Who is to blame for FC Bayern’s decline?
0-1 in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 at Lazio. Five points behind Leverkusen in the Bundesliga after losing 3-0 in the top game. And have been out of the DFB Cup for three months (1:2 in Saarbrücken). The first titleless season since 2012 is looming. Bavaria in crisis!
Is only coach Thomas Tuchel (50) responsible for this? Or is the team with the many million earners the actual main culprit? The big Bayern report!
After a question from the BILD reporter, Tuchel evades the question – then the press spokesman intervenes
Source: BILD16.02.2024
Who is more to blame – Tuchel or his stars?
Thomas Tuchel (50/contract until 2025) is shaky after three defeats in seven games this year (previously also 0-1 against Werder Bremen). He suffered his tenth defeat in his 43rd game as Bayern coach. Predecessor Julian Nagelsmann (36/now national coach) only reached this mark after 84 games.
This shows: There is something wrong at FC Bayern. The fact that, according to BILD information, the bosses do not want to make a hasty decision on the coaching question and that Tuchel will definitely be on the bench in Bochum (Sunday, 5.30 p.m./DAZN) shows that those in charge are also questioning their stars – not just them seventh coach since the triple in 2013…
No star is at their peak performance
The mega annual salary that every player at FC Bayern actually earns should normally be enough incentive to give their best. Puppy cake! After the 3-0 loss in Leverkusen, Manuel Neuer (37) criticized: “Everyone has to think about it and ask themselves why they didn’t do what was necessary.”
Leroy Sané (28) only became a top performer under Tuchel in 2023 – alongside Jamal Musiala (20) and midfield gem Aleksandar Pavlovic (19), only one of three players who really improved under the coach. This is too little! And Sané collapsed in the last few games. The question also arises for him: Is the Sané of the last few weeks worth 20 million euros per year?
The Bayern starting eleven for the 0-1 loss at Lazio Rome: Neuer, Mazraoui, Upamecano, Kim, Goretzka, Kimmich (back from left) as well as Kane, Müller, Sané, Guerreiro and Musiala (front from left)
Photo: ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP
Super earners like Serge Gnabry (28/missed this season due to hip problems, broken forearm, flu and currently due to a muscle tendon injury in his left adductor) are playing on a trial basis in the second half of the season. An estimated 19 million euros per year – for what?
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The bosses are also looking closely at the development of Leon Goretzka (29) and Alphonso Davies (23/contract until 2025). The Canadian demands an annual salary of more than 12 million euros, and Real Madrid also wants him. His performance is far from meeting expectations.
Conclusion: Getting the most out of his stars is Tuchel’s job. The coach has to take credit for that. But it is questionable why the players’ self-motivation is too low and why there are so many followers instead of real leaders in the team. The bosses around the new sports director Max Eberl (50/starts on March 1st according to SPORT BILD) will look closely until the summer to sort out who no longer fits in with FC Bayern.
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There is a lack of hierarchy
Captain Neuer has found his old strength again. But: From December 2022 to October 2023, he catapulted himself out of the team due to the severe fracture of his tibia and fibula in the skiing accident. The experienced and level-headed leader was missing – a great disservice.
His vice-captain Thomas Müller (34) was demoted to benchwarmer by Tuchel. In doing so, the coach took away some of the power of the original Bavarian (with the club since 2000).
Joshua Kimmich (29) is the third man in the power sequence. He has the necessary ambition and leadership aspirations. But the public six-man discussion at the beginning of this season also weakened Kimmich’s position and damaged his self-confidence.
Bayern six Joshua Kimmich’s defeat was still clearly visible a day later
Photo: Dennis Brosda
Who will come then? Goretzka. Before the season, Tuchel hardly relied on him. According to BILD information, it was even possible to sell the DFB star. He committed himself to the club, but is not an untouchable regular player under Tuchel. The coach also did not rely on Nagelsmann’s defense boss Matthijs de Ligt (24/came from Juve in 2022 for 67 million euros).
