Waching daily Mar 3 2018

German lessons are becoming ever more important at FC Bayern Munich.

It's a compulsory subject for foreign players at the club.

How do lessons work at Säbener Straße?

What do the players think of them?

We take a look at how the Bayern players

are swotting up on their German.

'sich beeilen' means to rush.

Hurry up.

Come on!

A normal day of training at Säbener Straße.

Spaniard Javi Martinez is talking shop with assistant coach Peter Hermann.

Colombian James Rodriguez is chatting with German Jerome Boateng.

Head coach Jupp Heynckes explains the next drills – of course in German.

FC Bayern is an internationally successful team.

A global club whose foreign players play their part in the success.

Players from around the world come to Munich to play for Bayern.

Jupp Heynckes has also worked abroad as a coach and had success

winning the Champions League with Real Madrid.

He knows that a common language is the foundation of any successful team.

"I know from experience that things get a lot easier when you can master the local language to some degree.

Communication is important for players and coaches.

It helps you integrate faster."

That's why German is the working language at the record German champions.

Not just on the pitch but also off it.

That's how the players get accustomed to the German language even quicker.

Team manager Kathleen Krüger has been with the first team since 2009

and organises everything to do with the team.

The 32-year-old of course speaks German with players, but not only that:

"Probably 90-95 per cent of all information we give out is in German.

We basically force the players to learn the language.

We deliberately don't give out travel plans, training schedules or content in English

because the first rule is to speak German.

The players recognise that it's necessary to learn German.

It's only to help their integration into the team and communication on the pitch.

The players understand that."

However, German is anything but easy to learn.

To assist the players, a teacher now comes to Säbener Straße

to work with the team.

That wasn't the case four years ago.

"Back then we worked with a language school in Munich,

but we needed greater flexibility.

Our schedule here meant it was vital we have a teacher who's available at any time."

The players have a full schedule.

Midweek fixtures, training, appointments with the physio, press conferences and numerous marketing events.

It's all part of the daily life of a professional footballer.

It means they need to find time for those important German lessons.

That means proximity is essential for the students.

"It's good to have Max here.

We can come to him straight after training and have a German lesson.

It's easier for us.

It's always great fun with Max, which is important.

Sometimes he's a bit peeved, talks loudly and we're afraid,

but that's okay."

Max is the German teacher for Javi & Co. – but he's by no means your typical teacher.

The 38-year-old was born in Stuttgart and studied literature and teaching German as a foreign language,

among other things.

He moved to Munich with his wife and ended up at a language school in the city.

"At some point I decided I didn't want to be at a normal school, so I chose this path

because it was simply more fun to work with people from other cultures

and speak other languages.

But it also brings those people closer to German culture and the language.

And with that attitude he has taken charge of language lessons for Bayern's players.

He hasn't just done that very well but has also done something different.

"I buy myself a watch.

That is our object."

"But I can also buy myself, right?

Like in FIFA."

"Yes, that works as well."

"I'll buy you, too."

Things worked out between Max, the players and the coaches.

The teacher received an offer from the German champions and could never turn it down.

Since then he's taken care of the Bayern players in need.

"What I liked from the start about Max was how professional he was

in this unique setting.

He was never overly excited to be working with these global stars.

That was striking for me.

It's not easy to find someone who's as good and professional in such circumstances.

That was the critical point.

I felt straight away that the players had great trust in Max."

Trust – the most important foundation.

Especially when you're working with footballers who're constantly in the spotlight.

Players who came to Germany to play football and win trophies.

For that reason, Max had to adapt his lessons straight away from those he gave at the language school or university.

"At the start I always try to be warm towards them, let them introduce themselves

and ask questions.

A really relaxed manner.

There's no grammar in the first lesson.

And it's always in their mother tongue – if I speak it.

Otherwise in English.

Then we slowly get into the material.

That starts with the classic 'I am. You are. He is',

how to introduce yourself, how to say, 'I'm good', how to ask 'How are you?',

then we move on to numbers, the alphabet, stress of German words and pronunciation.

