Felix Magath - former Bayern coach

[Oliver_Kahn]

Felix Magath is fascinated by his job, over and over again. bundesliga.de met up with FC Bayern München's head coach.


bundesliga.de: Felix Magath, you're a true Bundesliga personality. You were a long-time professional and now a trainer. What makes the Bundesliga so special for you?

Felix Magath: The Bundesliga is constantly changing, and there are always new aspects to consider. Every club is differently structured, and every objective and squad is different. You're always being challenged and you are never bored.

bundesliga.de: What is the difference between experiencing the league as a player and as a coach?

Magath: Well, as a player you are more or less responsible for yourself, and you really only have to ensure that you play a good game. It's much more difficult for a coach. He always has decisions to make, and he is expected to also have all the right solutions. That's a very tough challenge, and it demands everything from you. It really is a full-time job.

bundesliga.de: Nowadays having to do interviews is a part of the job, although it has little to do with sport or training. Does that bother you sometimes?

Magath: A lot has changed over the last 20 years. Back then it was different, whereas nowadays there are so many different factors in your surrounding environment that can influence the game. There's a lot more marketing and media presence. It's part of the game. More money has flowed into the sport through the media and sponsoring. And naturally, we have to earn that money.

bundesliga.de: That aside, as a player, did you know that you would want to be a coach?

Magath: Towards the end of my playing career I was pretty sure that I wanted to become a coach. And that's exactly what I did.

bundesliga.de: Would you say that coaching FC Bayern is like a dream come true? Is there a better post in the Bundesliga? Or is it a burden?

Magath: Yeah, it's a bit of both. There's no better club in Germany than FC Bayern. In fact, I'd go further and say there's no better club in the whole world. You have to realise that you cannot only evaluate FC Bayern's sporting achievements. All of them were made possible thanks to sound financial planning. It's completely different to other clubs, who must finance everything by falling into debt. In that respect, I cannot rate what FC Bayern's bosses have achieved here high enough.

bundesliga.de: How do you relax? It's known that you play chess for a hobby. Do you get the chance to play or do you have other ways to wind down and say: "now I'm just Felix Magath"?

Magath: Well, I still have three small children, so I don't really have any time for any leisure activities. After all, the kids demand a lot of my time. But I do like to enjoy reading a crime novel before I go to bed, which helps me to relax.

bundesliga.de: You're now with Bayern, but do you think about the future, or where you would like to work? Or are you concentrating on your current job?

Magath: In principle, you should only focus on what you currently doing, because the job doesn't allow you the room to plan ahead. Personally, I've always wanted to work abroad and I could imagine coaching in another country after my time with FC Bayern has come to an end.

[Oliver_Kahn]

Bundesliga is certaiinly one of the best leagues in the world.

[Pennywise]

Bundesliga is a very underrated league.

Many great clubs. Many goals, beautiful stadiums, the most visited league in Europe when it comes to fans. The league have a bigger average than PL, La Liga and Serie A.

[Oliver_Kahn]

I'm sure that the Bundesliga is a top 5 league in the world.

[Pennywise]

My list atm is:

1. La Liga
2. The PL
3. Bundesliga

[Oliver_Kahn]

I agree.

Serie A without Juve and with Milan being crap, isn't the same.

[Oliver_Kahn]

Reaction to Friday’s Champions League draw:

Felix Magath: “That’s an incredibly tough draw. The record books show us struggling in Madrid, and them struggling in Munich. Real weren’t especially impressive in their group, but we shouldn’t forget that new coach Fabio Capello only arrived in the summer. I’ve watched Real Madrid get better and better as the season has gone on. They’re the only team in Spain who’ve beaten Barcelona. I’m sure Real will be even stronger come February.”

[Oliver_Kahn]

Bayern lost to Aachen 4-2 and are out of the Cup.

Can we finally fire this moron ?

[Oliver_Kahn]

Reaction to Alemannia Aachen v Bayern

Felix Magath: "We lost the game right at the start. We're out, because we failed to take three golden opportunities in the first ten minutes. We appeared to be well on top, but that was only in terms of chances and not goals. We had a false sense of security, we thought we had it under control, so we made mistakes and went behind. We've been knocked out and wecan't defend the trophy any more, but these things happen. We've lost to a battling Alemannia side. It was a typical Cup tie, a great game for the fans. My team played well in the second half, they were almost rewarded for a huge effort."

