Now the end is in sight: Thomas Tuchel will only coach FC Bayern Munich until the end of the current season. “We have agreed that we will end our collaboration after this season. Until then, I and my coaching team will of course continue to give everything for maximum success,” said Tuchel, according to the club’s statement. How he plans to do this as an on-call coach remains Tuchel’s secret for the time being. The fact that Bayern’s success this season will probably be manageable is also due to Tuchel’s mistakes.
In August 2023, Tuchel told the surprised public that he was missing a defensive six in his squad. That’s the position Joshua Kimmich preferred to play, but Tuchel explained at the press conference in Singapore: “Joshua is our strategist and a leader. He can do everything, but I think it’s not in his DNA to be a defensive six. He likes “It’s important to move around a lot, he always helps everywhere, he’s a very good provider of assists.” Not only fans and journalists may have reacted to these Tuchel statements with irritation or uncertainty – Kimmich himself did too. Leading player Leon Goretzka also repeatedly lost his temper and was often only a substitute instead of a leading player.
Tuchel won the DFB Cup with Borussia Dortmund in 2017 (and defeated Bayern in the semi-finals). He celebrated championships and cup victories with Paris Saint Germain, he even won the Champions League with Chelsea FC and was subsequently named World Club Coach of the Year. Despite all these successes, he has a reputation for being cerebral and stubborn about things – something that not every Bayern player can apparently handle.
Already in the top game against league leaders Leverkusen, Tuchel surprised with a barely rehearsed three-man/five-man chain in defense, including 23-year-old right-back Sacha Boey as left-back. A lineup that the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” described as “a kind of vote of no confidence in your own team.” The crushing 3-0 defeat will have contributed to further uncertainty for the Bayern team. With the defeats at Lazio Rome and relegation candidate VfL Bochum, further low blows followed, which are likely to have consequences in the coming weeks. If Bochum can beat Bayern – why not play bravely? In any case, the opponents’ respect for the great Bavarians has diminished.
Criticism from coaches and the public, unusual setbacks for the Bayern players who are used to success: This is not a situation in which football professionals are bursting with self-confidence and show all their skills. Perhaps Tuchel would have done well to support his existing players instead of increasing the uncertainty with new experiments. Of course, you can expect top athletes to persevere in difficult situations. But if the form curve of an entire team is pointing downwards, it is not the fault of individual players. The coach would have to question himself more than Thomas Tuchel apparently did.
Will his team “continue to give everything for maximum success” as Tuchel promises for himself and his coaches? Unlikely. “Wait and breathe a sigh of relief when the season is over” is probably the motto in the Bayern dressing room.
