Michael Henke is currently enjoying the last few days of the summer break with his family. However, Ottmar Hitzfeld’s former assistant will very shortly be making his way from Kaiserlautern to Munich, where he is set to commence a wholly new role at the club. Henke has been appointed chief analyst and head of match observation on incoming coach Jürgen Klinsmann’s new support team. fcbayern.de spoke to Henke on the phone about his new responsibilities at Bayern.
Interview: Michael Henke
fcbayern.de: Michael Henke, Germany coach Joachim Löw has been banned from the touchline for the meeting with Portugal. What do you think of UEFA’s decision?
Michael Henke: “I wasn’t there so I don’t know what happened, but I know Joachim Löw and I’ve watched the incident on TV, so I have to conclude it’s way over the top. It’s strange UEFA are sticking so closely to the letter of the law. I think it’s a poor decision. I have the impression the fourth official was a little out of his depth.“
fcbayern.de: You left the job of assistant coach, so why are you returning to Bayern as chief analyst?
Henke: “I’ve been taken a little by surprise myself at recent developments, as I’d basically closed the chapter labelled Bayern Munich. But Jürgen Klinsmann rang shortly after our final match last season and made me an offer. I thought it over while we were in Asia, as I had a number of interesting alternatives, but I quickly concluded it would be an interesting and exciting challenge and I’m looking forward to being part of Jürgen Klinsmann’s team.“
fcbayern.de: What exactly are the responsibilities of the chief analyst and head of match observation?
Henke: “On the one hand I’ll observe upcoming opponents and prepare reports about them for the coaching staff. On the other hand, I’ll be looking closely at our own players and producing individual analyses. The coaches will use these materials to mange the training programme. I still need to talk to Jürgen Klinsmann about how it’ll work in practice.“
fcbayern.de: Is this a wholly new area for you?
Henke: “No, I used to prepare analyses of our opponents for Ottmar Hitzfeld and prepare instructive segments for the players taken from our opponents’ last two matches. Ottmar was the first to congratulate me on my new appointment.“
fcbayern.de: How if at all will you overlap with chief scout Wolfgang Dremmler?
Henke: “First of all, everything I’ll be doing has been agreed with Wolfgang Dremmler. In the future, Wolfgang’s entire focus will be on uncovering new players for Bayern, so he’ll be looking at players all over the world. They could be established players or talented youngsters. I’ll only be watching our next opponents, which Wolfgang used to be part of when we played in Europe.“
fcbayern.de: So you’re no longer part of the coaching staff in the strictest sense of the phrase?
Henke: “No, mine is basically an office job. I’ll take an office close to Wolfgang Dremmler, as I’m sure we’ll be working closely together. But I’m no longer a member of the coaching staff per se. You’ll no longer see me on the training ground in a tracksuit, I’m part of the coach’s support staff.“
fcbayern.de: How much of a change will that be for you?
Henke: “Obviously it’s very different to what I did before. That’s the main reason I took time out to consider the offer. I’ve basically always been a coach, and I enjoyed being out on the practice ground every day. On the other hand, it has to be good to do something different for a change. I don’t think I’ll have any trouble adapting. Some of the other offers I considered were also more in the area of team management."
fcbayern.de: Have you dismissed the idea of working as a coach?
Henke: “No, not in the slightest, but I’ve signed a two-year deal for the new job. That’s that for the time being and I’m really looking forward to the new challenge.“
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