Simon Verhoeven, director of the documentary “FC Bayern – Behind the Legend”, gave insights into his work for the German record champions. Verhoeven accompanied Bayern over 100 days of shooting from summer 2020 to the end of the 2020/2021 season.
The saddest moment of this time was the elimination of Bayern in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. This stirred up the team, Verhoeven explained in an interview with Sport1.
“The constant time lag, the shrewdness of the Parisians went too far for the coach and the team. The game itself, football, still has a certain honesty, it’s still like in the B-youth, despite all the millions. That was but not given in the Paris second leg, “said the director. “There was a terrible atmosphere in the dressing room. Anger. Sadness. Goretzka said: ‘Today I’m proud not to be on the winners’ side.” “
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FC Bayern: “Phonzie totally freaked out in the dressing room”
Another decisive moment was Alphonso Davies’ red card against VfB Stuttgart, according to Verhoeven. Davies “was totally depressed and kept saying: ‘I let the team down, what did I do?'”, Said the 49-year-old. “Then suddenly ten of Bayern shot down VfB and Phonzie freaked out in the dressing room and celebrated. That was a wonderfully crazy and funny scene.”
There were also days when “there was a bang,” said Verhoeven. “But I think that in the end it was often very easy, despite the extreme pressure.”
“For me it was particularly nice to see that things are not so different from A-Youth. People are messing around, the players push each other,” said the director. “The team spirit is also impressive. Many people get along not only on the pitch, but also privately.”
At first, Hansi Flick was not particularly open-minded towards the shooting team. “You won’t come into the dressing room,” he said to Verhoeven at the beginning. “At some point, however, he realized that we weren’t those investigative journalists or tabloid photographers who were annoying and looking for headlines all the time. Then he began to trust us.”
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The director also revealed that FC Bayern had initially rejected the proposal to film a documentary. “FC Bayern initially canceled us. In 2020 – in the wake of Corona – that changed, suddenly we had a promise on the table,” said Verhoeven.
“I think it was actually related to the pandemic. FC Bayern asked itself: How can we keep close to the fans in times of empty stadiums?”, Said Verhoeven. “A camera in the cabin? We have never done anything like this before,” it was said at the beginning. “Until Kahn threw in: ‘Exactly. And that’s exactly why it’s interesting.’ I think Kahn was one of the decisive factors in opening up, “said Verhoeven.
“Of course there is material that only we filmmakers know in the end. When young men talk in the dressing room, you can’t use everything, that’s clear,” admitted the filmmaker. “I especially remembered a speech at half-time that was sharply directed against another team. We discussed that and later cut it down a bit.”
Overall, however, he was very satisfied with the cooperation with Bayern: “I see it very positively. It’s amazing how unfiltered this series was released by FC Bayern”
