Jerome Boateng thinks Jupp Heynckes deserves respect

In a video captured by Goal.com, Jerome Boateng spoke frankly about the ongoing drama surrounding Robert Lewandowki’s poor attitude towards Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes after being removed from Die Roten’s 3-1 win over FC Köln on Saturday.

Boateng did not rip his teammate, but did make it clear that no matter how competitive, emotional, or frustrated an athlete may get, the decisions of the manager should be respected.

The coach [Jupp Heynckes] is the boss. As I have have said before, as a player you sometimes have emotional periods. [Robert] Lewandowski probably wanted to score one or two more goals. Despite that, you can manage it differently. But it is clear that it is the responsibility of the coach [to make decisions] and he is the absolute boss.

As our own Phillip Quinn recounted in his Match Observations, Lewandowski was not happy to be removed from Saturday’s game.

When subbed late in the second half, Lewandowski looked frustrated and didn’t acknowledge Jupp Heynckes when he came off the field. While some will try to make this a bigger issue than it is, Heynckes gets it. He was a goalscorer, too. Lewandowski is one goal short of his third consecutive 30 goal season, tying him with the legendary Gerd Müller for the only players in Bundesliga history to score 30 goals in 3 straight seasons. (Müller has five total.) Lewandowski likely saw goal #30 in big letters in front of him with Köln’s defense not trying in the last 15 minutes of the match. Look for him to come out on fire next week in the finale at the Allianz Arena against Stuttgart.

Heynckes addressed the situation after the game as reported by ESPN and other outlets. The legendary manager was obviously not amused.

I know myself that we goalscorers are selfish and always thinking about our goal scoring ratio. We have spoken and he has understood. When I took him off, though, I didn’t find it funny at all, because I’m the boss and no one else.

The situation is, indeed, likely over within the Bayern locker room at this stage. It will be interesting to see, however, exactly how Lewandowski approaches this weekend’s season finale against VfB Stuttgart and what his reaction is if he cannot secure that elusive 30th goal.