Anesthesia has been done, give Heynckes proper credit

Last September, Bayern Munich were handed their heaviest Uefa Champions League for 21 years, thumped 3-0 by PSG.
It’s a result that underlined the French side’s intentions in Europe before those hopes were deflated by European aristocrats Real Madrid. In the aftermath, Bayern’s chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge warned that there would be “consequences” because what he had seen that night at Parc des Princes “was not Bayern.”
Manager Carlo Ancelotti was the immediate as casualty Bayern were languishing in third in the Germany Bundesliga, three points behind then-leaders Borussia Dortmund.
They had four wins, one draw and one defeat from their first six matches.
Ancelotti’s assistant Willy Sagnol, former Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel and Hoffenheim’s Julian Nagelsmann were among the early favourites to succeed him.
The Bayern hierarchy instead opted for the safe bet of Jupp Heynckes, then 72 years old, to take charge for a fourth time. At the time, the club needed a major surgery. A lot of the gains that made them one of the biggest three Champions League contenders along with Real Madrid and Barcelona had been eroded.
It’s easy to write off the season as underwhelming as Bayern were knocked out by Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals.
Not even a sixth successive Bundesliga league title can count as a success after their Germany DFB Pokal final 3-1 humbling by Eintracht Frankfurt last Saturday.
All this would make Heynckes’ revival nothing to wax about. Yes, often Bayern are heads and shoulders above their local competition.
However, every patient who walks into the Emergency Room (ER) needs the perfect anesthesia. Bayern were in ER mode when Heynckes walked in as the anaesthetist.
First, Ancelotti had clearly lost the dressing room, the most acute need of any modern manager amid the most difficult players to manage with all the stardom that surrounds them.
President Uli Hoeness confirmed in an interview with radio station that five players had turned against Ancelotti. “An enemy in your own ranks is a dangerous thing,” he said. Defender Jerome Boateng told French publication L’Equipe of what had changed when Heynckes took over.
“Training sessions and communication are radically different. In a short space of time, Heynckes has put the club back on the rails by organising things, introducing discipline and structure.
“The atmosphere has become warmer and is more like a family. “Language was a barrier, there were communication problems. We often had differing opinions. It was complicated.” Tactically, players were lost and Heynckes restored simplicity to the pattern of play. That night in Paris, Ancelotti chose to pair Javi Martinez and Niklas Sule in central defence.
His most accomplished defender Mats Hummels was relegated to the bench alongside Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery and his most athletic defender Boateng watched the game from the stands.
Under Heynckes, Hummels seemed reborn while Ribery could have run away with Real Madrid on his own. Martinez finished the season like one of the best defensive midfielder again.
Yes, Heynckes was stop-gap but choosing the right fire-fighting equipment is only the start. The task that awaits his replacement Niko Kovac involves rebuilding. The foundation is solid again.

Age: 73
TEAMS MANAGED
1979–1987: Borussia Mönchengladbach
1987–1991: Bayern Munich
1992–1994: Athletic Bilbao
1994–1995: Eintracht Frankfurt
1995–1997: Tenerife
1997–1998: Real Madrid
1999–2000: Benfica
2001–2003: Athletic Bilbao
2003–2004: Schalke 04
2006–2007: Borussia Mönchengladbach
2009: Bayern Munich (caretaker)
2009–2011: Bayer Leverkusen
2011–2013: Bayern Munich
2017–2018: Bayern Munich
COACHING HONOURS
BAYERN MUNICH: Uefa Champions League:
2012–13 Bundesliga: 1988–89, 1989–90,
2012–13, 2017–18 DFB-Pokal: 2012–13 DFL
Supercup: 1987, 1990, 2012
REAL MADRID: Uefa Champions League:
1997–98 Supercopa de España: 1997
SCHALKE 04: Uefa Intertoto Cup: 2003, 2004