Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg is in the FC Bayern squad for the triple season. After the win at Wembley he flees from the trophy. with good reason, he says.
Bit by bit FC Bayern wanted to build up Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg when the Danish super talent moved from Brøndby IF to Munich in July 2012 at the age of 16.
However, the development of the highly talented midfielder was so rapid that he was only six months later able to show himself to the professionals at the winter training camp in Qatar.
“Jupp Heynckes came to me in Qatar and said in German: ‘It’s worth its weight in gold to train with the first team every day. As long as I’m here, you’ll train with us every day from now on.’ That was a big step for me,” Höjbjerg remembers in conversation.
In his first year with FC Bayern, the Dane was originally supposed to play in the U19s, in his second year with the amateurs “and in his third year they wanted me to go to the professionals,” Höjbjerg explains. But things turned out differently.
Höjbjerg does not feel like a triple winner
In the 2012/13 season, he already plays 30 compulsory matches in the Bavarian Regional League. Under the direction of coach Mehmet Scholl he scores eight goals and one assist. For the U19s, however, he will only play once.
Heynckes rewards the young talent with a squad pitch on the 26th matchday against Bayer Leverkusen. He will collect his first 19 Bundesliga minutes three matchdays later against 1 FC Nürnberg. He is also substituted against Borussia Dortmund.
Making his debut so early makes Höjbjerg proud. “If someone had told me that before I transferred, I would have said: ‘No chance, I don’t think I can make it that fast.’ When I came from Denmark, I was good, but not outstanding,” he says.
Höjbjerg remains in Heynckes’ sights and will celebrate winning the championship, the DFB Cup and the Champions League with the Munich team at the end of the season. But does he also feel like a triple winner? “No. But I was very happy back then that I was allowed to be in the squad at all,” Höjbjerg clarifies.
No contact with the CL trophy
The now 24-year-old is nevertheless a member of the team at the time, which is why he is allowed to celebrate in London after his Champions League triumph against Dortmund (2:1). From Höjbjerg’s point of view, something happened then that still motivates him today.
“After the win against Dortmund we were sitting in the bus. Everyone was singing, we listened to music, it was a fantastic atmosphere,” he describes his experiences.