Coach Thomas Tuchel has clearly rejected a media report about his alleged sharp internal criticism of FC Bayern’s professionals after the defeat against Bayer Leverkusen. The sentence with which he was quoted was “completely absurd,” said Tuchel on Saturday before the game at VfL Bochum (Sunday, 5:30 p.m./Dazn). “A coach who says a sentence like that will hopefully never get on the bus with his team again. We’ve never done that before, we’ll never do that,” he said. Instead, he will continue to push and support his team.
After FC Bayern lost 3-0 in the Bundesliga in Leverkusen, the pay-TV broadcaster Sky reported that Tuchel had told his team in the dressing room: “You’re not as good as I thought, then I have to deal with you Just adjust the level.” Bayern press spokesman Dieter Nickles also rejected this representation at the press conference. “It’s just simply not right, it’s not the truth,” he said. “Such sentences are released in the media world and sometimes have a toxic and undignified effect. We all have to be aware of that.”
After these statements at Bayern’s press conference on Saturday, the pay-TV broadcaster said at the request of the DPA news agency: “Sky stands for fantastic live sport, but also for investigative journalism. Our team of reporters stands for clean research and enjoys our complete trust. “
Public criticism of Munich’s performance and especially Tuchel’s work has been a recurring theme this season. The coach had a public quarrel with Sky experts Lothar Matthäus and Dietmar Hamann last year because Tuchel had reacted irritably to the two’s criticism. The 50-year-old now said he was trying to ignore public statements and criticism as much as possible. “Everyone has to decide for themselves what tone they want to use and how they report about us.”
