Now the leadership of FC Bayern should question itself
Thomas Müller and Joshua Kimmich (left) after the Champions League second leg against Manchester City
Source: dpa/Sven Hoppe
FC Bayern are eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the third time in a row. This is also due to the composition of the squad. The club bosses have underestimated a factor – and have to invest a lot of money for a correction for the new season.
Dhe FC Bayern failed again early in the competition, which defines him enormously. The Champions League is decisive for the only world football club from Germany, both financially and sportingly. Then there is the prestige – an important factor for the proud traditional club.
Without being in Europe’s top four, a believable “Mia san Mia” is difficult to maintain. Bayern have fallen out of the European soccer elite. For an expensive squad with over 20 national players, the performance in the premier class in recent years is not enough. Claim and reality diverge.
Manchester City is arguably the best team in the world right now. Anyone can be eliminated against them. After the 0:3 in the first leg, the Munich team did not get more than 1:1 in the second leg in Munich on Wednesday evening. They played evenly in both games at times, but missed too many chances to score. And their central defender Dayot Upamecano failed in both games.
For the third time in a row, the club is eliminated in the quarter-finals of the premier class (2021 against Paris St. Germain, 2022 against FC Villarrel). This development says something about the quality of the squad. Bayern are world class in many positions – and yet something is missing to belong to Europe’s elite. A technically adept professional for central midfield and a striker, for example, but also sovereignty and efficiency.
A departure with consequences
Bayern underestimated the extent to which a goalscorer was missing following the departure of Robert Lewandowski. The games against City revealed this again – in both games the Munich team did not score a goal from open play. The club management’s plan to start a season without a “real nine” of world-class format did not work out.
Under Julian Nagelsmann, the team won all of the season’s games in the Champions League, beating the star ensemble from Paris St. Germain 3-0 in two rounds of 16. The short-term effect of the change of coach to Thomas Tuchel, which many considered to be a radical to brutal measure, is absent in terms of the results in the most important club competition. Tuchel’s mission is long-term, but the performance under him so far makes everything even more difficult.
It’s a departure with consequences. The club management around sports director Hasan Salihamidzic has to question itself. She needs to strengthen the squad. And make the players even more responsible. Recently there has been a lot of unrest in and around the club – and also alibis for the stars.
The club has a lot of construction sites. His leadership didn’t seem strong and present enough this season, and the crisis management sometimes left a lot to be desired. It is understandable that the fans are increasingly criticizing the club bosses – in the second leg against City with a poster that read: “Goals may be missed – values of the club not! Question management policy!”
The German championship is mandatory
After losing out in the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup against SC Freiburg and being eliminated from the Champions League, Munich can now only win one title this season: the German championship is a must given the record champions’ claims. Irrespective of whether we manage to achieve this minimum goal or not: After this eventful season, a relentless analysis is required.
In the case of the championship, it would be the third season in a row for club boss Oliver Kahn and Salihamidzic in which their club “only” wins a title. Salihamidzic is particularly in focus because of the composition of the squad and the change of coach before the decisive phase of the season. As CEO, Kahn is responsible for the overall development of the club. The fact that he announced that some things would be questioned after this season speaks for him.
Salihamidzic and Marco Neppe, his confidant and technical director, spent over €130m on new players before this season. A top purchase so far is only the new defense chief Matthijs de Ligt (goalkeeper Yann Sommer only came to Munich in winter). Sadio Mané is more of a disappointment so far than top performers, Ryan Gravenberch, Noussair Mazraoui, Mathys Tel, Daley Blind and winter signing Joao Cancelo do not play regularly.
The powerful supervisory board of FC Bayern around the honorary president Uli Hoeneß and the former Adidas boss Herbert Hainer now has to take a critical look at the big picture. The management of the club around Kahn risked a lot with the change of coach – and at least in the short term gained nothing. In the summer, the club will have to spend a lot of money to close the gap in the attack.
FC Bayern is facing groundbreaking months.
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