Thomas Tuchel countered the provocative question about his strange box seat with biting irony. Outwardly unmoved, the Bayern coach confirmed the interpretation that he was sitting on packed suitcases after the successful start of his Munich farewell tour. “I brought this with me from home. All the things are in the aluminum suitcase, already packed. It’s nice that it arrived that way,” said Tuchel, to the laughter of many listeners.
With his exposed position on the dented aluminum box, Tuchel provided a symbol in the turbulent days at Bayern, in which the next important personnel decision will be decided this Monday after the coach’s separation at the end of the season. The commitment of Max Eberl (50) as the new sports director was announced almost at the weekend.
Bayern want to press the reset button
Everything is designed for a “complete restart,” as CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen emphasized. New coach, new sporting leadership – and new stars? After the 2-1 win against RB Leipzig thanks to double packer Harry Kane, President Herbert Hainer announced a “sensible analysis” for the end of the season. The Munich team wants to stop their high level of coaching wear and tear.
The exuberant cheers of the club officials near the still powerful Bayern grandees Uli Hoeneß and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge on Saturday made clear the great pressure in the first game after the decision to separate from Tuchel. Nobody wanted to talk about the big turning point when they were eight points behind the famous league leaders Bayer Leverkusen. But after three competitive defeats in a row, it was a signal that the Munich team absolutely wants to avoid their first titleless season since 2012.
Tuchel still wants to achieve great things
“We have to step up, step up, step up,” said Tuchel, who used meaningful words about the separation, which was communicated as “amicable”. “I’m the employee, and as an employee you don’t always have all the options in your hands. But it’s all good.” The 50-year-old, who sat on a drinks crate at the 2020 Champions League final as PSG coach with a damaged leg, similar to the one he had at the weekend, absolutely wants to leave in splendor with silverware.
Tuchel is offended and wants to prove that he is not the problem. “I would be very surprised if I somehow became the backpack that the players carry around,” he said. In the shadow of the spotlight surrounding Hoeneß’s preferred candidate Eberl, who, like Matthias Sammer in 2012, will become the new strong man for the sport, there should also be time for Tuchel to take a breather.
Kane’s kisses
Tuchel, winner of the premier class in 2021 with Chelsea FC, assured us that we will do everything we can to ensure success in the Champions League. “First we have to win the round of 16 before we can dream of the really big things.” If they fail to reach the quarter-finals after the 0-1 loss at Lazio Rome in the second leg on March 5th, it will be a grueling end to the season for all protagonists.
“We will never give up,” announced Kane in the winning reaction after his goals 26 and 27 this season. The 100 million man blew kisses towards the stands. They were for loved ones, even if England coach Gareth Southgate was in the audience.
Neuer: The team is also to blame
Kane scores at the front, Manuel Neuer, who was powerless in the 1-1 draw by Benjamin Sesko, saves at the back – the two poles in the Munich game at least give hope that something could still happen in the eleven league games and the up to six games in Europe . “Of course it sounds a bit like Bayern nonsense, but it’s simply deserved,” said Neuer about the winning goal in stoppage time. He also sees the players responsible for the departure of “top coach” Tuchel. “I just believe that you don’t always have to look at the teacher when there are bad grades on your report card.”
There were nuances to be heard from the star ensemble that allowed the coach’s vote to be interpreted differently. In contrast to Tuchel profiteer Neuer, Thomas Müller pointed to the facts. “The pressure to succeed is simply greatest at FC Bayern and that is one of the reasons why we have seen various coaches here despite eleven championships in a row,” said the 34-year-old. Titles alone are not enough, you also need “extreme dominance and an extremely positive gaming culture”.
Alonso “not an issue now”
The bosses finally want to find the coach who will shape an era again. In the summer of 2021 and spring 2023, the terms of office of Hansi Flick and Julian Nagelsmann, like Tuchel’s, ended prematurely. “We want more continuity in the coaching chair again,” said Dreesen. When looking for a new coach, names like Leverkusen’s coach Xabi Alonso or former world star Zinedine Zidane come up. “That’s not an issue now,” said sports director Christoph Freund.
After the 1,000th Bundesliga home game, Freund is hoping for a “very good three months” and a title with Tuchel, who wants to decide himself without taking the sensitivities of the professionals into account. Hainer is “not at all” afraid that this could cause porcelain to be broken. After six head coaches and one interim coach since the end of Pep Guardiola’s term in office in the summer of 2016, the president firmly countered an impression. “The team is not uncoachable.”
