UEFA Super Cup: Flick on Bayern's next test
Saturday, September 19, 2020
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"This is the icing on the cake," Hansi Flick tells UEFA.com as Bayern aim to add the UEFA Super Cup to their haul.
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Drafted in to take the top job at Bayern in November, after just four months of working as assistant to Niko Kovač, Hansi Flick enjoyed a truly stunning first season with the club, winning the German Cup and the Bundesliga before his side beat Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final – having stunned the world by beating Barcelona 8-2 in the quarter-finals.
The UEFA Super Cup game against Sevilla is the next big challenge for the one-time Bayern midfielder, who worked as assistant coach and sporting director of the German national team before returning to Munich in 2019. However, the 55-year-old hopes his players will take the match in their stride at the Puskás Aréna.
On the UEFA Super Cup meeting with Sevilla
I can only tell you what others have told me who have already played in [the UEFA Super Cup]. They have told me that this is the icing on the cake when you lift the trophy after a superb season. Our aim is clear that we want to win this game; I think the same applies to Sevilla as well.
This will be a difficult game for us. Both teams had a short break and not a very long time to prepare for the game, but, nevertheless, I hope that we haven't lost anything with regards to our endurance and fitness. It is a new beginning. We are missing players like Philippe Coutinho, Álvaro Odriozola and Ivan Perišić, who unfortunately are not part of the squad. But we will adapt.
On winning the UEFA Champions League
We believed in our strengths and we knew from the beginning that we could win. Even on the day of the final, we had a very good feeling [about the game].
We did an awesome job – my whole coaching team as well as the staff on the club's side, positioning ourselves step by step. That is why I think that, at the end of the day, this was a nice successful journey that we went on together. But that's in the past, and now we have to ensure that we play the same successful football [in the new season].
On Bayern's playing style
We want to have the ball. When the opponent has the ball, we have to be active. I think that has been obvious throughout the games. And when we are in possession, we want to finish with determination; we don't want to kick around. If there's a possibility of creating a chance, of course we are going to do that.
Our strategy and our philosophy served us well. I don't see why we should change that, but we will definitely adjust some things. [New signing] Leroy [Sané] is a player who opens up more options for us due to his ability to play in different positions. He hasn't reached 100%, but he is close to it and we will give him time to reach that. We are happy that he's on our team now.
On the new Champions League campaign
We had a perfect season. We won every game. Sure, it's difficult to defend a trophy, but we accept the challenge and it's one of our aims to get as far as possible in the Champions League; we take one step at a time. This is a great situation and we don't look further than the next match. We are preparing intensively and we want to win every game.
Of course, we want to improve and that's why I don't want to talk about the big goals. Obviously, Bayern München always wants to be successful; that's in Bayern's DNA. It is important to me to show that we have good quality, a good mentality, absolute concentration during training sessions as well. Those are the things that are very important to us. And if that fits, the team's performance improves because every single player improves. Those are elements that we demand but which the team implements amazingly.