Having had a few days for the dust to settle following the shock sacking of Julian Nagelsmann as Bayern coach and his replacement with Thomas Tuchel, the fallout continues to be felt with President Herbert Hainer, CEO Oliver Kahn and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic coming under increasing scrutiny.
Whether the decision to ditch Nagelsmann and bring in Thomas Tuchel pays off for Bayern remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure- the club’s hierarchy haven’t emerged from the whole sorry episode with a great deal of credit.
Accusations of backstabbing, deceit and falsehoods will plague the trio of Hainer, Kahn and Salihamidzic and will only get worse should the decision to jettison Nagelsmann backfire on them. The fact that President Hainer appeared in the Monday edition of Kicker extolling the virtues of Julian Nagelsmann only to sanction his sacking three days later will not lie comfortably with large sections of the Bayern fanbase.
“We’re planning with him long term and have documented that with a 5-year contract as we want to build something with him” Hainer was quoted. “You can see real progress in the last 1.5 years. Julian does it very well.
“Julian is a top coach who proved against Paris that he is tactically and strategically excellent at the highest European level”
So, on Monday he’s tactically and strategically excellent, but on Thursday he’s not the man to lead Bayern to a potential treble this season. At Thomas Tuchel’s official unveiling Kahn tried to explain the reasoning behind the change in coach at this late stage of the season. “The last few days have been difficult for all of us. They weren’t easy days. Be sure there was a night or two when I didn’t sleep well. Those are the sides of the job that aren’t fun.
“We have a duty and responsibility to ensure sporting success. We asked ourselves why there are such big fluctuations in the team’s performance. It has nothing to do with panic. We took a very close look at everything. The whole thing started last season with our inconsistent performances. The team is always capable of highlight moments, but every now and then there are also inexplicable weaknesses.
“We’ve strengthened the squad once again and have one of the best squads in Europe. But the performances and consistency haven’t really improved. We can’t be satisfied with the results and some of the performances in the second half of the season.
“”Our ambition is anchored in our DNA. From ten games in the Bundesliga, we’ve won five, drawn three and lost two. That’s not our aspiration. That’s why we had to make a decision. The goals at FC Bayern are always the highest. We saw the game against PSG, where the team showed what it’s capable of. But because we believe our goals for this season – and also for next season – are in jeopardy, we made the decision. The bottom line is that it was very deliberate, it was a process and not an emotional reaction.”
The impression given is that the impetus came from Kahn rather than Salihamidzic, but the triumvirate will face the wrath of disgruntled Bayern fans (of which there are many) regarding the manner of the move. The installation of Tuchel may have been sped up by the fear of him joining Tottenham, but to talk of family on the Monday in Kicker and then savagely ostracise one of your ‘family members’ days later reeks of hypocrisy.
If Bayern win the league this season or even better add the Champions League and/or DFB Pokal the triumph will not belong to Tuchel, but largely be the work of the departed Nagelsmann.
Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka were careful what they said when interviewed after the German international friendly win over Peru on Saturday, but both were clearly disappointed at the sacking. Plenty of Bayern fans on social media have been less reticent in their condemnation of Hainer, Kahn and Salihamidzic.
Time will tell whether Tuchel works at Bayern, but the whole affair has left a rather sour taste in the mouths of many Bayern fans and the trust/ belief in the club’s management has taken a real hit in the past few days.
