Coach Hansi Flick “deserves great respect” ahead of Bayern Munich's Champions League final with Paris Saint-Germain in Lisbon on Sunday, according to Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr.
The Bavarians have been the talk of the town thanks to their top class performances in Europe’s premier competition, notably, an 8-2 mauling of Barcelona in the quarter-final.
They are the only side to remain unbeaten in the competition, winning all their matches since the group phase, and are also the side with most goals in the tournament this term (42), 24 of those coming from Robert Lewandowski (15) and Serge Gnabry (nine).
All these make the German giants the favourites ahead of Sunday’s final, and Rohr believes credit must go to Flick, who was previously assistant to current AS Monaco boss Niko Kovac before the latter was sacked in November 2019.
“What Hansi Flick has achieved in the past few months is huge," Rohr, who played for Bayern between 1972 and 1974, told Abendzeitung. "He transformed the team, almost from one day to the next,
“That deserves great respect. Some players like Thomas Muller are in great shape again. A credit to Flick.
"The offensive is strong with Robert Lewandowski and Serge Gnabry, both are fantastic in front of goal, and there are also some French [players] at Bayern, which I find very likeable.”
Bayern have been the leading German team in Europe, with five titles to their name, the last coming in 2013 when they defeated local rivals Borussia Dortmund at Wembley. They also won a record 30th Bundesliga and eighth in a row and the German Cup as well.
Rohr is of the opinion other German clubs like RB Leipzig - who reached the semi-final for the first time before losing to PSG - are catching up with Bayern’s prowess, and the manager has also highlighted the improvements made by French teams in Europe's premier club competition.
“Bavaria has always been at the forefront of Europe, and RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund can keep up there too," he continued. "With [Bayer] Leverkusen and [Borussia] Gladbach, other teams are not far away.
“France have now made positive headlines with PSG and Lyon. That was important because after the season ended in March there was a great disappointment. Since then, both clubs have focused fully on the Champions League.”
Rohr also offered some advice on how Bayern can stop the offensive threat of PSG which is contained in Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Angel Di Maria.
“These are big names on the offensive," Rohr concluded. "Neymar and Mbappe have to be disturbed while controlling the ball so that they cannot turn.
“You always have to be close to them, ideally with several players. Overall, it would be good for Bayern not to be as high in defence as they were last time, but Flick must have recognised that too.”