Conclusion: Tuchel knows how to deal with superstars from PSG and Chelsea. But the Bayern dressing room with the flat hierarchy seems to be a new challenge for him. So far he has not strengthened his leading players enough. He talks a lot with Sané, Musiala, Gnabry and his favorite Raphael Guerreiro (30) – other stars sometimes seem dissatisfied with the communication.
Injured list and squad planning
How long has the injury list been in the past few weeks – Tuchel was sometimes missing twelve (!) players in training. Even now, Davies, Gnabry, Coman, Laimer, Peretz, Sarr and Buchmann are still injured. The contribution of Tuchel and the medical department is probably very small. More than the incorrect loads, it is probably the overloads caused by the game plan – and bad luck. Or could the players also work more professionally?
The squad planning for the summer is questionable: a super clipper was brought in with Kane. Minjae Kim (27/from Naples) is a 50 million defender who is currently only mediocre. Konrad Laimer (26/free transfer from Leipzig) was convincing until his injury – as a substitute right-back. Guerreiro (free transfer from BVB) made sense, but was initially just injured.
Bayern new signing Minjae Kim after landing in Munich on Thursday
Photo: Dennis Brosda
The purchase of six by João Palhinha (28/FC Fulham) failed spectacularly on the last transfer day. Now Pavlovic finally filled the gap. In addition, the defense had to be expensively improved by selling off Benjamin Pavard (Inter Milan), Lucas Hernández (PSG) and Josip Stanisic (loan to Leverkusen) in the winter with Dier and Sacha Boey (23/for around 30 million euros from Galatasaray). become.
Conclusion: Tuchel sat on the “Sport Committee” transfer task force in the summer (including Hoeneß, Rummenigge, Hainer, Dreesen) and is said to have clearly demanded names and new stars. He didn’t get a defensive six like 122 million man Declan Rice. Apart from Kane and Laimer, the newcomers haven’t had enough impact so far. There has to be more of the new arrivals!
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Tactics expert without a stroke of genius
The tactical experiment in Leverkusen with a three-man chain around winter newcomer Eric Dier (30/loaned to Tottenham after just four games of the season) went wrong. Bayer coach Xabi Alonso (42) saw through the trick of wanting to mirror Leverkusen’s tactics. The 0:3 was (along with the 1:5 in Frankfurt) the worst that FC Bayern had shown in a long time.
Kimmich criticized after the Leverkusen defeat: “In our game there was generally little to be seen in terms of joy, creativity, ease and freedom. We really have problems creating chances for ourselves and on the other hand we allow too many chances.”
In the last two games, Harry Kane (30/28 goals this season) was completely up in the air (BILD grade 6 twice). Hardly any contact with the ball, no shots on goal.
Kimmich’s alarming sentences: “I don’t have the feeling that we get along well with each other, that we have a good interaction.”
Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel in Rome on Thursday before returning to Munich
Foto: FC Bayern via Getty Images
According to Tuchel and the players, Bayern always train well during the week. There is steam in it, everyone is concentrated, the work is being done in a focused manner. Little of this can be seen in the games. Do the stars not really understand their tactical fox? Or are they overwhelmed?
Müller analyzed: “We are too cerebral! At Leverkusen, not every move is planned. They just gamble, they play football, they look for solutions. We do that too, but not in the game when the pressure is there. That’s what I expect from FC Bayern.”
For months there has been a lack of gala performances like in November against Dortmund (4:0) or in December against Stuttgart (3:0). It can’t actually be a technical matter: Tuchel won the 2021 Champions League with Chelsea. He also did a good job at PSG.
Conclusion: Tuchel rarely manages to properly transfer his tactical ideas to this team. The performances are far too variable. Recently, the team hardly had any offensive ideas. And most of the stars don’t even notice Tuchel’s instructions on the sidelines during the game.
BILD overall conclusion
There’s a lot more possible with this team! Tuchel has not yet managed to form a real team that will go through fire for each other. He sometimes took away the self-confidence of his leading players. And the Bayern fans haven’t seen good football for a long time. Tuchel is more to blame for the Bayern crisis – 70 percent. That’s why it wobbles.
But: No star shows his maximum performance. There is a lack of ideas, commitment and fun. The team (30 percent to blame) now has to show why they collect millions every year!
2024-02-16 09:28:53
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