Once we're over the initial hurdles, we move onto football vocabulary such as

'changing room', 'training pitch' and 'training ground'."

New signings moving to Germany for the first time immediately receive special assistance.

"I've created a list of football-specific vocabulary in Spanish, French and Portuguese

that the lads receive on their first day.

Then I say they should swot up with the permission of the coach and the team

so they can at least partially follow the team talks,

understand instructions in training or the match analysis as quickly as possible."

"Of course it's advantageous to be able to communicate with the team.

For example, when going through analysis of the opposition.

The players should be able to understand there what you're telling the team.

The players should be able to understand there what you're telling the team.

Javi Martinez can do that without his list.

The Spaniard has been in Munich since 2012 and played over 100 games for Bayern.

"He's been here the longest of all.

What he says isn't always in the right order,

but he speaks fluently, trusts himself, doesn't hesitate and does it all really well."

All starts are tough, though.

Javi arrived in Munich in August 2012 – and it was his first contact with German.

"It's completely different. So many new words and a new grammar.

You have to learn a lot of new words,

which is the hardest part."

He quickly learnt the most important words that a player needs to know on the pitch.

Even if there were a few irritations at the start."

„Leo.

"I thought 'leo' was a name.

After five or six days I asked what 'leo' meant

and found out it meant 'leave the ball'."

Since then he's added plenty of other football vocabulary to his repertoire.

His favourite word is of course:

"Tor' (goal).

I don't know… They're all important.

In my position it's 'leo', 'Zeit' (time), 'Hintermann' (man on) or 'lass den Ball' (leave the ball)."

The Spaniard now speaks fluent German.

He can't just converse in German out on the pitch but even dreams in German.

"My wife says I speak German in my sleep.

Better than I am right now."

"So does your wife get scared when you speak German in your sleep?"

"She gets scared because German sounds aggressive."

Javi is now at home at Bayern and in Germany.

The 29-year-old speaks without hesitation and continues to learn.

Max tries to spend two or three hours with each player every week.

Not an easy task.

The German teacher also has to continually find new ways

to pique the players' interest.

"They're aware that their surroundings make things different.

If I stood there and taught like at university

then they'd flip me the bird within two weeks."

Sometimes two players come together for lessons in the small classroom.

No problem, even if Juan started German lessons well after Javi.

"Before we start, what is the question word for time?

'Wann' (when).

When are you tired?"

"Always."

"How do I answer?

Juan, could you answer please? When are you tired?"

"I am tired when I have trained."

"Who wants to start?

Roll the dice.

What have you got?

A one.

And you?

A four.

'Sich ärgern' (to get angry).

Juan will ask the question and you answer."

"When do you get angry?"

"I get angry when I see Juan's face early in the morning."

"Very funny."

"'Sich beeilen' (to rush).

Hurry up. Come on!

Why are you rushing?"

"Explain to him what 'beeilen' means.

Not in Spanish. In German."

"When you do something quickly."

"Or have to do it.

So what's the question again?"

"Why are you rushing?"

"I never rush because I always stay calm."

"That was a mistake, right?

No, he has a list to learn and hasn't learnt it.

So that's a mistake."

"You ask.

Concentrate.

What's the preposition?"

"What are you scared of?"

"I am scared of it."

"Come on!"

"What is 'fürchten'?"

"Have either of you learnt the list?

Have you learnt the list?"

"No."

"No."

"We had the weekend off."

"What are you scared of?"

"I am a bit scared of…" "See.

What are we doing here?"

"Are you scared of getting injured again?"

"I am scared of being injured again."

"I have a chance, right?"

"A chance.

You need at least five."

"Yes, five!"

"What's this game called?"

"Reflexive Max."

In the next episode of "German lessons at Bayern Munich":

"Wow, wait, wait, wait."

"What is he?

What's his job?"

"Army."

"And in German? It's also correct in German."

"Unbelievable!"

"I thought it was in.

What should we do then?"

"We could have a coffee."

"Or a beer?"

"No, coffee."

"It's eight o'clock...

So, welcome."

"'Welcome'

– the first words I heard when I arrived in Munich."