They didn’t celebrate long, the FC Bayern footballers, when they were standing in front of the fan curve after their work was done. They had won 2: 1, unbeaten and secured the group victory in the Champions League preliminary round early after progressing. But it wasn’t the most cozy atmosphere in Kiev, behind them the snow that had been cleared from the lawn was still piling up on the blue tartan track. The fans sang a short “Olé, FC Bayern”, then the players said goodbye. You will see each other again very soon in an official setting. And then there are not only pleasant topics to discuss.
A little later that evening, in the catacombs of the Olimpijskyi Stadium, which actually deserve the name because you can get lost in them, Julian Nagelsmann also spoke about this reunion: the annual general meeting of FC Bayern on Thursday. The coach was sitting in a gym-sized room at the press conference and said it was always a nice experience to face the members: “I’m not afraid or have a lot of respect for it now.”
However, that there is a topic that he doesn’t like at all, his appearance in Kiev was the next proof. Even before the game, club spokesman Dieter Nickles asked several times to ask sports questions. This time Nagelsmann did it himself. At the end there was one more request to speak. And he asked about the subject before declining to answer, laughing and getting up without listening to the question: “Corona? Then we go!”
Nagelsmann did not want to confirm the vaccinations of Gnabry and Musiala yet
The fourth wave of the pandemic, the lack of vaccinations from several professionals and the resulting quarantine measures, this complex has been preoccupying the German record champions for weeks. On Tuesday there was good news for the first time from the point of view of the club: As was the case during the game at first Kicker reported, Serge Gnabry and Jamal Musiala were vaccinated for the first time. This also coincides with SZ information. So there are presumably still Joshua Kimmich, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Michael Cuisance.
Nagelsmann has already said a little about this message and thus about the Corona issue in Kiev. He didn’t want to confirm the vaccinations yet, but: “If that should be the case, I’ll be happy about it because it’s a first step. It would be good for Serge, because he has already recovered and therefore has complete vaccination protection, for Jamal it would take a while. ” That at least one or two of the other three will follow the two is no longer considered too improbable.
While Kimmich’s now famous doubts due to the lack of so-called “long-term studies” have been refuted many times over, the wait for the vaccination with Gnabry and Musiala was more plausible. Gnabry became infected with the virus in April and was therefore considered to have recovered for six months. Musiala is only 18 and therefore not much older than the group of 12 to 17 year olds, for whom the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) has only had a vaccination recommendation since August. Musiala, it is said, has already sought advice from several doctors since this Stiko recommendation. And finding a suitable vaccination date in the tightly-timed football calendar is probably not that easy.
They now belong to the vaccinated part of the population: Jamal Musiala (left) and Serge Gnabry.
(Photo: Christof Stache / AFP)
The problem has not yet been resolved. Gnabry would be considered fully vaccinated immediately after recovery and vaccination. But the other four will probably not have complete protection against the virus and thus against failure as contact persons for infected people at least until the winter break, during which the second vaccination is supposed to take place in the case of Musiala. And in general, the concern about failure in important games – such as against Borussia Dortmund on the weekend after next – is currently only one of a few not entirely unproblematic issues in the club.
“There are too many things that are carried outwards,” says coach Nagelsmann
It is a bit of history that the corona question fought off by Nagelsmann on Tuesday from the image came – the newspaper that initially reported about Kimmich’s lack of vaccination and, on Sunday, also about salary cuts for the unvaccinated professionals during their quarantine. At least the latter information had to be read as if it had come straight from the club – “from the team circle” was the broadly interpretable formulation.
The fact that topics penetrate the outside world is truly nothing unique in the history of FC Bayern. That was also the case in the turbulent last season. Among other things, a dispute between sports director Hasan Salihamidzic and coach Hansi Flick became public in the team bus. The round ended, as is well known, with the falling out between the two and the separation of Flick. Salihamidzic said afterwards, at the start of this season, they wanted to have “first-class communication in the club”.
Nagelsmann said in Munich before the game in Kiev on the subject: “There are too many things that are being exposed to the outside world.” In his opinion, this does not endanger sporting success: “But it would be nice if it were a little more reserved. It’s part of business, but not the nice part of business.” So, not exactly first-class communication.
Lewandowski provides the next argument for his choice as a world footballer
The trainer also talked about sports in Kiev, a little. The game of the weakened Munich team had a couple of strange mistakes on a slippery lawn and some equalization opportunities for the hosts towards the end. But also a dream goal by Robert Lewandowski with an overhead kick to 1-0; He has now scored in nine Champions League games in a row – the next argument in favor of being chosen as a world footballer. And Nagelsmann had seen better defensive behavior “on the far side” in at least a few scenes. This, which explains a lack of activity on the part of the entire team in counter-prevention, was explicitly criticized recently in the 2-1 defeat at FC Augsburg.
It is doubtful whether the members Julian Nagelsmann will do the favor on Thursday, especially with contributions about defending away from the ball. 25 percent of the capacity of the FC Bayern basketball arena can be used to the full. Another big topic could be the controversial sponsorship by Qatar Airways, which the legal trainee Michael Ott wants to prevent in the future with an application. So far, FC Bayern has not accepted the application. A lawsuit to allow the application is at the regional court.
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