It's the reward for all the hard work and the icing on the cake of the past few months. Hansi Flick was honoured as UEFA Men's Coach of the Year on Thursday. The FC Bayern coach received the award in Geneva on Thursday evening as part of the Champions League draw. "It's a great honour, but it wouldn't have been possible without the team around me," said the 55-year-old. "It's been a crazy year. We did well, keeping the team together. We were able to adjust the lads to the new developments. A huge dream has come true for all of us. The team have developed outstandingly. The confidence grew from game to game," continued Flick.
Modest and meticulous
"We’re proud and happy that Hansi Flick has been named 'Europe's Coach of the Year'. He is a great asset for FC Bayern not just because of his success on the football field, but also because of his human qualities," congratulated Herbert Hainer. "Hansi has led the club to the second treble in its history but remains humble and is working meticulously on future successes. We’re sure that under his leadership we will continue to offer our fans beautiful and successful football in the future," said the FCB president. Flick prevailed in the vote against his German compatriots Jürgen Klopp (Liverpool) and Thomas Tuchel (Paris Saint-Germain).
Spectacular work
"Hansi Flick and his coaching team did a spectacular, flawless, and record-breaking job under difficult conditions in the Bundesliga, DFB Cup and in the Champions League, which has been rightly honoured. I’m glad that Hansi is getting the recognition he deserves," enthused board member for sport Hasan Salihamidžić.
You can see the pictures from Flick's impressive year in the gallery:
More titles than draws and defeats
Flick took charge of Bayern in November 2019 and led the record champions to the top with an incredible run. With the league, DFB Cup, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and DFL-Supercup, the 55-year-old won everything that there was to win. Particularly impressive: Flick has currently collected more titles with the Munich team than defeats (three) and draws (one). The run of 23 straight wins is a new record in European football.
Huge success
"The whole team are delighted our coach Hansi Flick has been named Europe's Coach of the Year," said a delighted captain Manuel Neuer about Flick and emphasised the coach's contribution to the year’s success. "He has earned this accolade because he has a very special way of leading players, not just professionally but also personally. Our fans love fun football – and it is coach Hansi Flick who provides this. Our goal is to continue to pursue this successful path together."
Up there with Hitzfeld
Ottmar Hitzfeld led FC Bayern back to Europe's throne after 25 years with his 2001 Champions League triumph.
The quintuple-winner is only the second Bayern coach to receive this award after Ottmar Hitzfeld in 2001 (the vote did not take place from 2011-2017). Flick is officially one of FCB’s greatest ever coaches. Congratulations on the award!
FC Bayern also dominated the positional awards for the past Champions League season, winning three out of four:
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