Ending quietly for Thomas Tuchel.
Thomas Tuchel's time at FC Bayern comes to an unpleasant conclusion. The team started well against TSG Hoffenheim, but then faltered. Personnel issues can't be blamed. The best part about the season for Bayern is that it's over!
Tuchel was once again frustrated in the last three crucial minutes of his tenure. The upbeat attitude he often projected externally in recent weeks vanished at the press conference on Saturday evening. His final match as Bayern coach ended in disaster. The championship team had led 2-0, but lost 4-2. Tuchel's always-troubled, stressful era at Säbener Straße came to an abrupt halt.
"We defended terribly," he grumbled, finding himself swirling in the same hamster wheel as this season. His team had lost too many balls and committed too many individual errors. "Another painful loss, completely unnecessary, but ... happened far too often." The runners-up position was also surrendered. VfB Stuttgart, who almost faced relegation last season, is celebrating. Bayern won't compete in the Super Cup next season, a financially attractive opportunity. Instead, the new season will start with the DFB Cup, possibly in some soccer haven in the Republic. And with countless question marks.
Deciding on a New Coach
The most pressing question remains: who will be the new coach? This is perhaps the most intriguing story of the season, which is anything but short on intriguing stories. There's Bayer 04 Leverkusen, who simply won't lose and are now on a 51-game unbeaten streak. There's surprising runners-up VfB Stuttgart. There are the strong village footballers from Heidenheim and the Union Berliners, who began this season in the Champions League. They managed to secure their place in the Bundesliga on Saturday afternoon, on matchday 34, right before 5:30 PM.
Who the new coach will be is becoming more and more difficult to predict, much like lottery numbers. As soon as a new name appears, it disappears again. Either the candidate doesn't want the job, prefers the job with their current employer, or isn't available. Like Oliver Glasner, who was one of the few coaches the powerful men in Munich could agree on. But his club Crystal Palace won't let him go. Or to demand an exorbitant transfer fee (allegedly 100 million euros). According to "Bild", Benfica Lisbon's Roger Schmidt was even considering leaving last week. Roberto De Zerbi, who was also a popular choice, won't likely be a candidate. When asked if he could "vehemently disagree" if it was predicted that the new Bayern coach would be an Italian, Eberl responded on Saturday evening on ZDF's "Aktuelle Sportstudio": "Yes."
Of course, that could be a rejection. But it could also be a learning experience for the new sports director. Eberl is upset that the search for a new coach is no longer happening behind closed doors but being played out in public. He wonders where the leaks are coming from. The Munich team will be dealing with this question, not just in this situation, but also beyond. The record champions have become a chatting club with no secrets. This makes the situation highly uncomfortable. No new coach can be presented as the perfect choice. That immediately undermines their authority and ambitions. It's also possible that the rhetorical leniency has scared away some candidates. We don't know for certain.
"I Want to get out of this Season"
Eberl's self-critical tone is evident. "The person who's most dissatisfied with how things are is myself. I need to take a good look at myself." But is that really the case? In Munich, the coach is merely a coach. Those who desire more power reach their limits. Like Tuchel, for example. And previously, like Hansi Flick, who had a heated squad disagreement with the then sporting director Hasan Salihamidžić and lost the battle. Now, Eberl is searching. And now he's realizing the resistance he's facing. Apparently, every coach he's proposed (save for Glasner) has been met with reservations from certain executives, according to several media outlets.
Whether Eberl and sports director Christoph Freund truly have the final say is questionable. Uli Hoeneß, the club's patron, recently attacked Tuchel unnecessarily and dismissed Rangnick as a "third option". This public interference wasn't helpful. And with his refusal to apologize for "seriously damaging Tuchel's coaching reputation" and announcing further meddling, the situation is even more unnerving.
The season has come to an end, and some players are eager to move on. Thomas Müller, who is set to join the national team shortly, expressed his desire to leave the current season behind and start anew, offering a sincere compliment to Tuchel: "They really gave it their all." And indeed, Tuchel faced numerous challenges this season, including cleaning up piles of problems that weren't even his own. "Even in this wild year, under no easy circumstances, Tuchel had to clear away some stacks of issues that he didn't create himself," reads the original text.
Although Tuchel cannot be entirely exonerated, he has certainly pushed the club to its limits with his hardline approach. He has failed to hold back his criticism of the team, making high demands and frequently reshuffling the lineup in response to inconsistent performances. This was evident in the team's embarrassing DFB Cup exit against 1. FC Saarbrücken. His inflammatory comment "Thomas Müller games" only added to the drama. Despite this, he asserted on Friday that his intentions were always for the betterment of the team.
The search for a new coach has taken on a surreal air, with interview after interview, and the situation is quickly becoming a daily soap opera. Lothar Matthäus, a commentator, even compared it to Hollywood. Eberl, the protagonist in this bizarre narrative, claims that "the best comes at the end," which may or may not turn out to be a prophetic statement. The potential for more embarrassment looms large in this wild ride.
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Tuchel's final game as Bayern coach in the Soccer Bundesliga ended in a disappointing 4-2 loss, despite a 2-0 lead. The new coach for FC Bayern Munich will be a hot topic, with several potential candidates emerging, such as Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart.
Despite Thomas Tuchel's criticism and high demands as Bayern's coach, Thomas Müller offered a sincere compliment to him, stating that the team gave their all in a challenging season.
Source: www.ntv.de
