#StickWithFlick did the trick...and then some

While many in the Bayern Munich fan base were focused on what game-changing transfer target would be able to come in an revitalize the squad, the one move that ruled them all was maybe the most unheralded. The shoulder-shrugging, ho-humming hiring of Hansi Flick after Niko Kovac resigned on November 3rd proved to be Bayern Munich’s most important decision of the campaign.

And while many tossed around names like Jose Mourinho, Thomas Tuchel, Jupp Heynckes, or even Jurgen Klopp, Flick sat quietly ready to unleash all of the knowledge he had accrued as assistant under Kovac. Heck, we at Bavarian Football Works even referred to Flick as a “caretaker.”

At the outset of this journey, almost no one was ready to view Flick as a long-term option to man the volatile helm of Bayern Munich. And while Flick had already assembled an impressive resume as an assistant coach (let’s debate who really was the brains behind the 2014 World Cup win for Germany! I kid, I kid...), he finally had the chance that literally every single Bayern Munich fan on the planed yearns for: To run the team HIS way, with HIS own ideas, and in HIS own image.

Photo by Miguel A. Lopes/Pool via Getty Images

And his way just happened to capture the Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal, and mother-bleeping UEFA Champions League. Call it what you want...FlickiFlacka...Big Flick Energy...whatever. Flick was the man with the plan for how to take this roster and mold into winning the most coveted club title in the world.

So while we celebrate the valiant efforts of the day like the clinching header from Kinglsey Coman, the silky smooth assist from Joshua Kimmich, the midfield mastery of Thiago Alcantara, the overall defensive fortitude of players like Jerome Boateng, Alphonso Davies, David Alaba, and Niklas Süle, along with the relentless work ethic of Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller, and Leon Goretzka, we should really be focusing on the man who had the plan to put it all together.

It was Flick who ultimately decided to stick with a back-line featuring Alaba in a central role, while Davies manned left-back. It was also Flick who put his full-faith into players like Muller, Ivan Perisic, and Boateng, while also finding a way to make a midfield triumvirate of Kimmich, Thiago, and Goretzka squeeze extremely effectively into two spots.

Do the man a favor and do not underestimate how important it was that he built trusting relationships with those players and the rest of the roster. At a time — under a “caretaker” manager — where many veterans could have used political strength to create headaches or even shut it down, Flick repaired those relationships that were damaged under Kovac and generated a new and unique team chemistry that resulted in one of the great turnaround stories of this club’s long and storied history.

And while the natural inclination might be to start pondering whether or not Hansi can “Flick around and get a double treble”, let’s just put that on ice for a bit and revel in the grand accomplishment that this “caretaker” just achieved. For all those people who were doubted at some point in whatever their vocation is, Flick embodies the self-belief required to chase a dream and turn those doubters into believers.

So go ahead and get “Flicked Up” Bayern Munich fans, you — and your coach — deserve it.

Photo by Julian Finney / UEFA / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images