Julian Nagelsmann only got over a mini-crisis in the first half of the season. Now he has to endure another coaching discussion.Image: imago / Ulrich Wagner
Bundesliga
For most Bundesliga clubs, it takes a while before a crisis is clearly recognizable. At FC Bayern Munich, three draws in a row are enough and the K-word is on everyone’s lips. Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann has even been able to overcome two crises this season. Supposedly.
Bayern put up with the slump at the beginning of the first half of the season (four Bundesliga games in a row without a win) with seven wins and one draw by the end of the year. Even the weak start to 2023 (three draws in a row) seemed to have been overcome before the team failed again on Saturday in Gladbach.
Now the club has to endure a public coaching discussion for the second time this season. In an interview with “Sport Bild”, CEO Oliver Kahn commented on his coach’s job security.
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FC Bayern: Bosses give Nagelsmann backing
“It annoys me,” sporting director Hasan Salihamidžić recently tried to use the win against PSG to finally throw off the coaching discussion. “All discussions are unnecessary. I wish that our coach would be left to work in peace,” Brazzo raged. The coach is a “long-term project”, the Bayern bosses agree on that.
Kahn (left) and Salihamidžić were not satisfied with the latest results in the league.Image: imago / MIS
The 3-2 defeat in Gladbach probably didn’t change that either. “It’s our job to keep an eye on the overall structure,” Oliver Kahn told Sport Bild. “We […] don’t make it dependent on individual games”, he remains calm after the recent bankruptcy in the league.
The speculation about the Bayern coach annoys him too. However, Kahn does not fear that Nagelsmann could buckle under it. “At Bayern, everyone is under pressure, no matter how old they are. That’s part of it, that’s what makes it so special here,” explains the former world goalkeeper of the Bavarian self-image.
The trainer also fits in perfectly: “Julian is a guy who takes on any challenge – and who is also able to master them,” says Kahn.
FC Bayern Munich: Kahn takes players to task
At the same time, the Bayern boss doesn’t want to sugarcoat the current situation either: “We clearly dropped too many points in the Bundesliga. […] We’re only top of the table because of the goal difference,” Kahn quoted the table as saying.
In fact, after the FCB defeat in Gladbach, both Union Berlin and Borussia Dortmund were able to draw level with the record champions on points. The championship after 21 match days has never been so close since the introduction of the three-point rule.
BVB coach Edin Terzić is certain that Dortmund will become champions. He just doesn’t know when. Image: AP / Martin Meissner
“That must not happen to us,” Kahn emphasizes his own claim. But instead of questioning the coach, the 53-year-old takes the professionals to task: “Now the players have to show that they are Bayern Munich,” he demands.
Best of all on Sunday in the cracker against Union Berlin. “Such a duel for the top of the table is the perfect stage to prove to everyone: ‘No one knows better than FC Bayern what to do in a situation like this,'” said the CEO, appealing to his employees’ ambition.
Thomas Tuchel has been unemployed for almost six months. Rumors about the 49-year-old have been circulating since he was granted leave from Chelsea in September. Around the World Cup in Qatar, he was linked with the England national team if coach Gareth Southgate had failed with his team early on.
