This Sunday the FC Bayern players will meet again. At an internal end-of-season celebration, they get together with coach Thomas Tuchel, the club bosses and the families before they go on vacation before the European Championships, which take place in Germany from June 14th to July 14th.
The mood isn’t likely to be perfect. The 2:4 (2:1) at TSG Hoffenheim with its consequences was the height of embarrassment in the Bundesliga this season. Leading 2-0 – but still losing the victory. And with it the runner-up championship.
VfB Stuttgart overtook Munich on this last matchday on Saturday afternoon, the German record champions only ended their first titleless season since 2012 in third place in the table. VfB coach Sebastian Hoeneß is ahead of Uli Hoeneß, the honorary president of FC Bayern, in the table. Tuchel had recently always said: “We’ll be second.”
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For the first time in 13 years, the world club finished a season in this position (previously last in 2010/11). Bayern only finished fifth in the second half of the season and the defeat in Sinsheim was their eighth of the season. “We started the game well, then started making individual mistakes. It was the same in the second half. We lost the ball and brought the opponent back into the game,” said Tuchel after the final whistle. “We defended poorly before conceding goals. It was another unnecessary defeat.”
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One could ask: Does bankruptcy still play a big role after the championship has long been lost? Yes, she does. It costs Bayern at least the chance of the first title of the new season, the DFL Supercup. Here the champions compete against the cup winners. If champions Bayer Leverkusen also win the DFB Cup in the final against outsiders 1. FC Kaiserslautern on May 25th, Xabi Alonso’s team will now play against VfB instead of Bayern. “We just want to get out of this season and start again,” said world champion Thomas Müller after the defeat. “We were far too passive, I can’t understand that, but it’s happening again and again.”
An unpleasant farewell for Tuchel, who will now leave the club – not even as runner-up and with a defeat. The outstanding Hoffenheim player Andrej Kramaric duped the guests with three goals (68th, 85th and 87th minute). Bayern made a lot of mistakes, and leading players like captain and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer were also unsure.
De Zerbi is leaving his club Brighton
The club has a lot of construction sites. Bayern are still looking for a coach. Sports director Max Eberl is still convinced that the so far unsuccessful search will end well. “We will find a good solution. A very good friend of mine always says: The best comes last,” he said before kick-off on Sky. The day before, Tuchel had announced that there would be no U-turn for him and that his farewell at the end of the season after only 15 months in office would continue.
Roberto de Zerbi, who was considered a possible successor to Tuchel, is now free – he is leaving Brighton & Hove Albion. The Premier League club announced this during Bayern’s game in Sinsheim. According to a statement, the club will end its collaboration with the 44-year-old Italian by mutual agreement after the last matchday this Sunday.
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“We have agreed to end my time at Brighton so that the club and I can continue our work in the way that best suits both sides, following our own ideas and vision, work and human values,” de Zerbi is quoted as saying. AC Milan is also said to be interested in the coach. However, Eberl said in the ZDF interview that the new Bayern coach would not be Italian. The search for a coach and the Bundesliga – that ran parallel on Saturday.
Even without Bundesliga top scorer Harry Kane (36 goals), who was missing due to back problems, and the injured German national players Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sané and Jamal Musiala, Tuchel initially had his team in top shape. In front of 30,150 spectators in the sold-out stadium in Sinsheim, Mathys Tel (4th) and Alphonso Davies (6th) got the game off to a flying start with their goals.
Manuel Neuer again with mistakes
However, Maximilian Beier, who was nominated for the provisional European Championship squad, took advantage of a mistake by national goalkeeper Neuer to score his 16th goal of the season (8th). Kramaric equalized in the 68th minute of the game – before Bayern went down.
After this furious final, the Hoffenheim team can now plan for Europe, it is still unclear in which competition. As seventh in the table, coach Pellegrino Matarazzo’s team would move into the Europa League – if champions Bayer Leverkusen win the DFB Cup final. Otherwise TSG will go to the Conference League.
Dissatisfied: Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer lost with his Bayern against Hoffenheim
Source: Getty Images/Matthias Hangst
In a wild opening phase, Tel should have made it 1-0 after just 40 seconds. Less than three minutes later, the attacker scored after preparatory work by Alphonso Davies and Müller. With his 473rd Bundesliga game, the 34-year-old Müller drew level with Bayern’s record player and goalkeeping legend Sepp Maier.
Davies then scored shortly afterwards to make it 2-0 against a completely disorganized Hoffenheim team. A failed pass by Neuer, who had already made a fatal mistake in the Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid, helped the TSG offensive score through Beier.
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After a good half hour, Aleksandar Pavlovic, who was called up for the home European Championship during the week, had to leave the field injured. Despite further great chances on both sides, no further goals were scored until the break. Neuer then saved from Kramaric (65th) before the Croatian made it 2-2 thanks to an assist from Ihlas Bebou. Kramaric really put himself in the spotlight with his 14th and 15th goals this season.
When it came to Pavlovic, his coach Tuchel was initially unable to give the all-clear after the game. The midfielder is to be examined in Munich. National coach Julian Nagelsmann will hope that it is not a serious injury.