[Oliver_Kahn]

German football has shut up shop for the Christmas holiday and winter break, but before Felix Magath set off on a well-deserved vacation, the Bayern head coach sat down with FCB.tv for an extensive year-end interview. The 53-year-old drew broadly positive conclusions from developments in 2006, and looked forward confidently to the New Year. fcbayern.de summarises Magath's key statements.

Felix Magath on…

…the midweek German Cup exit:
"I'm really still rather perplexed. We weren't knocked out because we played badly or below our potential, it was a fantastic, typical Cup performance. The team took it to the limit in the second half, and there haven't been many games so far this season where we've had that many clear-cut openings. I think the tabloids were totally wrong to call it a dismal display. A neutral watching the match would have loved every minute. The fact is that Alemannia Aachen are a fully—fledged Bundesliga club, and it's hardly unknown for a top flight club to knock the holders out of the Cup."

…the Champions League campaign:
"We're extremely satisfied with our performance in the Champions League group stage. In fact, we can reasonably classify the last match against Inter Milan as a victory, as we only conceded the equaliser in stoppage time. We were in complete control otherwise. So we finished with three wins and three draws, and most importantly, we went through to the next round as group winners, meaning that although we've drawn the ultimate challenge in the shape of Real Madrid, we enjoy the advantage of playing the return here at the Allianz Arena, and I'm extremely confident that this advantage will be enough for us to knock Real out of the competition."

…meeting Real Madrid in the first knockout round:
It's a tough draw, but also a fantastic draw, because we won't necessarily have the advantage of playing the second leg at home in the quarter-finals. But it's an advantage we do have now, so I'd rather play tough opponents in this tie. Here at Bayern Munich, we're not in the business of hoping to be drawn against a so-called weaker team such as OSC Lille for example, getting into the quarters and then being knocked out."

…the first half of the Bundesliga campaign:
"I'd say our form steadily improved. We were good in our last match in Mainz, the 4-0 scoreline was our best result so far this season, and I think you could see something good starting to come together. We've come on in a positive sense. After mid-season training in January, I'm confident we'll pick up where we've just left off, we'll play more fluent football and create more chances, and we'll convert more of those chances into goals. Overall, we've been very poor at taking our clear-cut chances in the first half of the season, or at least a lot worse than in previous years, and it's cost us a few points."

…mid-season training:
"Our troubled pre-season period, coupled with the extra burden of the World Cup in July, definitely caused all the significant problems we've had up to now, in my opinion. Now, we'll spend a full three-week period with all the players together at last, so we can try a few things out. I'm convinced we'll hit on a formation that plays a great deal better than we have so far."

…his summary of the season so far:
"Putting the Cup to one side, I'd say I'm completely satisfied. Despite a difficult first half of the campaign we're only three points off Bremen in the league, and we won our Champions League group without losing a game. That's a strong record, and leaves us extremely well-placed for the second half of the season."

[Oliver_Kahn]

Fitness coach Werner Leuthard again took charge of the squad workout on Friday morning, supervising a series of routines designed to strengthen the players' stomach, back, thigh and upper body muscles. The stars sweated through a gruelling 45-minute session at the Dubai Royal Palace sports facility, but aside from the focus on fitness, Felix Magath has begun feverishly working away on his potential first-choice line-up, aware that only two weeks remain before the Bundesliga action resumes.

The two Dubai Cup matches offered the opportunity to test a variety of midfield formations. "We played with our customary diamond shape against Benfica," the boss remarked, although the Reds lined up with two holding midfielders against Olympique Marseille. "Surprisingly, we looked better going forward than in defence. You'd expect it to be the other way round," he observed.

Thinking in pairs

Magath also surveyed his options up front and at the back in the two friendly matches. At centre-half, Daniel van Buyten and Martin Demichelis started against Lisbon, with the Belgian paired with Lucio against Marseille. The coach announced he would also take a look at Lucio and Demichelis together in an upcoming friendly.

The story was the same in attack, where Roy Makaay and Roque Santa Cruz joined forces for a half against Lisbon, before giving way to Claudio Pizarro and Lukas Podolski. Pizarro partnered Santa Cruz in the first half against Marseille, before Makaay and Podolski took over for the second period. "I'm watching closely. I have to decide which players fit best together," the 53-year-old explained.

Healthy competition

Naturally, the try-outs have had the effect of igniting a battle for places. "I have four strikers, all at approximately the same level. It's going to be a tough choice," Magath reflected. However, the internal competition is undoubtedly healthy, especially in terms of invigorating daily training. The knowledge that places are up for grabs inspires the players to give the final few percent, the coach observed, "and I'm totally satisfied with everyone's commitment."

