Stop-gap Hans-Dieter Flick stakes his claim at Bayern Munich ahead of Champions League clash with Chelsea


Ian Hawkey
  • English
  • Arabic

Hans-Dieter Flick, the temporary manager of Bayern Munich, woke up on his 55th birthday yesterday to some promising headlines.

His boss, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, chair of Bayern’s executive board, had given an interview that showered Flick with praise and placed him in elevated company.

"He has a clear plan," Rummenigge told Kicker magazine. "The team is tactically as well set up as it was under Louis van Gaal, Jupp Heynckes or Pep Guardiola." Bayern, Rummenigge added, "had their dominant, attacking, possession game" back again, some four months after Flick was promoted in an emergency, after the sacking of Niko Kovac.

Flick will appreciate the words, though he may smile at Rummenigge’s talk of a clear plan. He does not know very clearly Bayern’s plan for him.

Initially taken on as a stop-gap, he was guaranteed the manager’s role until the end of the season after an encouraging first six weeks in charge. But no commitment has been made beyond June.

“If they want another coach after that,” said Flick at the weekend, “my world will not collapse.” He has hinted strongly there are other good jobs on offer to him.

What happens on Tuesday at Chelsea, where Bayern play the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, will go some way to shaping Bayern’s thinking on ‘Hansi’, as Flick is known, and whether he will be offered the sort of long-term contract that van Gaal, Heynckes and Guardiola would have regarded as their right.

That trio have all won European Cups as managers. Flick has only ever taken charge of three European matches. Bayern is his first job as manager of a top division team.

At 55, he is a late-comer, though his work in various assistant-coach roles, including for Germany’s 2014 World Cup winners had long ago gained him wide respect. Nor, as a novice to knockout phase Champions League, is he unusual in this season’s competition.

Napoli and Barcelona, who also play on Tuesday, will both be guided by men – Rino Gattuso and Quique Setien – managing in the Champions League for the very first time. Neither Valencia’s Albert Celades or RB Leipzig’s Julian Nagelsmann had, before last week, taken charge of a last-16 European Cup tie.

As for the Chelsea manager, Frank Lampard, he is a first-timer managing at this rarified level, even if as a player, he experienced the lights and the suspense of the Champions League later rounds as a matter of routine.

He was the captain on the most celebrated night of his Chelsea's history, the defeat of Bayern in Munich in the final of the 2012 European Cup. But the 41-year-old has been managing for less than two years, and in charge of an elite club only since June.

Frankie and Hansi, to give them the boyish versions of their names, share some background. They are intimately connected to the clubs who have placed faith in their coaching nous.

Flick was a midfielder for Bayern in the late 1980s, four times a Bundesliga champion and a European Cup finalist in 1987. Lampard may be the finest midfielder in Chelsea’s history. He is the club’s all-time leading goalscorer.

He is fresh from a tactical triumph, too, his Chelsea having firmed up their hold on fourth place in the Premier League with a win in Saturday’s London derby against Tottenham Hotspur, the second time in barely two months he has outwitted Spurs’s Jose Mourinho.

Lampard’s four team changes for the game included the two goalscorers in the 2-1 victory, Olivier Giroud and Marcos Alonso, and his use of a back three proved canny.

Flick meanwhile is riding a superb run of form. Bayern were seventh in the Bundesliga in mid-December. They are now top, having dropped just two points from their last available 27.

The prolific Robert Lewandowski remains their most potent weapon – his 38th goal of the season defeated a Paderborn who came back from a goal down twice at the weekend – and the best argument for Bayern making this season’s final.

But Flick’s trick has also been to stimulate some corners of a deep, talented squad that had seemed neglected.

“He has pressed the right buttons,” said the defender David Alaba, who, like the long-serving Thomas Muller, seems revived under the new manager. “We are playing the way we used to and the atmosphere is right.”

For Flick, still gaining experience, the know-how of his veterans is an asset to cultivate. He can look across Bayern’s squad and count on seven players with more than 50 Champions League matches under their belts.

Lampard lacks that luxury. His first journey as a manager into the business end of the game’s most glamorous club competition will be made, mostly, with young players, who can be thrillingly fearless, but also a little unworldly.

What is graphene?

Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.

It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.

It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.

It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.

Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.

The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.

Results

2.30pm: Park Avenue – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 2,000m; Winner: Rb Seqondtonone, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)

3.05pm: Al Furjan – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Bosphorus, Dane O’Neill, Bhupat Seemar

3.40pm: Mina – Rated Condition (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Royal Mews, Tadhg O’Shea, Bhupat Seemar

4.15pm: Aliyah – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (T) 1,900m; Winner: Ursa Minor, Ray Dawson, Ahmad bin Harmash

4.50pm: Riviera Beach – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 2,200m; Winner: Woodditton, Saif Al Balushi, Ahmad bin Harmash

5.25pm: Riviera – Handicap (TB) Dh2,000 (T) 2,000m; Winner: Al Madhar, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi

6pm: Creek Views – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Al Salt, Dane O’Neill, Erwan Charpy

The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEquestrian%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EAbdullah%20Humaid%20Al%20Muhairi%2C%20Abdullah%20Al%20Marri%2C%20Omar%20Al%20Marzooqi%2C%20Salem%20Al%20Suwaidi%2C%20and%20Ali%20Al%20Karbi%20(four%20to%20be%20selected).%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EJudo%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMen%3A%20Narmandakh%20Bayanmunkh%20(66kg)%2C%20Nugzari%20Tatalashvili%20(81kg)%2C%20Aram%20Grigorian%20(90kg)%2C%20Dzhafar%20Kostoev%20(100kg)%2C%20Magomedomar%20Magomedomarov%20(%2B100kg)%3B%20women's%20Khorloodoi%20Bishrelt%20(52kg).%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECycling%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ESafia%20Al%20Sayegh%20(women's%20road%20race).%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESwimming%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMen%3A%20Yousef%20Rashid%20Al%20Matroushi%20(100m%20freestyle)%3B%20women%3A%20Maha%20Abdullah%20Al%20Shehi%20(200m%20freestyle).%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EAthletics%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMaryam%20Mohammed%20Al%20Farsi%20(women's%20100%20metres).%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Results
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Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

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Arabian Gulf Cup FINAL

Al Nasr 2

(Negredo 1, Tozo 50)

Shabab Al Ahli 1

(Jaber 13)

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm

Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km

Price: from Dh94,900

On sale: now

World Cup warm up matches

May 24 Pakistan v Afghanistan, Bristol; Sri Lanka v South Africa, Cardiff

May 25 England v Australia, Southampton; India v New Zealand, The Oval

May 26 South Africa v West Indies, Bristol; Pakistan v Bangladesh, Cardiff

May 27 Australia v Sri Lanka, Southampton; England v Afghanistan, The Oval

May 28 West Indies v New Zealand, Bristol; Bangladesh v India, Cardiff

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Squad

Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas) 

How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
  1. Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
  2. Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
  3. Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
  4. Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
  5. Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
  6. The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
  7. Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269

*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year

The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

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The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

SPECS

Mini John Cooper Works Clubman and Mini John Cooper Works Countryman

Engine: two-litre 4-cylinder turbo

Transmission: nine-speed automatic

Power: 306hp

Torque: 450Nm

Price: JCW Clubman, Dh220,500; JCW Countryman, Dh225,500