VA few weeks ago, Hansi Flick almost scratched the Champions League trophy. It was in the soccer arena in Munich, second floor, where FC Bayern exhibited its history on more than 3000 square meters. Back then, Flick, the head coach, strolled through the club museum with the trophy to the display case in which he was supposed to put it. He grabbed the pot by the large handles, but when he was about to lift it into place, the goblet hit the glass case. The display door wobbled, but otherwise everything was fine. Lesson learned – for next time?
This Wednesday, Flick and his Bayern will enter the first round of the Champions League with a home game against Atlético Madrid (9 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Champions League and Sky). He could probably get the key to the showcase before the game and any other time, walk into the museum and touch the trophy – to be precise: its copy that is in Munich – but has many and unpredictable challenges this season Flick to do better.
“Defend the triple”
If he touches the real trophy, it will probably only be on the lawn if he has won it a second time. And so to the big sporting question before the start of the Champions League: Will Bayern be the first German and second team to ever defend the title?
Hansi Flick, a self-proclaimed game-to-game thinker, said on Tuesday: “We basically want to be as successful as possible – the Champions League is part of that.” Club President Herbert Hainer, a former CEO, said the same thing – only somewhat brisk: “We have decided to defend the triple. Nobody has done that yet. “
The prerequisites for this have certainly not become any easier. If all goes well, the knockout round up to the semi-finals will be played again with a return leg. Before that, Bayern have to survive the preliminary round – against Lokomotiv Moscow, RB Salzburg and Atlético. In the first game against the Spaniards, it could already be indicated how far Flick’s new team, in which only Leroy Sané (capsule injury) is missing this Wednesday, in addition to Serge Gnabry, who tested positive for the corona virus, is already.
Successes of the past season: Hansi Flick and FC Bayern won the championship, cup and Champions League.
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Image: dpa
On the largest stage of European football, however, they are watched with special expectations from the first game. Or as Diego Simeone, Atlético coach, said: “Bayern are clearly the best of them all. Because of their power, their dominance, their history, their present. “
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