The boss chose big words at a place that was so special for his club. “Those who were declared dead live longer – I think that is the motto of tonight,” said CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen on Wednesday night at the FC Bayern banquet in the ballroom of the Hotel “The Landmark” in London.
Eleven years ago, the German football record champions celebrated their triumph in the Champions League here with coach Jupp Heynckes. This time the Munich team didn’t even win – but the 2:2 (2:1) at Arsenal in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the premier class felt like a victory for the club. “It was a difficult month,” Dreesen continued in his speech to the team, other club officials and sponsors. “We’ve had a tough few weeks with two defeats in the Bundesliga. And what kind of day was it today? The team showed its true colors. A fantastic game, an intense game played.”
In fact, Bayern (finally) played with more speed, more conviction, more determination, more energy. And showed much more resilience than before. It was a “very mature performance,” stated sports director Max Eberl. After Bukayo Saka made it 0-1 (12th minute), Serge Gnabry (18th) and Harry Kane (32nd, penalty kick) turned the game around, and Leandro Trossard equalized (76th). The second leg takes place in Munich on Wednesday – Bayern have worked out a good starting situation.
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Dreesen highlighted Gnabry and Kane in his speech. Overall, it was a team effort with team spirit. “Everyone fought for each other. That was really nice to see.” And he made a clear demand to the stars: “That is the true face of FC Bayern, and we want to see that from you, dear team, much, much more often.”
“Then everyone has to be careful of us.”
Things sometimes happen so quickly at FC Bayern: Last Saturday he was embarrassed in the 3-2 defeat at newly promoted team 1. FC Heidenheim. Three days later in London, Dreesen said: “And then everyone in Europe has to be careful of us. And of course the dream lives on today.” The dream of the semi-final, the dream of the final, which will take place on June 1st at the legendary Wembley Stadium. The dream of a happy ending in a season that has been so eventful and unsuccessful.
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The location for the banquet was not chosen without reason, said Dreesen in the “Grand Ballroom”. “It should remind us of what we achieved here more than ten years ago and it should inspire you, dear team, to revive this spirit again.” You have to “show with heart and passion who FC Bayern is, what the true face of FC Bayern is”.
In the event of a significant defeat against Arsenal, there would have been intensive discussions about whether Thomas Tuchel could continue to coach Bayern until the end of the season. The 50-year-old will now remain head coach until the end of May. It was also Tuchel’s (attention) success in London: the coach chose the right direction and put the right players in the starting line-up in Leon Goretzka and Leroy Sané. He had correctly analyzed Arsenal’s weaknesses and coached very emotionally on the sidelines. Full-back Alphonso Davies was Bayern’s weak point that day, and Tuchel was understandably very annoyed with the goals they conceded.
“We’ll see it through to the end” – Tuchel’s declaration of war before the duel against Arsenal
Thomas Tuchel wants to defend his job as FC Bayern coach with all his might until the summer. “That is what was agreed and the best solution,” he made it clear before the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League. Tuchel only found words of praise for their opponents Arsenal FC.
And like his players, he particularly disagreed with a decision made by Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg in a curious scene: In the second half, Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya played a goal kick to Gabriel, who was positioned in the six-yard box. The Brazilian picked up the ball in his hand, put it back on the turf and passed it back to Raya, the game continued. The referee blew his whistle shortly before the goal kick was taken.
His team was not awarded a “crystal clear hand penalty,” said Tuchel. The referee told the players that it was a kid’s mistake and that he wouldn’t whistle that in a quarter-final of the Champions League, reported the Bayern coach. “This is a completely new way of interpreting the rules,” said Tuchel. “I felt like he was a little bit against us, driven by the crowd. For me it’s a huge mistake that he doesn’t give a hand penalty. I know it was a crazy situation.”
“We can’t put up with this”
World champion Thomas Müller, who did not play in the game, said: “I know what the referee wants if he lets things continue, but I don’t think he can ignore the laws. What you have to remember is that this can be decisive for the game and we actually can’t put up with that.” A referee is there to implement the rules. Arsenal also complained – about a scene in stoppage time when Saka fell in the penalty area after contact with Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. Nyberg decided against a penalty – and ended the game quite abruptly a little later.
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Because of the hand scene, Müller even went on to criticize the referees in general: “It’s perhaps what Matthias Sammer has often mentioned: German teams and the lobby among Collina’s colleagues, that needs to be questioned. What’s being whistled in the penalty areas. The referee saw it clearly. The mistake was just too stupid and too petty for him to award a penalty. But he doesn’t have to decide that. The referee is there to enforce the rules. Even if you may not be satisfied with the rule. I don’t think the rule says: OK, if it wasn’t intentional, put the ball down again for a goal kick… I don’t know what it says… I think it’s a clear penalty.”
When the anger with the referee had subsided somewhat, the Bavarians talked about the positive sides of this very special football evening. “We saw again today that the team and the coach fit together when they work,” said Eberl. He said about the Tuchel discussion: “You have made a decision for the summer, and then you should just leave things as they are and not ask every two days: Is he still? Is not he? Can he still? For how much longer? When is he no longer?”
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With all understanding of the questions, it must also be said: “Hey, chapeau for the coach’s performance with the team. I’m looking forward to the second leg with our spectators behind me. Then we want to finish what we started in London.” The game serves as proof that Tuchel continued to reach the team. “The way he set them up, the way we scored the goals, that was the plan. The way we had defenders and put pressure on certain players was the plan. If the team implements that, the result is like this.”
Leroy Sane was one of Bayern’s assets
Source: dpa/Sven Hoppe
So far, Bayern’s season has been going in too many waves, as Eberl also emphasized. A good performance has often been followed by a weaker one. That’s why no one in the club wants to set performance too high. “We have taken a small step,” said star striker Kane. There is still a long way to go until Wembley. The draw was deserved, said Kane and Eberl.
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The 50-year-old sports director doesn’t want to get carried away when looking for a new coach for the record champions. “If there is something, we will announce it,” said Eberl. There are responsibilities for the search for a coach, and within this framework a new coach will be found. He did not comment on names on Wednesday night either. “I have never said anything before and I won’t say anything now,” said the board.
The most likely option is the return of national coach Julian Nagelsmann to Bayern; the Italian Roberto de Zerbi from the English first division club Brighton & Hove Albion is also a candidate, as is Austria’s national coach Ralf Rangnick. Will the new coach be announced in April? “I’m working on it, we’re working on it,” replied Eberl. And added with a wink: “The white smoke will rise at some point.”
