Munich (Germany) (AFP) – Bayern Munich stars serenaded Jupp Heynckes on his 73rd birthday on Wednesday and pledged to win the German Cup in a fortnight as a farewell gift for the veteran coach.
The team face Eintracht Frankfurt in the final at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on May 19 in Heynckes’s last match before Niko Kovac takes over for next season.
“Jupp, we want to win the cup final for you! All the best,” said midfielder Javi Martinez.
The star-studded Bayern squad serenaded the head coach with ‘Happy Birthday’ following training for Saturday’s final league game at home to Stuttgart, after which Bayern will be presented with the Bundesliga trophy for the sixth consecutive season.
Heynckes stepped in for his fourth stint as head coach when Carlo Ancelotti was sacked last September and inspired Bayern into turning a five-point deficit into their current massive 26-point lead.
“We can all be very thankful that he took over our team again and for the team we have become under him,” said Germany defender Jerome Boateng.
Heynckes will lead out Bayern on Saturday for his 1,038th and final Bundesliga game as both a coach and a player.
This will be his eighth Bundesliga winners medal as player or coach, making him joint record-holder alongside Bayern greats Oliver Kahn, Philipp Lahm, Franck Ribery, Mehmet Scholl and Bastian Schweinsteiger.
