FC Bayern can tick off the 2023/2024 Bundesliga season as a failure. So was signing Thomas Tuchel a mistake? Not necessarily. Those responsible at the record champions are also benefiting in part from the coach’s work.
For the first time in twelve years, FC Bayern will miss out on the German championship this season. With a 13-point deficit to leaders Bayer Leverkusen, that is all but certain. The fact that coach Thomas Tuchel will have to leave early in the summer is not surprising in view of the unsuccessful Bundesliga season. And yet Bayern bosses are also partly grateful to Tuchel for the work he has done, as kicker writes in its latest edition.
After all, the coach has clearly shown the record champions‘ management team the shortcomings that prevail at FC Bayern throughout the season. Abuses that have not escaped the attention of Honorary President Uli Hoeneß: „This larifari mentality that has emerged to some extent in the last year or two will stop again,“ he said in the BR interview, clearly criticising the team.
„I don’t think I’m the only problem,“ Tuchel also emphasised at the first press conference after his departure was finalised in the summer. According to his own statements, he presented the board with an unsparing analysis of the team’s problems.
Ruthlessly. This was Tuchel’s approach from the start of his time at Bayern. He consistently questioned the status and roles of some players. He also made it clear that the deadlocked structures within the team were standing in the way of further development. Tuchel repeatedly addressed three points.
1. The time of the duo Kimmich and Goretzka is over
Tuchel wanted to break up the successful double six of Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka at the start of the season and demanded that the bosses sign a holding six. However, the deal with Joao Palhinha fell through shortly before the transfer deadline.
In hindsight, however, Tuchel can feel vindicated. It was obvious that things had improved significantly in recent weeks with Kimmich at right-back and the young Aleksandar Pavlovic in the centre. When Pavlovic dropped out against BVB, Bayern promptly lost control in midfield again.
2. Müller is a discontinued model
Thomas Müller has long since achieved legendary status at Bayern. Nevertheless, the 34-year-old is increasingly becoming a sporting obsolete.
Tuchel also made this clear to those in charge by frequently dropping the veteran to the bench in the previous round. However, this caused unrest within the team. But Tuchel is clearly not wrong. Müller’s mistake on Saturday led to the early goal against BVB. He also only plays the role of joker in the DFB team.
3. Squad too thin
Tuchel also repeatedly pointed out that FC Bayern’s squad was not wide enough to keep up with the top international teams. Winter transfers such as the signing of Eric Dier and the return of Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman, who had been injured for a long time, have recently improved the situation. The competition is „now the way we wanted it to be all along“, said the coach ahead of the clash with Borussia Dortmund. This sentence also contains hidden criticism.
It goes without saying that Tuchel’s frank words did not go down well with Kimmich or Müller. He impressed other players all the more. Captain Manuel Neuer thinks highly of the coach, and his goalkeeper colleague Sven Ulreich also recently praised Tuchel: „He’s doing a great job, he’s a top coach. He’s done a great job here, even if it’s not always portrayed that way. „
