Munich (Germany) (AFP)
For Hansi Flick, Bayern's coach, the championship is just an "intermediate goal". The ultimate goal, as every year with the Bavarian giant, is a hat-trick with the national cup and the Champions League, scheduled for August.
"It's nice to lift the Schale (the champion's trophy, handed over to Bayern on Saturday, note), but the championship is an intermediate objective," said Flick. "I like it, not to say: + that's it, we are satisfied +. But on the contrary to aim for the following objective".
The prestigious hat-trick, the "Rekordmeister" only succeeded once in its entire history, in 2013. The legendary trainer Jupp Heynckes was on the bench, and the duo Ribéry-Robben at the top of his game.
In this strange year disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, where the queen competition of UEFA will be contested in the form of a final tournament in Lisbon, by knockout matches, can the Bavarians do it again?
"I know tournament mode very well," recently recalled Flick, who experienced Germany's 2014 World Cup victory in Brazil as assistant to coach Joachim Löw. "That's why I think we can get out of it. The shape of the moment will be decisive."
- The calendar trap -
On what it has shown in Germany since the post-coronavirus recovery (ten matches, ten wins), Bayern will inevitably be among the favorites.
And his European career at the start of the season was impressive. Out of the group stage with six victories in six matches, the "Rekordmeister" struck the spirits for the first time in October, winning 7-2 at Tottenham, with a quadruple from Serge Gnabry!
The second warning shot came in the 8th final, still in London, when the German champion went to win the first leg 3-0 at Chelsea. The return will be played in early August, and an elimination from Bayern would obviously be a huge surprise.
There remains the calendar trap. With Germany the first major league to end its season, the Bavarians will no longer have a competitive match between the national cup final against Leverkusen on July 4 and the return against Chelsea.
Their English, Italian and Spanish opponents, on the other hand, will have played in July.
"After the cup final, we have a four-week break, the coach will give the team a short twelve-day leave, and will then start preparing for the return leg 8," the boss said. from the Karl-Heinz Rummenigge club.
- Agreement with Barcelona -
The club has put all the odds on its side. According to Sky, the leaders have reached an agreement with FC Barcelona to extend the loan from Philippe Coutinho until August, so that the Brazilian can be used in Portugal.
"We are hungry, and we want to continue to be hungry," said Thomas Müller, author of a very high season.
All the teams say the same thing, recognizes the Bavarian, but Bayern chooses its players for their hatred of defeat: "It is linked to an internal driving force, which justifies that we play FC Bayern," he said. "The only thing we are asked to do is win. Victory is written in us."
His friend Robert Lewandowski, currently top scorer in the C1 with 11 goals, would touch his Grail if he finally won the supreme club trophy: "We have shown that we are the best team in Germany. Now we want to show that we can play even better in the Champions League, "said the Pole, who will turn 32 on August 21, two days before the final.
© 2020 AFP