The support for Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel came very late. Sports director Christoph Freund was the last member of the club’s management team to make his statement on Tuesday about the Tuchel case and the “TV scandal”. “I think it’s good and right that Thomas made his opinion clear after this criticism has dragged on for weeks,” said Freund. “FC Bayern has always defended itself when necessary. Thomas has done that now and we are behind him 100 percent.”
President Herbert Hainer (“I like that he is so defensive”) and CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen (“full backing”) jumped to Tuchel’s side on Sunday. Bayern bosses apparently felt compelled to give the coach public support after he delivered a historic performance around the game against Borussia Dortmund.
Tuchel was in such a rough mood during the TV interviews and at the press conference before and after the game that his team’s impressive performance faded into the background. During the interview at the Sky table after the final whistle, Tuchel first snapped at Matthäus (“Now we’ve won 4-0, now you have to do a 180 degree turn – have fun with it!”) and then broke off the conversation. In a somewhat milder mood, but still “under fire,” Tuchel continued his taunts at the press conference. Main stylistic device: caustic irony.
You can understand the coach a little bit. Matthäus and Hamann had been teasing Bayern for weeks. Matthäus and Hamann regularly criticized everything that was supposedly going wrong under Tuchel – and the coach reacted with increasing irritation to the attacks and journalists’ questions about the topic. Then something rocked up.
The criticism from the TV experts (both for Sky) reached its climax after Bayern’s admittedly extremely embarrassing cup exit against third division club FC Saarbrücken. The defeat was “shameful” (Matthew) and Tuchel lined up incorrectly (super striker Harry Kane was not used). Hamann complained that the transfer policy was “amateurish” (which is partly true, keyword: small squad), and then made the worst accusation against Tuchel that you could make to a coach: the development of the team was “not good”. Hamann garnished this with the worst accusation that could ever be made against the German record champions: there was even a threat of a “titleless season”. So after his team’s impressive win in Dortmund, Tuchel saw the opportunity to strike back.
It wasn’t until Sunday that media support from the club’s management followed – and people asked themselves, why now? It was one of the moments when some Bayern fans may have longed for the “attack department”. Uli Hoeneß and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge would certainly have come to the aid of the attacked coach earlier during their playing days. One could also say: They would have ironed out the critics long ago. “(…) That hasn’t happened now. And I find it irritating that Tuchel now has to decide for himself: Do I defend myself now? Or where is the support in the club?” said ex-national player Thomas Hitzlsperger on Sunday “Blickpunkt Sport” on Bavarian Radio.
What Hitzlsperger addresses: FC Bayern has actually become a different club. Dreesen, Freund and Hainer lead the club more cautiously to the outside world. The trainers have to deal with critics almost alone. Julian Nagelsmann had the same experience before. The club had already developed in this direction during the phase under Oliver Kahn and Hasan Salihamidzic. Some are therefore talking about a power vacuum that has arisen at the largest German club because the coaches are increasingly responsible for answering non-sporting questions. Whether this becomes an issue will become clear at the annual general meeting. It rises on November 12th and is usually quite brisk.
Sources: DPA, “Sportschau”, “Süddeutsche Zeitung”
