It is not just ‘work, work, work.’ He is very authentic. “He is very open, very honest, even when it comes to critical opinions,” said Friedrich, now the sporting director at Hertha Berlin. That is the same experience Arne Friedrich – a member of Germany’s squads at the 2008 European Championships and the 2010 World Cup – remembers. “He is a fantastic communicator,” Mertesacker said. He emphasised that what was most important was what was good for the team. That day in 2014, as Mertesacker wrestled with his disappointment, Flick reassured him, assuaged his doubts, told him that things might change again for the semi-final. He is not afraid to show his own vulnerability. “He has a genuine interest in you as a person. He has a very human sense, a real social competence,” Mertesacker said. Instead, they say Flick’s great strength is what made Löw turn to him in that room in Brazil and ask him to help Mertesacker understand his decision. As far as they are concerned, there is no great mystery here, no secret spell, no revolutionary tactical twist he has unearthed. You praise the guys who didn't play, the ones who worked hard all week and create the environmentĪlthough those who know Flick well – those who, like Thon, played alongside him and those who, like Mertesacker, worked under him – do not seem quite as surprised as they might be. The transformation, between then and now, between that team and this, is remarkable. On Friday, they produced what is certainly the most jaw-dropping result of the season, and a performance so devastating that it may have brought Barcelona to the end of an era. Flick would end the season with a revitalised team, a win record that dwarfs that even of Pep Guardiola – 33 games played, 30 won, plus a Bundesliga title and a German Cup.įlick took over when it seemed Bayern were finished as a force in Europe. Within weeks, though, it was obvious that Bayern did not need to worry about Mauricio Pochettino’s wage demands or whether Julian Nagelsmann could be coaxed away from RB Leipzig. “Of course he was a player, but you wait to see what he can bring.” To Bayern, who shared some of the same reservations, Flick was there to keep the seat warm, not to occupy it. When Flick was appointed as Löw’s assistant, Mertesacker admitted, there was some scepticism among the players. Even then, his experience was in Germany’s lower tiers: He had left Hoffenheim in 2005 after failing to win promotion to the second division.įlick with Joachim Löw during his time as Germany assistant at the 2014 World Cup. Flick was 54 when he returned to Bayern, and he had not managed a team in 14 years. Indeed, Bayern had appointed him in the summer of 2019 in part because the club felt he might be able to step in if it needed to dismiss Kovac.īut it was not designed to be a long-term solution. Since his retirement, he had built an impressive coaching CV and a quietly lofty reputation, particularly over his eight years as an assistant to Löw with Germany. From the outside, the impact Flick has had since taking charge at Bayern Munich in November after the firing of Niko Kovac verges on the miraculous certainly, the 8-2 destruction of Barcelona on Friday night that represents their (current) zenith seemed to come with a touch of the divine. That was the point at which Löw stopped talking, turned to his assistant and allowed Hansi Flick to take over. ‘I was thinking: I thought these guys trusted me.’ I was asking, ‘What about this? What about that.’ ”įlick was 54 when he returned to Bayern, and he had not managed a team in 14 years Jérôme Boateng would shift into the centre, with Philipp Lahm restored to his role at right back.Īt that point, Mertesacker – considered and amiable and understanding, as intelligent a player as Löw could have hoped to have in his squad – admits that his “ego came out a little bit.” “I was in shock. Although Mertesacker was among the most experienced members of his squad, and although he had played every minute of the 2014 World Cup, he was going to be one of them. Joachim Löw, the national team manager, coolly explained that he was going to make some changes for Germany’s quarter-final match against France. The day before the biggest game of his life, Per Mertesacker was called into a room at Germany’s peaceful, beachside training facility a couple of hours outside the Brazilian town of Porto Seguro and was told he would not be playing.
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