Werkself Magazine – Heynckes: ‘Xabi's attitude was fantastic'

In an interview with Werkself Magazine, the 2013 World Coach of the Year talks about the special qualities of Xabi Alonso, who he wanted to bring to Bilbao as a talented youngster, including away from his football skills and explains why he likes to describe him respectfully as a 'street worker'. The 1974 World Cup winner also praises the impressive development of Bayer 04, talks about challenges in the new season and reveals which Leverkusen players he thinks deserve to be chosen as Player of the Year.

Mr Heynckes, hand on heart: Were you happy about the Bayer 04 double? Or is your love for Bayern a bit stronger?

Heynckes:I think I'm very objective. And if another team is better, plays more attractive football and is then successful then you also have to recognise that achievement. And I think the management members Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeneß at Bayern Munich, who I used to work alongside, have also shown their approval. For me the origin of the success is Xabi Alonso, more specifically his character. He acts as a coach as he did as a player. Of course, you need football knowledge and a little experience as a coach. But he gained that as a player and through coaches who he worked with. But Xabi is for me, and this is very important, a sort of street worker who looks after his players. That means he's empathetic. He has great expertise and psychological empathy. He's communicative when he has to be. But he is also strict if required. But all that without being authoritarian. He maintains the respect of players in a natural way. You can see that. That's why he was the key to success for me. But a lot of things happened before that.

Bayer 04 were seventeenth in the table when Xabi Alonso took over the season before. Things didn't go as well straightaway as they did in the double season…

Heynckes: In the first nine months he recognised exactly where the weak points were, where the squad needed to be strengthened, where there was a need for more quality. Then came perfect team work. A big part of the success is also down to Fernando Carro and Simon Rolfes who did a brilliant job. But I'd also specifically like to mention the scouting section and everybody who was responsible for buying players. Together they recognised: 'The way we are at the moment means we won't get right to the top. That's not our aim.' And then almost all the signings were big hits. There were lots of people who helped with the big job. It was a fantastic season.

You've worked as a coach at a lot of clubs – including two years as head coach at Bayer 04. How is your relationship with Leverkusen?

Heynckes: I had two really good years at Bayer 04, we were successful and finished fourth and second. I've always stressed that. The same applies to the later treble with FC Bayern. I said the time at Leverkusen was crucial in my move back to Bayern Munich. Rudi Völler was there then and he came to me and said: 'I'm really happy that you've not forgotten it and highlighted it here again.' So I said to him: 'Rudi, but that's the way it was.' From that I have a strong connection to Bayer 04. I obviously still follow both clubs and I hardly missed a game last season. At the same time, I'm no longer so football obsessed that I have to watch every game. I’m selective and I can say to you that I really liked watching Bayer 04. Because it was the type of football only a team can play that functions as a group, that is a real team. Xabi Alonso understood how to develop a team that is competitive and wants to be successful together. That's not always easy if you have so many top players and I say that from experience. But it works if you have the respect of the players.

Winning honours is one thing. Doing it again is another. You have the experience of winning the treble with FC Bayern. What does such a triumph with the team mean in terms of satisfaction? And what particular challenges apply to this season?

Heynckes: First of all, there is a big new challenge with the Champions League but also the stress and strain compared with last year. You definitely want to be successful. I do think it will be more difficult now. At the same time, the modest preseason isn’t important. The team has to get back into a rhythm and be fit. Winning the Supercup was a big step forwards. And I do believe that Xabi Alonso can again lead the team to success in the new season. You don't have to believe you can win the double every year. But I'm sure: Bayer 04 are always capable of winning a trophy.

That sentence has probably never been heard before in Leverkusen.

Heynckes: (He laughs) That shows how things have moved on.

A big element of last season was the incredible run without defeat. Under your leadership, the Werkself went 24 games unbeaten. What factors make a run like that possible and what effect does it have on a team?

Heynckes: It's a development within a season that shows the team is functioning, is harmonious and fully fit. When a team gets into a rhythm then that ensures that the players are so confident that they say: 'Nothing can go wrong. We'll work it out and we won't give up.' But a couple of players stood out from the group. For me the guarantor of success on the pitch was Granit Xhaka. He had a brilliant season.

A player you knew really well as a former Gladbach man.

