Germany Watch: Hansi Flick reveals decision to leave Bayern Munich came before he had another job lined up

Hansi Flick’s tenure as Bayern Munich manager from the fall of 2019 to the spring of this year was truly written in the stars.

When Flick replaced Niko Kovac in November of 2019, the club's front office was operating under the impression that they still needed to search for a long term Kovac replacement, but it quickly became clear that Flick was the man to guide Bayern to glory after positive results came in quick succession. He won the treble in the 2019/20 season along with DFL-Supercup, UEFA Supercup, and FIFA Club World Cup along with last season’s Bundesliga title before, completing what was a truly sensational tenure as manager.

Flick’s now officially the new German national team manager, succeeding Joachim Low after 14 years at the helm. When Low announced he’d be leaving after this summer’s European Championships, the vacancy seemed as if it were tailor-made for Flick, though he initially remained tight-lipped and subtle to the reports linking him to the job. In a recent interview with Suddeutsche Zeiting, as captured by @iMiaSanMia on Twitter, Flick even revealed that when he made the decision to step down from his post at Bayern, he didn’t know that he would 100% be the next Die Mannschaft manager.

When he made the decision to leave Bayern, Flick explained, Low had not even made the official announcement yet that he would be stepping down as German National team manager after the Euros. “When I decided to leave Bayern, it wasn’t even confirmed yet that Jogi Löw would leave in the summer. And I wasn’t happy either when Jogi announced his departure. I would have wished him a good end at the World Cup in Qatar,” Flick explained.

After his treble triumph with Bayern in the 2019/2020 season, there were a plethora of clubs interested in trying to pry Flick away from Bayern. Going in to the 2020/2021 season after the height of the coronavirus pandemic, it was unclear how much longer Flick would be Bayern manager, but you would’ve been hard pressed to find many Bayern fans that didn’t want him to have a longer stay in Munich.

Without naming names, Flick also admitted that he had virtual meetings with a top tier club before he was lined up for the German national team job. He didn’t want to reveal who said club was, but you could make a well educated estimate based off of the clubs that were interested and in need of a manager. “I had two Zoom calls with a very big club, directly with the president, that was extremely exciting. The exchange was totally respectful, my sporting authorities would’ve been incredible. But the national team is a once in a lifetime chance. My decision feels good and right,” he said.

Flick’s affirmations put to bed the notion that he made the decision to leave Bayern solely based on the fact that he wanted to become the next Die Mannschaft manager. It was widely assumed that it was a big part of his reasoning for stepping down as Bayern manager, but it just so happens that the German National team vacancy coincided with the timing of his decision. It was well known that he had differing opinions with Hasan Salihamidzic and Bayern’s front office regarding transfers and squad planning, but whether that was a major factor in Flick’s decision to leave Bayern is only something he would know.