FC Bayern: The bitter numbers under Thomas Tuchel

IHer boss gave the reviled two days off to think and relax. Thomas Tuchel has only been letting his team train again since Tuesday afternoon, and fans and media are excluded from every FC Bayern unit this week. The coach of the German record champions wants to work on the details before the last game of the season at 1. FC Köln on Saturday (3.30 p.m., in the WELT sports ticker).

After the 3-1 draw against RB Leipzig last Saturday evening, Munich no longer have a chance of winning the German championship. Borussia Dortmund leads the table by two points and can do so with a win in the game played at the same time against 1. FSV Mainz 05 become national champions for the first time in eleven years. The Munich threatens the first season without a title since the 2011/2012 season.

That would be extremely bitter for Tuchel. At the end of March, Bayern released his predecessor Julian Nagelsmann and brought him in to save the season. CEO Oliver Kahn and sports director Hasan Salihamidzic saw the goals in danger and criticized the development of the team. At that time, the Munich team were still represented in all three competitions. Tuchel could go down in the history of Bayern Munich as the coach who lost three titles with the international club in just two months.

He had come as a great hope, with the reputation of the world coach. His record since taking office: eleven competitive games – and only five wins. The Munich team lost four games under him and drew twice. On average, they scored 1.8 goals per game and won an average of 2.0 Bundesliga points. Nagelsmann had a better average: 3.0 goals per game, 2.1 points per game (a total of 37 competitive games, including three defeats). Bayern have also deteriorated defensively – measured by the numbers: they conceded an average of 1.5 goals per game under Tuchel and 0.9 under Nagelsmann.

“One of the best squads in Europe”

Tuchel has already lost more games than his predecessor, whom Bayern signed two years ago. The new coach started with a 4-2 win against Dortmund in the league, followed by the embarrassing end in the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup and in the Champions League. The Munich team didn’t even win half of their games under him. When he took office, Tuchel said: “It is one of the best and most talented squads in Europe. You can play for any title with this squad.” Even after the 3-0 loss at Manchester City in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the premier class, he described himself as “in shock” with his team. A statement that polarized.

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Tuchel stood protectively in front of his team for a long time. Even after defeats, he put the positive in the foreground and quickly looked ahead – a psychological trick that was understandable. After the game against Leipzig, which Bayern gave up despite a 1-0 lead, he publicly became angry for the first time and took his team to task. Sometimes he seemed helpless.

“I have no explanation, we’re coming out of a good phase,” said Tuchel. “I see the team training, I feel the energy, I see the spirit in training. And then I have no explanation at the moment how something like this can happen. So flawed, so little bite, so little speed. We have so many issues…” The freewheeling behavior was not good, “we have to keep the field closer.” As under Nagelsmann, Bayern again and again gambled away a lead under Tuchel.

Tuchel’s speech – so it is said in the club – is good. The coach is not up for debate internally. The causes of most of Bayern’s problems lie in the time before Tuchel. The case of Sadio Mané showed how bad the cohesion is: The offensive professional, who had been frustrated for months, hit teammate Leroy Sané in the face after the first leg in Manchester in the dressing room. Players with a claim to leadership went down with the others, with Leon Goretzka in particular disappointing.

After the embarrassing 3-1 draw against 1. FSV Mainz 05, Tuchel also complained that his team looked exhausted, as if they had already played 80 games. Last weekend he said that if everything had been fine there would not have been a need to change coaches. Both statements were sometimes seen as tips against Nagelsmann. Tuchel also contributed to the unrest at times: he did not let Thomas Müller play several times, the debate about the situation of the world champion dominated the club and its environment for days. But the main reasons for the Bayern crisis lie in the team and the composition of the squad.

Dietmar “Didi” Hamann once played for FC Bayern. The Sky expert said: „When I have a new coach who loses more times in 11 games than his predecessor lost in 37, I can’t say that the team is solely to blame. Of course, the coach has his part in it. We don’t know how much.”

Harsh criticism from Hamann

Tuchel was brought in to “make things better”, but the “coach effect fizzled out” as soon as the contract was signed, Hamann continued. The team “didn’t get any better with Julian Nagelsmann’s successor. If anything, she’s even playing worse than before.”

It is the second time in his career as a professional coach that Tuchel has taken over a top club in one season. He started at BVB and Paris St. Germain a season ago, at Chelsea in January 2021. The Londoners had fallen into midfield in the Premier League. Things got better immediately under Tuchel: The team kept a clean sheet in the first few games and went unbeaten in 14 games in a row across all competitions, scoring 38 points in the remaining games. Chelsea finished fourth in the league at the end of the season, made it to the FA Cup final and won the Champions League. Chelsea released Tuchel in September last year.

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At the end of March, Salihamidzic called him and said: “If you don’t feel like it, hang up!” The two met in the sports director’s apartment in Munich. At first, Tuchel thought it was about taking office for the new season. When Bayern made it clear to him that he should start immediately, he got up and walked a few steps. After a moment’s thought, Tuchel agreed. He knew he was taking a risk.

“It’s not always a request concert. Sometimes the doors open when they open,” said Tuchel last weekend. “Those responsible have made it clear that it will now open. It’s not about protecting myself or running away from responsibility either.”

Salihamidzic stands in front of his coach. No wonder, after all he signed him. “Thomas and his team of coaches have recorded these automatisms in a sensational way. We had a very good intensity, very good training sessions,” emphasized the sports director. Before the game against RB he was very optimistic.

Was the change of coach a mistake at the time? Salihamidzic replied: “We looked at it for a long time and then we thought it had to be. And I would do it again and again because it was necessary.” And added: “If you now see that there is no title coming out – or hopefully one, but we no longer have it in our hands – then you have to look at it make criticism.”

Before the last day of the game, Bayern have to try to persevere – this big club didn’t need that for a long time. Kahn last recalled the last-minute championship in Hamburg in 2001. According to the club boss, it’s not over yet. These are tense days at FC Bayern.

“If we lose all these titles and I’m on the sidelines, I’m responsible. I’ll take it on sportingly, that’s very clear,” said Tuchel in the ZDF “Sports Studio”. “We won’t make any excuses and then we’ll do a lot better next season. Now let’s wait and see if we miss all the titles. Of course that would be bitter.”

The coach’s contract is valid until June 30, 2025. In the summer he will prepare the team for the new season in a training camp at Tegernsee and on a tour of Asia. It will be the first season with preparation under Tuchel and the first before he has any influence on squad planning. Bayern are ready to give up to a hundred million euros. And to change your team significantly with arrivals and departures.

Whether no title or just a title – Thomas Tuchel has busy weeks ahead.

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