The year 2013 was a wild time in the history of Bayern Munich.
The squad was rounding into shape under Jupp Heynckes and would eventually go on to win a treble, but the club had already decided to bring in Pep Guardiola as a replacement for Heynckes in 2014.
Bayern Munich supervisory board member Karl-Heinz Rummenigge recently sat down with Kicker (via @iMiaSanMia
) to talk through how it all played out:Karl-Heinz Rummenigge on the 2013 treble under Jupp Heynckes and the signing of Pep Guardiola:
“Treble
2013. Uli and I were both happy for Jupp, since I had the unpleasant task in January of informing him that Pep was coming. Of course, he never really liked that. Nothing ever leaked out because we kept it completely under wraps. I also only told Matthias Sammer, the sporting director at the time, very late.
“You have to imagine that, it was a masterpiece of discretion. Karl Hopfner and I prepared everything. Then we brought Uli on board. Shortly before Christmas [2012], we had the contract ready. One of us had to fly to New York and have it signed by Pep. Uli said he would be in Chicago the following week, from where he could then go to New York. I told him to call me when he was with Pep.
“I was sitting in a bar when Uli called, and I went outside with the phone into the freezing cold in a thin coat, because I was terribly afraid that someone might overhear. I wanted to keep this deal under wraps until the last day. Uli and Pep then said that I should order a glass of champagne because everything was wrapped up. That’s what I did. Regardless, we were very happy for Jupp that we arranged the farewell he deserved. He loved FC Bayern very much, he brought us great success, and we are extremely grateful to him.”
It is still hard to believe that Heynckes was a lame duck for the treble and that the club put that much faith in Guardiola, who did not reach the heights of Heynckes.
It was such an important period of the club’s history and one that helped shaped everything that eventually led to the next treble in 2020.
When Bayern Munich traveled to Sinsheim on a short week after taking down Chelsea FC in the Champions League, it was never going to be easy.
Hoffenheim is well-coached, motivated, and playing with a real fire. For a weary Bayern Munich side, that meant trouble, but Vincent Kompany heavily rotated his men and while it was not always dominant or even pretty, the Bavarians showed their grit once again in a 4-1 win.
Let’s get into all of the details right here on the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show:
- A look at the starting XI and why it was absolutely the right move to rotated so much.
- A rundown of the scoring and substitutions — and why that scary first half told us so much about where the squad stands.
- Some final thoughts and takeaways on the match.