Heynckes: He played well back then, here with Mönchengladbach and also at Arsenal. But now – at Leverkusen – he was for me the outstanding playmaker, the maestro in midfield. If someone had asked me who I would vote for as Player of the Year – forgetting that Toni Kroos had an exemplary career and deservedly won the award – then I would have said: 'Granit Xhaka deserved it this season.' I would have named two players as Player of the Year this year: Xhaka and Kroos. And then actually there’s also the young Florian Wirtz. But he has a future in front of him and he will definitely be Player of the Year a couple of times or even World Player of the Year. The lad is an exceptional talent and an exceptional football player.

What's your assessment of his development?

Heynckes: My long-standing assistant Peter Hermann told me five or six years ago, when Wirtz was still playing for the U17s at Köln, 'Jupp, there's a talent coming through there the like of which you haven't seen for years. And above all,' he said ', the family is solid. They are down-to-earth people. He won't go mad nor the parents either.' That's decisive for players not to immediately jump after the next offer. The fact he stayed at Leverkusen is outstanding for him and the club. The lad has time and an outstanding coach who can improve the player.

You haven't just paid close attention to the coaching career of Xabi Alonso from the start but also his career as a player. What made him stand out back then?

Heynckes: I got to know the mentality of the Basques as a coach at Athletic Bilbao and it's a very special one. I have a very special connection to the Basque country where Xabi Alonso comes from. I found it very pleasant there working with players who were very respectful. They came to training every day with a smile and were focused on their work. I was deeply impressed by the people. When I was coach in Bilbao for the second time in 2001, Xabi Alonso's career had begun at Real Sociedad. I can remember we talked about him at Athletic and I said: 'You have to get Xabi Alonso.' The management answered: 'Jupp, que dices' - that means: 'Jupp, what are you talking about' - because it wasn't possible financially back then. He was a young and upcoming player. And I think he played in the national side a year or two later.

What marked him out at the beginning of his career?

Heynckes: I've always been impressed by Xabi Alonso's mentality. Everybody knows his football ability – but his attitude as a player on the pitch impressed me even more. There were never any negative gestures and that impressed me. His temperament was evident early on. That was the root of his big success.

Spain dominates world football. But there is also a strong Spanish influence at Bayer 04 with Fernando Carro, Xabi Alonso and his staff, Alejandro Grimaldo and now also Aleix Garcia. What's special about Spanish football?

Heynckes: Really decisive is that new talents come through again and again and that they get time on the pitch and are encouraged. That's necessary and also the springboard to play your way into the spotlight. You have to give young players time and trust them. That has been done successfully in Germany and at FC Bayern. For example, with Toni Kroos who went to Leverkusen. Or David Alaba, who gained experience at Hoffenheim, and also Philipp Lahm, who had an important time at Stuttgart. They were given time to develop and they turned into world-class players. You have to be patient with players. And that's why it's exemplary the way academies work in Madrid, Barcelona but also Bilbao and Zaragoza

What can we learn from that here?

Heynckes: In Germany, we have to work more intensively with the lads. That also means looking after them, talking to them and also convincing them to take a certain path. You now how immature you were at the age of 17 or 18. But that requires a special gift. Xabi Alonso has this gift and he uses it in his work in the way he develops a large number of young players. That's why I chose the concept of street worker at the start. You have to be in constant dialogue with the lads and react to their special situations that change over the course of the season. You also have to take time out to have a quiet chat in the coach's office. This interpersonal connection, the relationship to the team, the players, the respect, that makes a top coach.

Perhaps with some coaches that requires a maturing process and that special empirical judgement. It's striking that you or Hansi Flick and Carlo Ancelotti had great success at an advanced age when you were a sort of father figure for many players.

Heynckes: For me, Carlo Ancelotti is one of the best coaches in the world. I know how difficult it is to work at Real Madrid. But the way he developed Vinicius Junior is the perfect example of great work as a coach. Vini was a big talent in Brazil, he got the ball, did his dribbles and the people were transfixed. At Real Madrid he then had to play in a team and suddenly started missing chances. I definitely know that Karim Benzema said to other teammates: 'Don't give him the ball any more. That's a dead end for balls.' (He laughs) And now he's one of the best strikers in the world. That shows you have to have be patient with the lads. And Carlo has that quality. He's a great bloke, as a person and as a coach simply brilliant. And so the circle is complete. That also applies to Xabi Alonso.