Thomas Tuchel may have had a premonition. The chapter Julian Nagelsmann is not yet closed at FC Bayern. "Not all players will be super happy now either," said the new coach as part of his introduction, in which he created a spirit of optimism with his noticeable desire for the challenging job.
Such an upheaval could create uncertainty, Tuchel suspected. And indeed: Just a few hours after the 49-year-old left the Allianz Arena in a good mood together with Bayern bosses Oliver Kahn and Hasan Salihamidzic, Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka made a different impression again. The Munich management team did not get off well with the system criticism of the national soccer players expressed in Mainz after the 2-0 win against Peru.
"At the end of the day, that's how business is, little love, little heart. We have to learn to deal with it and live with the decision," said DFB captain Kimmich about the coaching quake and made sure that Tuchel's predecessor Nagelsmann did too remains a big topic of conversation at Bayern after his surprising release.
Bayern bosses had already ticked off the topic
For Kahn and Salihamidzic, the chapter was at least officially closed at this point. They devoted 30 minutes to working through the Nagelsmann time again on Saturday afternoon and justified the decision with constant fluctuations in performance. Then they wanted to concentrate fully on the future with Tuchel. A bill that they had made without their leading players. Goretzka spoke of a "shock" that it was "extreme in this business how quickly something like this can happen".
Kimmich did not want his words to be understood as criticism of the club's management, but as a general description of the football business. Nagelsmann's confidante did not completely agree with Salihamidzic's words. The sports director justified Nagelsmann's release by saying that "the constellation between the coach and the team" was no longer right. Kimmich reacted in Mainz, around 400 kilometers from Munich: "It wasn't the case that it was indicated internally in the dressing room because the players were dissatisfied."
Tuchel don't have to care about such side shows. His job is to prepare Bayern as best as possible for the groundbreaking games against Dortmund in the Bundesliga, against Freiburg in the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup and against Manchester City in the Champions League. "The club's DNA is an obligation. It's very clearly defined. It's about winning, it's also about the way of winning. The squad is put together accordingly. You can play for any title with this squad," said the 49- year-old: "It is important to set the first exclamation mark on Saturday". Tuchel immediately switches to triple mode.
Preparation for the German Clásico
With a Munich squad around Thomas Müller and Leroy Sané, the Swabian will start preparing for the German Clásico this Monday - albeit on the back burner. "I looked at my training plan. We may train with the national players for the first time on Friday," remarked Tuchel. The new coach does not see any major changes in the tactical system or in the processes before games as necessary in the decisive phase of the season. It's much more about laying "a wire" to the players.
It's not just the coach who has to get used to a new environment, changes are also coming to the team. Before the international break, there was a young coach in front of the Munich stars. Now a mature coach is giving the speeches. Tuchel's application certificate is impressive. Champions League winner with Chelsea 2021, finalist with Paris Saint-Germain a year earlier. "An impressive CV," said Kahn about the career.
Half a year after being kicked out at Chelsea, the football perfectionist Tuchel has to start from zero to a hundred. He is entrusted with the Munich triple mission, which the bosses saw as endangered by Nagelsmann's responsibility. "Well thought out," Kahn called the astonishing exchange of coaches at the time. The new hopeful Tuchel would be only too happy to give himself a few training sessions to get a feel for the team. "I'm just afraid there won't be time," he said.
