BundesligaBayern Munich suffered a surprising 3-1 defeat at FSV Mainz last weekend. No disaster, the Rekordmeister is already champion. But what happened immediately after the match raises eyebrows. They immediately took the plane to the holiday island of Ibiza. Felix Magath, coach of Hertha BSC, who is fighting against relegation, has the feeling that a Bayern that is no longer committed to one hundred percent is indirectly guilty of distorting competition.
“After the embarrassing 3-1 defeat in Mainz, most Bayern players fled. The destination: Ibiza!”, writes ‘Bild’. The players had received permission from the club, but after the defeat there has been a storm of criticism about the decision to let the players leave for the party island.
“It does not fit. Certainly not after such a match”, said Lothar Matthäus at Sky Sports. “If they had won, I would have said: stay a little longer in Ibiza. If I was Julian Nagelsmann (Bayern coach, ed.) I would be tough. Days off should expire after a performance like this.”
The season lasts for everyone until the last day of play. This is not good for the Bundesliga, nor for fair competition.
Team manager Hasan Salihamidizic (45) defended the choice to ‘Bild’: “Last week the players informed us that they wanted two days off and wanted to go to Ibiza with the group. We accepted that and saw it as team building. The team had set themselves high goals this season and have been very busy since the Champions League elimination. As a player I have learned how important team building can be.”
Distortion of competition
Felix Magath, the 68-year-old trainer of Hertha BSC, has the feeling that Bayern — nota bene his ex-club — is letting the reins loose very much after winning the German national title and is thus indirectly guilty of distorting competition. Magath is currently engaged in a fierce relegation battle with Hertha BSC. And let it be the case that Bayern Munich, the club where he held sway between 2004 and 2007, will face VfB Stuttgart, a direct competitor of Hertha, on Sunday.
“Bayern is already a champion, so maybe they have stopped playing football,” Magath said. “I didn’t see the game, so I don’t know how the defeat came about. But it’s not fun. The season lasts for everyone until the last day of play. So I don’t know why a team would decide to stop with three days of play to go. This is not good for the Bundesliga, nor for fair competition.”
Magath later learned of the Ibiza trip: “I would absolutely not allow something like that, it wouldn’t even occur to me. A championship party is understandable once, but not for three weeks. What else can I say about it? Let’s wait and see how they fare in the coming weeks.”
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