Dhe last action related to his work for Borussia Dortmund was a difficult one for Thomas Tuchel. Exactly five years ago, the new Bayern coach testified before the district court in Dortmund as a witness in the criminal proceedings against Sergej W. – the man who carried out an explosive attack on the BVB team bus on April 11, 2017. Tuchel and his players were on their way to the stadium for the game against AS Monaco in the Champions League.
The atmosphere in Hall 130 was oppressive at the time. The players Felix Passlack, Sven Bender, Marcel Schmelzer and Roman Weidenfeller were called in one after the other. Followed by the then BVB team manager Fritz Lünschermann, the physiotherapists Peter Kuhnt and Swantje Thomsen and finally Tuchel and his assistant coach Arno Michels. They all had to relive what they wanted to forget: the detonations, the screams of BVB defender Marc Bartra, who was bleeding in the aisle of the bus. The Frenchman was seriously injured in the attack. The players described their fears.
Tuchel spoke of how he found out by phone shortly after the traumatic experience that the game against AS Monaco had been rescheduled for the day after. He explained that he himself felt ready for it, but then quickly realized that it made “no sense”.
Hans Joachim Watzke has so far been rather reluctant to comment on Tuchel’s commitment to FC Bayern
Source: dpa/Bernd Thissen
The progress is known. It was played. There was then a much-noticed dissent between BVB boss Hans-Joachim Watzke and Tuchel. After the 2016/17 season, Tuchel was released – although the DFB Cup was still won in the end. When asked by senior public prosecutor Carsten Dombert whether he was still a BVB coach without the bomb attack, Tuchel finally replied: “I would assume so.”
Tuchel’s departure at BVB
The reasons for the separation were still being discussed in Dortmund years later. Was it actually dealing with the consequences of the attack or was it more because the relationship between the club management and the coach had already broken down beforehand? In any case, one day after Tuchel was released, Watzke felt compelled to write an open letter to the fans. “BVB had two successful years with Thomas Tuchel. However, we – Michael Zorc as sporting director and I – also wore ourselves out working with the coaching team during this time,” it said in an unusually clear manner.
After all, it is “not just about results”, but also about “trust, respect, teamwork and communication skills, authenticity and identification. It’s about reliability and loyalty.” Rarely has it been expressed so openly in an industry that is otherwise very keen on discretion that the rifts could hardly be deeper. This also explains why Watzke commented on the change of coach in Munich in the shortest possible way. “For the Bundesliga we say: welcome back, Thomas Tuchel,” he said in his capacity as chairman of the supervisory board of the German Football League (DFL).
Not much came from Dortmund to the prominent Bundesliga returnee – and it probably won’t come until the top game at FC Bayern on Saturday (6.30 p.m. / live Sky) kicks off. The Tuchel chapter is over at BVB and with regard to the so-called German classic, his commitment is irrelevant.
Sebastian Kehl, Zorc’s successor as sporting director, presented this message to the journalists before the game. He himself, according to the 43-year-old, no longer played under Tuchel, but probably “got to know him at one point or another.” Of course, Kehl is also familiar with the circumstances that led to the end of the collaboration at the time . “But I think the issues have long been forgotten and cleared up,” he said.
Many BVB coaches to Tuchel
That may well be true for Kehl – but this was not the case for the BVB leadership for a long time. After all, Watzke in particular had repeatedly been accused in recent years of losing patience out of personal dislike – and thus contributing to the fact that the club then did not find continuity in the coaching position for a long time. Watzke had always denied this.
The fact is, however, that Tuchel was followed by Dutchman Peter Bosz, who didn’t even stay half a year. Then came Peter Stöger with a similarly short stay. Lucien Favre, who lasted two and a half years, did not seem to fit BVB with his reserved nature. After the first interlude with Edin Terzic, Marco Rose was brought in – only to leave after just one year.
Thomas Tuchel meets his former club in his first game as Bayern coach
Source: dpa/Sven Hoppe
Only in the current one does BVB finally seem to be happy again with a coach. Terzic not only enjoys a high level of acceptance in management, he also wins the hearts of the fans. He led the team, which was sixth in the table and nine points behind Bayern, to the top. From this point of view, it was the Dortmund team who helped Tuchel to his new commitment.
In any case, it will be Bayern who have more pressure on Saturday. “It’s nice that we’ve gotten ourselves into this situation over the past few weeks,” said Kehl. It also underlines the attractiveness of the Bundesliga that it is so exciting at the top. “However, the championship will not be decided at the weekend,” he explained.
Kobel and Brandt back on the team
The Dortmunders feel a tailwind like they haven’t in a long time. The team has demonstrated stability. BVB has been unbeaten in ten games, nine of which they have won. It’s time for a win in Munich – but Borussia haven’t been able to do that for nine years. Kehl does not expect a quick effect due to the change of coach in Munich. “I don’t think it’s a game against Thomas Tuchel, but a measurement of first place against second place,” he said: “I don’t know if Bayern will be better on Saturday with Thomas Tuchel than before under Julian Nagelsmann.”
What gives Borussia hope is the personnel situation. In contrast to the 6-1 win against 1. FC Köln last matchday, Terzic’s regular keeper Gregor Kobel, attacking man Julian Brandt, midfielder Salih Özcan and the two strikers Karim Adeyemi and Youssoufa Moukoko are available again. In addition, national player Emre Can returns to the team after a yellow card suspension.
The chances of playing defender Nico Schlotterbeck, who was injured last, and offensive player Jamie Bynoe-Gittens are still open. “We’ll take a look at both of them in the final training session today to see who’s coming to Munich,” said Terzic on Friday.
In any case, BVB fans are optimistic ahead of the duel with Bayern. When Edin Terzic took part in a panel discussion in Lünen, just outside Dortmund, on Tuesday last week, he was interrupted several times by optimistic supporters. “Take off the Bavarians’ lederhosen,” they demanded. “Why do you want to see them all naked?” replied the BVB trainer. Nobody was talking about Tuchel at the time – although Bayern had contacted him at the same time.
