Bayern Munich: Desire, determination and a winning mentality; what it means to become a champion

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”You do not own success. You get to rent it, and the rent is due every day”- Hansi Flick

“Mentality is Bayern’s greatest strength”- Leon Goretzka

What does is mean to be successful, or to have the absolute desire to succeed? Is it something that is part of a persons DNA

Or installed in you from being part of a team that wants nothing more than to succeed. At Bayern Munich the two go together hand in hand. To make it at a club that has been there and done it through generations, you need to have that inner desire to win at all costs, but never

To sacrifice your own values or ethics.

As Leon Goretzka stated, mentality is what sets Bayern apart from so many clubs, the knowledge that the club stands for constant success.

MiaSanMia is more than a club motto, it is who they are. And you have to be a special player

To be able to succeed under these constant pressures. As Hansi Flick said, you do not own success, you merely rent it. Meaning that every day you push yourself to succeed, you do not rest on your laurels, and you do not settle for second best. That is how winning is done.

But what else does it mean to become a champion? In sport, as in life, you have to have the absolute desire to succeed, and the sacrifices you make along the way will go a long way into shaping the destiny you make for yourself.

When we look at the success Bayern Munich have

Had over the decades. The word decades is the key word there, as this is a club that has a history of winning, not a mere flash in the pan. Winning and success is weaved into the fabric of the club. Every player who joins Bayern knows that anything less than winning- or at the

Very least competing- on every front is the minimum requirement. You are in constant watch and being judged 24/7. Only a select group are able to handle this.

Former player Edson Braafeid admits that he found it difficult to adapt to Bayern’s expectations;

”I just wasn't mentally ready. With a club like Bayern, there's a lot of pressure. I couldn't handle it”.

This is not a slant on the former Bayern defender, many have come in and unfortunately failed to cope with the staggering expectations at Bayern.

For “FC Hollywood” you are always headline news, under constant scrutiny from the press and the media, under the never ending pressures to succeed in every game played.

Even former manager Carlo Ancelotti admits that the pressures at Bayern are a different breed.

”The criticism here is too much. I am used to being criticised, but to be honest it is too much."

He refereed to the media pressure after a 2-0 loss to Hoffenheim, that included pressures on playing Thomas Müller more consistently.

Former Bayern midifielders Toni Kroos and Bastian Schweinsteiger know of the pressures that exist at Bayern:

”Bayern exists only to win, but to win in style, too. Winning 2-1 is not enough. We have to win 5-0.” Said Kroos.

”When you sign with Bayern Munich, the contract says that you have to win the German Championship.”- Bastian Schweinsteiger

Going back to what Kroos said, this for me highlights the extraordinary pressures that exist at Bayern. Winning games is not merely enough.

When Bayern Munich do not win games 3/4-0 every game, questions are raised. Winning isn’t enough, it is about putting on a show and being dominant EVERY game. These pressures can get the better of so many players. Only a select few clubs in the world have these constant pressures

Being at Bayern is about succeeding first and foremost. Like Schweinsteiger admitted, the minimum requirement is you must win the German championship, and you must do it in absolute style, anything less and you will be scrutinised.

”There's no team in the whole world, that drives to Munich and thinks: 'We're gonna win for sure,” said the then coach of Borussia Dortmund, Jurgen Klopp.

Playing against Bayern Munich, you aren’t just playing the 11 players, for some teams you’re playing against the name.

This is the history of the club, and the success that it has achieved over countless years, that gives Bayern, and similar clubs of this stature, an aura. It takes a special mentality to compete with these clubs, and to shut out their history and play the team in front of them.

The minimum requirement that this Bayern team under Hansi Flick do, is they run and run, and they never stop working. That is the minimum requirement.

”It’s very unpleasant to play against us, and even harder to beat us,” said Leon Goretzka after Bayern’s historic treble.

Hansi Flick has installed this ruthless work ethic ethos into the team. Gone are the days that Bayern would go 2 or 3 goals ahead and then revert into their shell. This Bayern Munich team is different, it is done when they say it’s done.

They are also able to regulate the tempo of the game at their own choosing. Having players like Kimmich and Goretzka in the heart of the midfield, gives a perfect balance of when to conserve energy and when to attack.

There is a ruthless desire to always want more, and a German efficiency to strategically manage the game. Many parts of the Van Gaal/Heynckes system remains, and the possession football that Pep made famous also has been retained. These are systems and tactics that fit the Bayern

mould. Forward planning and forward football on the pitch are what makes MiaSanMia work so well. Bayern are a club that are not afraid of any team, and go into every match with that attitude.

No player symbolises that mentality and drive, more than Joshua Kimmich.

Another way of becoming a champion, is how you fight with the failures and setbacks along the way.

”Through failure, you learn to more appreciate success, which hopefully we'll have again soon. We have the quality for that," said Kimmich after the DFB Cup Final loss in 2018.

What makes Bayern Munich, and teams of this stature, what they are, is something that runs deeper into the fabric of the club. A philosophy of what the fans and indeed the country demand, or expect of them.

”You, as Bayern, need a philosophy. That must be the aim of the club”

, said Philipp Lahm.

You must, at Bayern, be willing to sacrifice parts of your own game for the bigger picture.

Many players find this adaptable, and easy to do, some find it difficult. What this philosophy that Hansi Flick has installed in this team, is that NO ONE is more

Important than the team. Forward players such as Arjen Robben, who adapted their game at Bayern, know the values of such play.

”If you want to achieve something and have results and win competitions at a high level, you have to defend as a team,” said Arjen Robben.

Robben was criticised early into his Bayern career for not being involved in the defensive aspect of play. But the Dutchman became just as effective in being part of the defensive aspect, longer into his Bavarian career.

It is something that is sewn into the mindset of Bayern,

The MiaSanMia motto extends beyond simply the translation, “we are who we are” to extend towards a hardcore winning mentality, with a dose of self belief, but never arrogance.

”That’s how we manage to turn games around so often. There’s no middle ground, only wins”- T.Müller

One of the principles of “MiaSanMia” is the golden rule of “Mia San tradition”, meaning ‘we are tradition’

An important pillar in the MiaSanMia motto, meaning that a clubs tradition and values must always remain, and be brought forward through the generations.