When Niklas Süle announced his retirement, there was a lot of talk about his time at Bayern Munich, but the big defender let everyone in on a little secret during the “Spielmacher” podcast when he made the formal announcement.
Süle detailed how he beat Bayern Munich’s mandatory weigh-ins for him though not maybe in the best way.
“Jupp Heynckes was a tremendous mentor to me. I played under him, but he also addressed the issue of weight. We had weigh-ins at Bayern on Thursdays. I didn’t eat anything
all Wednesday, I fasted the whole day. And every evening at home, I went to the sauna – wearing a raincoat.” Süle said (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “The next day, I weighed two and a half kilos less. That’s extreme. The sauna was in the basement. After a day without food and in the sauna wearing a raincoat, I had to go up three flights of stairs to our bedroom. I opened the window, leaned out, and breathed for ten minutes because I thought I was going to faint.
“Then I played at the weekend, we won, and Heynckes said to me: ‘See? you played much better now.’ But the reality is that my weight was exactly the same as before.”
Süle was basically doing a less extreme boxer or MMA weight cut…weekly. By the time for the game, Süle was already back at his weight prior to the team weigh-in.
That strategy was wild and definitely not a good idea, but there was always a strong focus on his weight and his fitness throughout his career. At his best, Süle was a dynamic presence on the backline whose height, speed (yes, he was fast), and skill gave him the ability to be the most hulking and physically imposing right-back of all-time when he was asked to play the position. As a center-back, he was a clearing machine, who was strong enough to battle big strikers, and fast enough to frustrate scorers with elite speed.
At times, he was special, but there was always the specter of his fitness being an issue.
Some guys just can play regardless of weight. Maybe Süle was one of them? Or maybe he could have taken his career to new heights with more focus on his health?
Either way, he was always a fun player to watch at Bayern Munich.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
- New, improved notifications system!
- Fewer ads
- Create community posts
- Comment on articles, community posts
- Rec comments, community posts
