THE MAN WHO brought an unprecedented treble to Bayern Munich in 2013 before he was pushed aside to make way for Pep Guardiola is set to return to the German giants.
According to reports tonight, Jupp Heynckes will be unveiled as the club’s new/old manager, taking over from Carlo Ancelotti and remaining in charge until the end of the current campaign.
Since the Italian’s departure, a number of names have been touted as possible replacements with former Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel and Hoffenheim’s Julian Nagelsmann the frontrunners. In recent days, former Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has also emerged as a possible target.
And it seems Bayern wish to wait for their preferred choice and will utilise their longstanding relationship with Heynckes to their advantage.
In his last spell with Bayern, the 72-year-old brought the club to two successive Champions League finals in 2012 and 2013. The first took place at the Allianz Arena but, despite home advantage, Bayern lost on penalties to Chelsea. However, Heynckes oversaw a magnificent 2012/13 campaign and they beat rivals Borussia Dortmund in the Wembley decider, later adding the German Cup to the Bundesliga title for an historic treble triumph.
But in January 2013, Bayern revealed Heynckes would be retiring at the end of the season and replaced by Pep Guardiola. It tainted relations, particularly when Heynckes later revealed he wouldn’t decide whether to retire or not until the end of the campaign.
Bayern are currently second in the league table, five points behind Dortmund, having already stumbled quite a bit this term. With only seven games played, they have lost to Hoffenheim and drawn two other games to leave the new man with some ground to make up.
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