By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The outcome of the final eight-round of the Champions League is a foregone conclusion after Bayern Munich pleased its fans with a comfortable 5-0 over Besiktas Istanbul in the duel's first leg. Although Jupp Heynckes's team accomplished their 14's consecutive victories, only the crowd in the Munich arena saw reason to party, while the mood of some of the clubs key performers reached rock bottom.
The explosive comments of Arjen Robben and reactions of other prominent squad members indicate the 72-year-old head coach is facing his biggest challenge yet: keeping everyone's temper under control.
The tight competition in the 2017 German champion squad endangers the team's general balance. For the first time in over five years, all field players are without injury, and the Bavarian's stars are fighting for a place in the starting eleven with dogged determination.
Instead of praising his team for an excellent second half, Heynckes expressed a severe warning to his players not to endanger the team's progress by doggedly pursuing their personal interests.
"I'am responsible for all players, and therefore I decide, and do what I regard as the right step. Everyone will have to accept that. End of story," Heynckes stressed.
"A club like Bayern Munich needs a squad of exceptional quality and everyone playing for a club like that has to be prepared to be sidelined for a game," Heynckes added.
Stars like Thiago, Sebastian Rudy, and Juan Bernat left the Bavarian arena with stony faces after having missed nomination for the squad and being placed on the spectators stand. Others like Robben and Franck Ribery, at kick-off on the bench, expressed deep dissatisfaction.
"If I tell you what I feel, I will be in trouble having to turn up for an unpleasant meeting with our sports director or Mr. Rummenigge," the Dutch striker emphasized.
"I am 34 and work all day and every day hard for games like that. Then you are being told you are not part of the starting eleven. That's a painful story," the striker told a TV station after he was substituted in the 42nd minute. Ribery only got 12 minutes.
Heynckes said he understands Robben's frustration but won't accept further complaints. If reactions like that are only evidence that everything is fine, the 2013 treble winner said. Heynckes said the team would have to survive many more games, offering plenty of opportunities to perform for all of the club's stars.
While Kingsley Coman or James Rodriguez stand for the club's future, golden-agers such as Robben and Ribery are fighting for an extension of their contract and will demand more play minutes to promote their wish to get another year before retiring.
Heynckes is insisting on focusing on the team's deficits: "I was surprised by the team's nervous start," he remarked. German international Jerome Boateng said the team was lucky not to receive two goals in the first 16 minutes until the red card for Besiktas defender Domagoj Vida. "It is our job to improve, as we will have to face teams of higher quality in the future," the defender commented.
Heynckes and Boateng reminded the squad of the team's goals but refused to talk about a possible 2018 Champions League triumph. "We have to think from game to game," Bayern's president Uli Hoeness stressed, adding that the second leg game against Besiktas still lies ahead despite the comfortable 5-0 lead.
To predict the outcome of the 2017-2018 Champions League campaign might still be a fortuneteller's job, but at least Heynckes is now aware of what will be the most significant tasks for him. Going forward, he will not only have to think about stronger opponents but also the temperament of his stars.
