Bayern Munich boss Jupp Heynecks has spoke about his future in the game after his side dismantled Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate to progress to the Champions League final.
The Bavarians will meet Borussia Dortmund at Wembley on May 25th to contest the first ever all-German final in the competition, but with Heynckes departing when the season comes to a close to be replaced by Pep Guardiola, the wily old coach speaks of what his future holds.
He said: “On May 9th I will be sixty-eight years old. I have been in the world of football for fifty years both as a player and a coach. I think that at some point you need to decide that you have had enough time.”
I can hear Sir Alex Ferguson scoffing at his desk whilst listening to this.
The Bayern coach also told the reporters that whoever wins the final in London, German football is the real champion.
He said: “I think that both Dortmund and Bayern have achieved their goal, to play in the Champions League final. This is the first time in history that two German teams will dispute the final. And one of them will win. That is something extraordinary.”
It was not so much the fact that Bayern got the better of Barcelona that shocked the footballing world, but more the way that they did it. Cruising to a 4-0 victory at the Allianz-Arena and then squashing them 3-0 at Camp Nou, and Blaugrana coach Tito Vilanova has accepted that the better team went through.