," Heynckes said.
Heynckes admitted Guardiola will be hard pushed to better Bayern's achievements this season after it dropped just 11 league points and lost only three games in all competitions.
"It obviously means a lot to the whole club, to my training team and to me," said Heynckes after their 45th victory in 53 games this season.
"We saw today that it wasn't so easy to get back to normality after the highlight of the season last week in Wembley.
"The team was highly concentrated, although Stuttgart had their chances early on.
"It's historic, this has never happened in the 50 years of the Bundesliga's history.
"We've broken so many records and this was the first time I won the German Cup as a coach; previously I had only won it as a player.
"The whole thing was gigantic, it was the absolute highlight to experience this in Berlin.
"It is important for these players to win titles like this and the European Cup in their careers - it will be hard to top this."
With Germany star Mario Goetze joining from Borussia Dortmund next season, Bayern can only get stronger.
"We have finally achieved what has never been done before in German soccer," said captain Philipp Lahm.
"It is unbelievable what this team has done.
"It's been a stressful month, but the last week has made it all worthwhile."
Having postponed its party after Wembley's Champions League triumph, the celebrations were sure to stretch long into Sunday, when Bayern was due to arrive back in Munich.
The pain of losing the 2012 Champions League final to Chelsea on penalties has now been erased, but midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger said the deep disappointment was just motivation.
"It has all paid off this season, everything we have tried to do, everything we have done better," said the 28-year-old.
(China Daily 06/03/2013 page23)
