Heynckes hoping to restore Bayern bravado

New FC Bayern München coach Jupp Heynckes has vowed to bring joy back to the Bavarian club with UEFA Champions League qualification the primary aim for the German champions as their season reaches a tense conclusion.

European goal
On Monday, Heynckes was introduced as the replacement for the dismissed Jürgen Klinsmann until the end of the season and wasted no time in declaring his goal for the remainder of the campaign: "The direct qualification for the Champions League," said the 63-year-old. "A club like Bayern just has to play there." Of course, with only three points between Bayern and league leaders VfL Wolfsburg, defending the Bundesliga title has not been written off either. But Heynckes knows that task is tough with Hertha BSC Berlin a point above his charges while VfB Stuttgart and Hamburger SV also sit level with his side. "At the moment, five teams can win the championship," he added. "Wolfsburg still have the best chance. For us, we first have to improve our results."

Recent setbacks
Klinsmann's departure was hastened by some bitter recent disappointments. A 5-1 defeat at Wolfsburg in the league on 4 April was followed by a 4-0 loss at FC Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals just four days later. Then, with Bayern seemingly back on track in the Bundesliga following back-to-back wins, they suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of FC Schalke 04 last weekend. "The way the team has presented itself lately, that's not Bayern," said Heynckes. "On Saturday against Schalke I had the impression that the team was apathetic and paralysed – there seemed to be a psychological block. It is my task to help the players break those chains and enjoy playing once more. I want to convince the players they are much better than how they have performed in the past weeks."

Two titles
Heynckes, who won the 1989 and 1990 Bundesliga titles during his first Bayern stint from 1987 to 1991, will take charge of his first competitive game at home against hometown club VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday. In his long coaching career, he has already taken the reins at Gladbach, Bayern, Athletic Club Bilbao, Eintracht Frankfurt, CD Tenerife, Real Madrid CF, SL Benfica and Schalke so another shot at management was not necessarily on his radar. "It was not really a part of my plans to help out at Bayern again," he admitted. "This is being done out of friendship to Bayern and Uli Hoeness. Bayern are something very special for me."