“It shouldn’t be the end after one title”

Speaking of rhythm – RB lacked it at the beginning of last season. How do you want to find this 2022/23 directly?

By picking up where we left off. In the second half…

… you were the best team in the Bundesliga …

…exactly, we simply had a better balance, we were more flexible so that we could constantly pose different problems for our opponents. In the past first half of the season we felt like we always went into the games with a relatively similar concept – that worked great in some games and not at all in others and meant that we experienced a roller coaster ride of emotions.

Jesse Marsch was the coach until December, then Domenico Tedesco came and with him success. RB won the DFB Cup, the first major title in club history. Are you approaching the season differently now?

In a way I do. We are now a club that can win titles. This is extremely important for the development of the club and helps to keep players – like Christopher Nkunku (who was just named Germany’s footballer of the year and surprisingly extended until 2026, editor’s note). It was definitely a crucial point that he saw that we have a team capable of winning the title. At the end of the day, we play soccer to win trophies.

Now develop an inner self-image like that “We are who we are” at Bayern?

In a way, you need that kind of self-understanding. Of course not à la “We’re good enough, now everything runs by itself”. Rather in the direction that you go into every game with the self-image that you can win and that you don’t have to hide from any opponent at all. So it was just important that we finally took the last step and rewarded ourselves for all the effort.

You said in a “kicker” interview two years ago: “The goal is to achieve something bigger.” Is the cup victory this “bigger” or do you mean even more?

Basically, I mean even more (smiles).

There are other competitions (laughs). It’s certainly a bit presumptuous to go into the season and say “We want to win first place everywhere”, but our aim is to be at the front of the field for as long as possible. Basically, after one title should not be the end. Just because we won the DFB Cup doesn’t mean we sit back and see what happens over the next few years. Victory in the cup makes us hungry for more rather than filling us up.