Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick explains selecting Javi Martinez over Marc Roca

Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick does not miss often and even when he does make questionable decisions, the 55-year-old often has a logical explanation for his rationale.

Saturday against Werder Bremen was another one of those times.

While some of the Bayern Munich faithful clamored for Marc Roca to start against Werder Bremen on Saturday, the manager opted for veteran Javi Martinez instead. Flick spoke with kicker and explained why he selected Martinez to play a defensive-midfield role to start the game.

Photo by M. Donato/FC Bayern via Getty Images

“That was the ideal position for Javi today,” Flick said. “Javi has played there before, has been with the club for a while, and knows what is expected in this position and how he has to perform. That was the ideal position for Javi (on Saturday). So, there was no room for Marc (on Saturday).”

There could be many reasons why Flick favored Martinez (heck, we speculated on some), but it just seems like he favors Martinez at this stage of the season.

As for Roca, Flick said that just because he has nice things to say about a player does not necessarily mean that the player has earned anything. Last week, Flick worked one-on-one with Roca and talked of the player’s progression, but that does not mean much in terms of playing time to Flick.

“If I speak positively about a player, it doesn’t mean that he has a guaranteed regular place”, said Flick with a smile after the Werder Bremen game.