(Feature)Heynckes' biggest challenge - keeping dominant team motivated

By Oliver Trust

BERLIN, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Jupp Heynckes and several key performers have admitted that a lack of challenges is currently the biggest problem for the reigning German champions, Bayern Munich.

The 72-year-old coach said that the main task is to keep motivation high until April when the next knock-out stage of the Champions League starts. Not getting everybody to toe the line would make it difficult for the team to achieve the team's goals for this season, such as winning the 2017-18 Champions League.

The Bavarian are dominating the national league and already have a comfortable 20 point lead. The sixth consecutive national title seems a certainty with ten games still to play.

Additionally, they are almost sure of a place in the Champions League quarterfinals after a 5-0 victory in the last 16 first leg against Besiktas Istanbul. The second leg is due for mid-March.

Their present comfortable position could well turn out to be the biggest problem for the 2013 treble winner. Last weekend, they failed to score in a home game for the first time since May 2015 and the team's performance appeared to be very half-hearted.

Star striker Robert Lewandowski failed to score for the first time after 11 home games and the team's display was far from satisfying.

Former Dutch international Arjen Robben admitted it is far from easy just practicing while waiting for the next game.

"It's hard to stay tuned and patient for a big squad as we are now without a game for over a week," the 34-year-old said. He said it was hard to have to sit on the bench for important Champions League and only turn out in the Bundesliga.

Defender Niklas Suele said the team has problems staying properly concentrated in the Bundesliga as "we didn't have enough speed and didn't work hard enough to provide passing options for our team-mates."

Coach Heynckes said he is counting on the competition in the squad to help keep motivation high. He is aware of the necessity to rotate, but also knows chopping and changing the starting eleven can cause problems.

Heynckes said a constant change of the line-up could endanger the team's rhythm. "When facing Besiktas, we had key players who hadn't played for ten days. We can't do that in the future," the Bavarian's coach commented. He announced he would be reducing the pitch time for some in his squad.

Securing a healthy balance in the team is the most challenging thing at present he told German media.

Heynckes and the club's leaders like President Uli Hoeness and Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge not only have to keep their stars entertained but at the same time have to plan the team's future.

While Bayern's old masters like Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery (both 34) fighting for a one-year extension to their contracts and are waiting for the club's decision about their future, speculation is also growing about them departing at the end of the season.

Bayern seem to be interested in signing a successor for Robben in the near future. According to rumors, Bayern are in final negotiations with 20-year-old winger Malcom from the French League 1 side Girondins Bordeaux.

It is said the Brazilian is valued at 60 million euro. British media are also reporting that Premier League Tottenham Hotspurs is also interested in Malcom. Others are saying that Malcom and Bayern have agreed a five-year contract.

The striker so far has scored eight goals and delivered six assists for Bordeaux this season. Malcom announced he intended departing despite his until contract that runs to 2021.

But an unhappy Robben could harm the team's balance. Alongside the Dutch left-winger, Ribery's future in Munich is just as uncertain as the former French international seems to have lost the battle against 21-year-old Kingsley Coman for the starting place in the team. Enditem