The practically dethroned Munich series champions only see the 99.99 percent champions Bayer Leverkusen with the “binoculars” once made legendary by Uli Hoeneß. After the Clásico horror, coach Thomas Tuchel, who was still in love with shock a year ago and is now very annoyed, sent a sweet and sour championship “congratulations” to the Rhine. The 50-year-old himself had to think about how he wanted to get the Bayern stars back into title shape for the Champions League trip to London in a week after the anemic 2-0 defeat against Borussia Dortmund.
Sports director Max Eberl sent warning words to the disappointing professionals after Munich’s next inexplicable drop in performance. “Of course you can throw the next coach out and say, again the next coach and again the next coach. But it’s the boys on the pitch who have to stand there and perform,” said the 50-year-old. While the injured captain and young dad Manuel Neuer proudly showed off for an Easter walk with a stroller, Eberl didn’t have the holidays off.
Trainer instead of egg hunt
“I actually wrote to friends of mine: You’re looking for eggs on Sunday and I’m looking for the trainer. The work continues,” said Eberl. In addition to the question of who will be Tuchel’s successor in the new season, the sports director was also able to hear public debates as to whether an immediate separation from Tuchel should be made now as a signal before the quarter-final against Arsenal FC. In the 0-0 away draw against Manchester City on Sunday, the Gunners demonstrated with a highly disciplined performance how high a hurdle they can be for FC Bayern in their last chance for the title on April 9th and 17th.
With a performance like that against Dortmund, the Munich team doesn’t need to waste any thoughts on a BVB reunion in the Champions League final on June 1st at London’s Wembley Stadium. “Actually, everything was missing from the first to the last minute. I never had the feeling that we really wanted to win,” said the badly shaken Joshua Kimmich, an alarming verdict. “It’s more positive for everyone when we win games. We still have the Champions League, we have a European Championship at the end of the season.”
Eberl warns: You have to look in the rearview mirror
By then, Eberl and sports director Christoph Freund not only want to have answered the question about the new coach, but also initiated important squad decisions. “We have to make sure that next year the lamentation starts again when the others look at us in the table with binoculars,” said then manager Uli Hoeneß in frustration with the title more than a decade and a half ago. Personnel changes to the luxury squad are also necessary this summer. This was underlined once again by goals from Karim Adeyemi and Julian Ryerson.
“We know that they all have quality and we emphasize it every time. But you also have to show it in the game,” demanded Eberl. The championship is over. Rather, we should “look in the rearview mirror at what is happening. We should do our homework, win our games and secure the Champions League,” said Eberl. The momentum from the goal parties against relegation candidates Mainz (8:1) and Darmstadt (5:2) has evaporated.
Nagelsmann? De Zerbi? Rangnick? Or even Mourinho?
The new sports director was not tempted by whether national coach Julian Nagelsmann could make a spectacular comeback at FC Bayern. “I know that the whole public is interested in this and that everyone wants to share in the thoughts we have,” said Eberl. Roberto De Zerbi from English first division club Brighton
“I want a coach who will take us further forward again, who will take us and move forward with us,” said the good Neuer representative Sven Ulreich. But Tuchel is also a “top, top coach” and has done a “great job”. “Even if it is sometimes presented a little less like that to the outside world,” said Ulreich. Sky expert Dietmar Hamann did this once again at the weekend, raising the crazy possibility of a final spurt to the season at FC Bayern under José Mourinho as interim coach.
Kimmich and Ulreich warn
“As a team, we have to question ourselves about how we can endure a season like this,” said Ulreich. When Kimmich appeared on the pitch, he felt reminded of “a friendly game” and not of the prestigious classic. And Tuchel was dismayed. “There weren’t enough of us in the elementary basics that you need to be good,” complained the 50-year-old. “I thought we couldn’t go back to that point. I obviously wasn’t right.”
