Jupp Heynckes talked about his intention to retire at the end of the season once again, and according to reports, and talked up former Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel as his successor at Bayern Munich.
“Thomas Tuchel has the quality to coach Bayern.” Heynckes said. “I rate Thomas Tuchel. He has continued the progression from the youth teams at Mainz. That is the stairway to success that you must take, learning the correct approach and people skills.
“Under Tuchel, Borussia Dortmund played excellent football with a good system — all of today’s modern footballing elements were there for everyone to see. Tuchel’s side finished runners-up, won the DFB Pokal and played attractive football. I had fun watching BVB, that’s why I respect and rate him as a very good trainer.”
It was also reported Tuchel didn’t always see eye to eye with former Dortmund captain Mats Hummels — now in his second spell at Bayern — but Heynckes played down Tuchel’s problems.
“I’ve had everything written about me, too,” Heynckes said. “Young coaches make mistakes. My God, it happens.
Of course, further down the line, Thomas will view one or two things differently, but they are trivialities.
Dortmund is no longer playing such great football since Tuchel left and that’s what counts.”
“I took over because Bayern were in a difficult situation and weren’t able to hire a coach they were convinced in at such short notice,” Heynckes said. “Therefore, I said I would do it until the end of the season. That’s a binding agreement and I am always for sticking to clear terms.
“When I took over it was rightly asked if a 72-year-old could coach a Bundesliga side. I will turn 73 in the summer and you never know how much time you have left. It was never my plan to coach again. Life doesn’t just consist of work.”
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