Bayern Munich have taken the unusual step of issuing a public statement in defence of coach Thomas Tuchel following a scathing attack on the club’s trainer by former player and media pundit Dietmar Hamann. The Rekordmeister management appear to want to get serious in countering what they regard as unacceptable criticism.
The latest outburst from the outspoken Hamann came on Sunday on Sky’s Sky90 programme as he hit out at the Bayern Munich trainer for comments he had made at a fan meeting earlier in the day. Tuchel was asked about working abroad in the future and he responded by saying that he would be something he would consider.
“Moving abroad would appeal to me again. Spain has an extraordinary league. From my perspective, and based on my experience working with Spaniards, they are characterised by a tremendous amount of self-confidence. When you speak with Spanish players, I quickly get the sense that you are engaging with the person.”
With the news later emerging that Xavi will be leaving Barcelona at the end of the season, some people jumped to the erroneous conclusion that Tuchel was perhaps putting his name forward for the position at the Camp Nou. Hamann, who is no stranger to controversial opinions and not adverse to spouting his opinions, didn’t hold back when asked about Tuchel.
Ding, ding, round 1
“He shouldn’t speculate, he should concentrate on Bayern Munich. He won the Champions League in England so there was little reason to criticise him, but I look at the football he’s played in the last ten or eleven months and that’s got nothing to do with FC Bayern. He has halved or thirded the value of many of the players.
“He is a very intelligent man, something like that doesn’t just slip out of his mouth. Only he has to know one thing: If you are an employee of FC Bayern, taking on the management – that was rarely a good idea. Tuchel is the biggest misunderstanding since Jürgen Klinsmann. They don’t fit together and he knows that now.
“When I look at the last three home games, it’s subpar by Bayern Munich’s standards. Against three teams that are at the bottom, that’s simply not enough. That has nothing to do with football.”
The counter
More often than not, Bayern Munich ignore the criticism that comes their way as they are used to the pressure and the media spotlight, but the club took the step on Monday of releasing a public statement. While not directly naming Hamann, they made it clear they would not tolerate further attacks, while falling short of stating the consequences they would pursue.
In a statement issued in the names of Jan-Christian Dreesen (CEO( and Christoph Freund (sporting director) Bayern stated clearly their dissatisfaction. “Our head coach Thomas Tuchel was asked by supporters on Sunday as part of a fan club visit about his coaching career and his previous experiences abroad at Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, and naturally provided information about this during the discussion.
“He also answered general questions from fans about Spain as a footballing country. He never spoke about Xavi Hernández and his successor, as was falsely claimed afterwards. We will no longer accept such non-factual statements directed against our coach, which always come from the same source.”
