Opinion: Hansi Flick doesn’t deserve to suffer from extreme analysis

December 01, 2019

In their surprise defeat to Leverkusen, Bayern hit the post three times, Robert Lewandowski failed to score for the second straight league game, and the hosts faced a Leverkusen defense and goalkeeper in fantastic form. The visitors even had a man sent off with 10 minutes to go and Bayern still couldn’t find an equalizer. Sometimes, it just isn’t your day.

It would be easy to suggest that this defeat has made it clear that Flick is not the right man for the job, and it seems a guarantee that some publications will, but that would be nothing more than a reflection of the impulsive analysis that so often rears its head in football. There’s no doubt internally little panic will occur for Bayern after this, but the assessment of Flick or his players or the way this team is playing shouldn’t change just because of this result.

Four wins doesn’t make you a great head coach, and one loss doesn’t discredit your ability as a coach either – at least it shouldn’t. And yet football, in truth much of society, remains a source of extreme highs and lows. After the 54-year-old had secured the best ever start to a coaching career at Bayern by winning the first four games of his tenure, with his side scoring 16 and conceding none in the process, Flick was labeled the answer to Bayern’s problems. By the time the Leverkusen game came around, there was already talk of Flick being a long-term solution.

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DW Sports’ Jonathan Harding

Now that Bayern have lost a game under him, where does that leave assessment of Flick? At the other end of the extreme, not the right man for Bayern.

The problem is not whether Flick is or isn’t the right head coach, the problem is the extremity of the assessment that winning or losing brings. We seem to have forgotten there is also room for nuance. Perhaps he will be, but four wins and one defeat isn’t a large enough sample size to truly answer that question.

Players are often labeled as “the best in the world” for a handful of performances, while coaches can either be geniuses or idiots based on the result of a Saturday afternoon’s game. Such extremes help no one, and blur the real picture. So much more work from so many people goes into a Saturday that is unseen. And like anything in life, results matter, but they can’t be all that matters.

The headlines might say different after this weekend, but after the defeat to Leverkusen three things are clear: Hansi Flick is still one of the smartest men in football in Germany, his affect on Bayern continues to be a largely positive one and that Bayern can still be on the wrong end of luck.

Bundesliga Matchday 13: In pictures

Paderborn 2-3 RB Leipzig

In an unlikely thriller, Julian Nagelsmann’s team held on having initially given Paderborn no chance. Patrik Schick scored a brilliant solo goal before Marcel Sabitzer added a long-range screamer inside the opening four minutes. Timo Werner added a third to continue his fine form. Despite two second-half goals from Paderborn, RB Leipzig held on to go top for at least a day.

Bundesliga Matchday 13: In pictures

Bayern Munich 1-2 Leverkusen

Leverkusen handed the defending champions their third defeat of the season on Saturday. Leon Bailey’s two goals sandwiched a Thomas Müller strike in the first half. Though the Werkself fell to 10 men with Jonathan Tah’s straight red card, the visitors were able to secure all three points in Munich.

Bundesliga Matchday 13: In pictures

Hertha Berlin 1-2 Dortmund

Lucien Favre got a huge win in the capital. Two goals 104 seconds apart from Jadon Sancho and Thorgan Hazard had BVB on their way, but Vladimir Darida deflected a Dodi Lukebakio strike to swing momentum back in the home side’s favor. Hummels was sent off before the break to leave BVB with 10 men, but the visitors held on in a scrappy second half that saw Davie Selke denied a goal for offside.

Bundesliga Matchday 13: In pictures

Hoffenheim 1-1 Düsseldorf

A late goal from Rouwen Hennings split the points. After Andrej Kramaric had latched onto a superb ball by Florian Grillitsch to give the hosts an early lead, Hoffenheim looked like they were on the way to seal a win. However, with two minutes left, the home side failed to clear a long ball and Hennings smacked a ball into the far corner.

Bundesliga Matchday 13: In pictures

Cologne 1-1 Augsburg

Markus Gisdol’s life in charge of Cologne hasn’t started well, but he was saved by Augsburg’s Tomas Koubek. The Czech keeper’s decision to come out late in the game was punished by Jhon Cordoba. The equalizer canceled out Florian Niederlechner’s close-range effort in a game that also saw both teams have a man sent off.

Bundesliga Matchday 13: In pictures

Schalke 2-1 Union Berlin

A late winner from Suat Serdar secured Schalke three points and sent the home side soaring into second. A fantastic strike on the edge of the box from Benito Raman put the hosts ahead, but Union regularly posed a threat and were rewarded, Marcus Ingvartsen converting a controversial penalty. Both keepers made strong saves, before Serdar swept home just four minutes from time.

Author: Jonathan Harding