Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel still thinks highly of Thomas Müller. The two games in the Champions League quarter-finals against Manchester City in which the 33-year-old veteran wasn’t in the starting line-up “were probably the only two games that didn’t suit him,” he said. Apart from that, he is “a big Thomas Müller fan”, Müller’s “undefinability in world class form” is something “very special”.
Not bringing Müller against Manchester City from the start was a “hard” decision for him too, but one that was “clearly communicated” to Müller, said Tuchel. At the same time he assured: “Every other game is a Thomas Müller game.”
In addition, Tuchel praised Müller for his reaction to the non-consideration. “I was really happy about his reaction on the training ground. Thomas will never be happy if he doesn’t play, the way he was treated was absolutely exemplary, he pulled the whole team along. I was extremely impressed.”
It will not be missing in the future, said Tuchel, “that my decisions are tough”, but: “There is no personal touch in it.” All players would have to accept “that there are hard decisions – without there are no titles”.
In his statement, Tuchel also referred to the statements made by Dietmar Hamann, who believes that Müller “will no longer be a Bayern player next season” under Tuchel. “I understand the focus, also to say, maybe we’ll find an expert who has an opinion who says he’ll definitely not play, then you’ll definitely find an expert who says he’ll definitely play next year Thomas Tuchel,” said Tuchel.
And further: “Maybe we’ll find someone who suggests him on the central six or on the nine. We can turn the wheel endlessly, but basically I would say everything is good for us today. Thomas has a tough decision against himself I’m the one, I’m the one who suffers the hardest from telling him that. But that’s my job. His reaction was amazing! I’ll never expect him to take it easy or be happy. It’s about that we can do this together with respect. He did his part brilliantly.”