"The match against Marseille demonstrated the lads' determination to squeeze the last drop out of themselves," captain Oliver Kahn remarked approvingly. Bayern turned a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 winning margin with a furious last seven minutes. "Morale is absolutely fine," declared Kahn - a man whose regular starting berth is not in question.

[Oliver_Kahn]

I'll give Magath a first-choice line-up:

.........................Kahn
Sagnol.....Buyten....Lucio......Lahm
..........................Ottl
.......................Bommel
Salihamidzic.....................Schweini
.............Makaay.....Pizarro

[Oliver_Kahn]

Felix Magath awarded most of his players a day off on Monday, but the Säbener Strasse training ground was still a hive of activity. With four days remaining until Bayern resume league action in Dortmund, a clutch of players recovering from minor injury including Willy Sagnol, Martin Demichelis and Owen Hargreaves were joined by youngsters Michael Rensing, Thomas Kraft and Stefan Fürstner for a 90-minute workout.

Lukas Podolski was again absent, with the striker now rated increasingly doubtful for Friday's pivotal clash at the Westfalen stadium. fcbayern.de asked head coach Magath to assess his team's state of readiness, and offer a final verdict on the mid-season training programme.

Interview: Felix Magath

fcbayern.de: Felix Magath, you've just come back from a celebrity cook-off in Berlin. Did you enjoy trying your hand at something a little unusual?

Felix Magath: "Yes, working at a hot stove with that kind of artist and watching them cook was certainly something different. I had a lot of fun."

fcbayern.de: What was on the menu?

Magath: "We had cordon-bleu rolls on skewers, completely new to me, but very tasty and easy to eat. And we had stuffed chicken breast, which was also very good."

fcbayern.de: Tasty and very good are descriptions you could apply to your team's performance in beating Hamburg on Saturday, at least in the first half. Have you hit on the right recipe to defend the Bundesliga title?

Magath: "Overall, I'm pleased to say our mid-season programme went very, very well. With the exception of Saarbrucken, we played three friendlies against high-quality opponents, and we did ourselves credit on each occasion. The game in Hamburg, which provided very similar conditions to what we can expect this Friday in Dortmund, showed we're right up to speed. So we can say with confidence that we've prepared well, and I firmly believe we'll make a good start."

fcbayern.de: Have you already decided on your starting line-up for Dortmund?

Magath: "We'll turn our full attention to Dortmund on Tuesday. We have two more training sessions before the match, which give us an opportunity to work on our tactics. But there won't be any wholesale changes to the team at this late stage."

fcbayern.de: One or two players have picked up injuries recently. What's the situation regarding Willy Sagnol and the rest?

Magath: "The injury situation continues to improve. Willy trained well at the weekend, and he's determined to play on Friday. He's definitely a little further on than Owen or Roque, and it does look as though he'll appear in Dortmund. We'll have to wait and see with Owen. He's still behind in terms of fitness after his long lay-off. It could be tight. On the other hand, Martin Demichelis should be part of it, provided no new problems arise. He did very well today."

fcbayern.de: The only major doubt concerns Lucas Podolski, who missed training again today.

Magath: "He went for a jog on his own, but we'll simply have to wait and see how it goes with him recovering from a dead leg over the next few days. Obviously it's especially difficult for a striker if he's not totally fit."

fcbayern.de: Can we expect to see arrivals or departures before the transfer window closes on 31 January? The board has given Ali Karimi permission to move back to his former club, for example.

Magath: "No, I'm assuming we'll go in pursuit of our targets - retaining the league championship and performing well in the Champions League - with the squad we have at the moment."

fcbayern.de: All the best for the rest of the season, and thanks for talking to us!

[Oliver_Kahn]

Bayern Munich coach Felix Magath has confirmed he does not expect any arrivals or departures during the rest of the January transfer window, leaving Manchester United seemingly frustrated in their pursuit of Owen Hargreaves.

The England international revealed last week that Sir Alex Ferguson had tabled a renewed £20million bid for his services after originally failing to strike a deal following Hargreaves' impressive performances at the World Cup finals.

Bayern president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge had also hinted that an agreement could be reached after months of Bayern denying they would sell the Canadian-born midfielder.

However Magath has now stated that the German champions are not expecting any changes to their squad before the end of the month.

"No, I'm assuming we'll go in pursuit of our targets - retaining the league championship and performing well in the Champions League - with the squad we have at the moment," Magath told the club's official website.

United are still six points clear at the top of the Premiership and may bide their time and make a fresh approach in the summer if a transfer in January proves unrealistic.

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