I know there's still a lot of football left to be played this season, but the whole timetable is obviously a mess - and in either case, seeing the lads lift the Meisterschale always gets me feeling a bit sentimental/reflective.

Some random thoughts on the 19/20 BL season:

First and foremost - the single biggest takeaway is that we owe a great deal of thanks to Hansi.

I had a bit of a hunch that when he was brought in - a part of that was to have a contingency plan in the event we need to move on from Kovac....

Obviously, with Kovac's assistant being his brother, it wouldn't really have worked to sack Kovac and keep Robert as coach. Haha. So I suspect Hansi was brought in - at least in part - for that reason. Credit to the bosses for that decision.
On the whole it's obviously paid off.

I try not to dwell on Kovac too much. His time here is over and there's no sense in continuing to badmouth him. But I think the simple fact is that if he's not sacked, we're not champions. The math certainly trends this direction. But having a manager who could...

...simply maintain the status quo would not have been enough, either. We had some catch-up to do - and Flick went above and beyond in that regard. The pace we've been on since he took over is quite literally a historic one.

Imagine if he'd had the whole season: records broken left and right! So again - the biggest thanks has to go to Hansi.

I have to also give some credit to our players. I think for many there was a bit of a chip on their shoulders. We all know the media talks quite a bit...

...telling us how so-and-so doesn't show up when it counts. This guy and that guy are past their best. This guy will crumble under pressure. There was a notion that the players were coach-killers or that they gave up on Kovac or that they simply weren't good enough anymore.

But since Hansi arrived, nearly every player has looked like a man on a mission. There is a fire and hunger that wasn't there before (or that had 'gone out'!) I don't know if it was just Flick's man-management skills or players wanting to prove they still had "it", but it worked!

I give shouts to guys like Muller and Boateng. Told that they were finished and past it and no longer to be relied on. Muller's had an all-time great season and Boa's been rock solid almost all season. Both have had a huge revival and it's been a joy to watch. Danke!

I think of a guy like Davies, who was largely counted out and written off. Now he's arguably the best left-back in the world. And he's just soaking it all in and staying humble and down-to-earth. Thanks, Phonzie!

Or then we have guys like Thiago and Lewy - who the press loves to go after. A common criticism we hear is that they can't show up when it counts or can't carry their team. The two of them have ended up being two of our most important players and proved they can be relied on.

Goretzka - who many said just got minutes because he was German. Kimmich - who was said to be just an "ok" midfielder. Pavard - teased as being a 'relegation level' defender. Alaba proving himself at CB. Neuer recovering from a bad year. And so on and so on.

There are of course plenty of other players and stories to bring up. That's just a small sampling. We have had a lot of players develop in big ways and step up when needed. Even if the UCL and/or Pokal don't go how we'd hope, there's still a lot to be proud of for this squad.

So just a few things looking to next season:

-First and foremost I'd really like to see both Alaba and Thiago extend their contracts. Two of my personal favorite players in the squad, and IMO two of our most valuable overall. Would be a huge loss to compensate for.

-I hope to see a couple of players make "leaps" like many did this season. Top of that list is Lucas, assuming he stays. Fitness hasn't been his friend this season but with any luck and good healthy he'll be poised to grow a lot under Hansi.

Second would be Cuisance, if he doesn't go out on loan. He has showed a lot of promise when given opportunity. I look for him to take a big step. I suspect Goretzka will continue to develop as well. He's becoming a much more well-rounded player.

-With any luck, hope to see some youngsters get more well-integrated and make some progress, too. I think Arp was really quite promising, until he got every single injury known to man...Musiala has looked good, and personally I wouldn't mind bringing back Jeong as 4th winger.

Anyways, some random mostly-Bundesliga musings there. Looking forward to the Pokal final and the UCL when it resumes. The march towards the treble continues - Pack ma's!!