Over the holiday season, Jupp Heynckes is spending a few relaxing days with his wife Iris and dog Cando at his renovated farmhouse near Mönchengladbach. The break is a good thing, because the first half of the season cost a great deal of energy. “We're all thrilled we have a few days for peace, quiet and recovery," said the coach as he looked back on the 2012/13 campaign so far.
Just before the festive season, the 67-year-old sat down with fcbayern.de for an extensive and exclusive interview. In the first instalment, Heynckes offers his summary of the season so far, reviews what has changed compared to the previous campaign, and looks ahead to the winter training camp in Qatar.
Interview with Jupp Heynckes, part 1:
fcbayern.de: Jupp Heynckes, two important draws took place just after the players were released for the holidays. Bayern will play Dortmund in the DFB Cup and Arsenal in the Champions League. How did you get the news?
Jupp Heynckes: I was watching on TV, and I somehow thought we'd get Dortmund. It must have been a premonition. I'm very familiar with Olaf Thon, he always comes up with exciting ties [laughs]. Naturally, it's an attractive draw. It's a meeting between equals, and it'll be a classic cup fight. I hope we end up with our noses in front.
And what about Arsenal?
It's the Champions League! Arsenal boast one of the richest traditions in England. They've always played attractive attacking football, and they've ended up there or thereabouts at the top of the table in England for years. But given our targets, we're definitely capable of making the next round.
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