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Oliver Kahn argues with Lothar Matthäus about Julian Nagelsmann’s dismissal

DThe exact procedure for the separation of FC Bayern from coach Julian Nagelsmann continues to cause confusion. The pay-TV broadcaster Sky quoted the management of the 35-year-old on Saturday evening, who announced that there had been “no contact and no attempt to contact Bayern” before the media reports on Thursday before last. “Julian Nagelsmann’s management called Hasan Salihamidzic after various rumors in the media,” wrote the Sports 360 agency, according to Sky.

On Friday, March 24, Nagelsmann drove to the Bayern headquarters on Säbener Strasse for the crucial meeting. The record champions then announced the separation and the commitment of successor Thomas Tuchel. Both personal details had already been extensively reported on Thursday evening, also by the FAZ.

Sports director Salihamidzic said on Sunday in the Sport1 “double pass”: “The first person we called was Julian Nagelsmann.” Nagelsmann’s agency initially did not respond to a dpa request for the statement. Salihamidzic also said on Saturday at Sport1 that he had tried several times to “reach Julian” immediately after Tuchel’s commitment. At some point he “called his management and then I called Julian again”.

“It was a disaster”

Bayern boss Oliver Kahn said before the 4-2 win against Borussia Dortmund that the process was ultimately “a disaster”, but that was because the information about Nagelsmann had been leaked to the media. “It certainly wasn’t from FC Bayern. (…) We’re not going to shoot ourselves in the foot,” said Kahn.

Informing Nagelsmann, who was still on vacation on Thursday, only on the phone about the management team’s decision to separate is not FC Bayern’s style. That is why the personal interview was necessary. “It was clear from the start that the first person to know would be Julian Nagelsmann. And even after this leak we did that. After that there was no contact with any media,” said Kahn.

“Of course it was a difficult situation.” The negotiations with Tuchel were also decisive. “Until you have a coach or a player’s commitment, we can’t discuss anything or let anything out beforehand. We have to have a clean process, and we did that,” said Kahn.

Record national player Lothar Matthäus, who had already clashed verbally with Kahn during the Sky interview round before the top game, followed up afterwards. “The chronological sequence, as described by Kahn, does not fit together,” Matthäus told the news portal “T-Online”. “I know Oliver Kahn is lying.”

“It’s always easy to criticize from the sidelines. Of course, these are difficult decisions,” said Bayern President Herbert Hainer. Kahn resolutely rejected Matthäus’ accusation of lying. “We always told the truth,” he said on Sunday on the TV station “Bild”. “I don’t know what Lothar, as he says, sees, hears or even feels.”

After his career, Matthäus rose to the position of “chief critic of German football” “in one way or another,” said Kahn on Sunday morning. It’s okay that you don’t wear kid gloves and that things get violent at times. “However, one should not exceed certain limits. He said we trampled on the ‘Mia san Mia’. I still don’t know exactly what he means by that,” said Kahn.

“It’s only when you then criticize the chief critic yourself that I always have the feeling that he can’t handle it at all and then lets himself be carried away to such unfounded and styleless statements. He, who accuses us, and thus also FC Bayern, of having acted without style. But that’s Lothar, that won’t change either,” criticized Kahn. “Hasan and I have always told the truth and Lothar’s allegations don’t change anything.”

Thomas Tuchel also spoke on Sky about the change of coach on Saturday. “I was honestly surprised at first that it was an immediate job. I thought maybe we’d have an exploratory talk to see if I’d already committed somewhere for the summer,” he said. “The bosses were then very clear about what they wanted. It was immediately clear that it was about immediately. So there was no tactics and no plan B for me.”

Former Bayern boss Uli Hoeneß, meanwhile, brought up a completely different reason for Nagelsmann’s release. “Julian Nagelsmann shouldn’t have gone on a skiing holiday after the defeat in Leverkusen (1:2). If he had stayed in Munich, they would have sat down and talked on Monday or Tuesday,” said Hoeneß: “And who knows what would have happened then?”

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