Julian Nagelsmann has been coach of FC Bayern Munich for almost three months. The sporting record is outstanding before the second Champions League game against Dynamo Kiev (9 p.m. in LIVETICKER) with eight wins from nine competitive games and 41: 6 goals. What has actually improved under Nagelsmann compared to his predecessor Hansi Flick?
FC Bayern presents itself more harmoniously in public
At Hansi Flick, after taking office as head coach, it took almost exactly two months before the first public dispute with the top of the club took place. In an unauthorized conversation with the Qatar 2020 winter training camp in Qatar, Flick urged Süddeutsche Zeitung Newcomers, “definitely one for the defensive and maybe also for the offensive wing”.
Sports director Hasan Salihamidzic then criticized Flick’s “media squad planning” and got him as a punishment by loaning Alvaro Odriozola from Real Madrid. The Spanish right-back turned out to be no reinforcement, but at the end of the season Flick won all available titles with FC Bayern. However, the successful run did not prevent the coach and sports director from clashing at regular intervals over a wide variety of topics. In the end, it was these arguments that sparked Flick’s departure despite the current contract.
Nagelsmann has long passed the two-month mark in office, and there have been no public dissonances with the top of the club so far. Instead, the coach was extremely cautious, especially when it came to transfers, and repeatedly emphasized his understanding of the tense financial situation caused by the corona pandemic. Internally, Nagelsmann is said to have already advertised for reinforcement towards the end of the transfer phase. He got dream player Marcel Sabitzer, who was already his captain at RB Leipzig.
FC Bayern Munich is tactically more variable
The “tightrope walk” has been one of Nagelsmann’s favorite topics since he took office. “You have incredibly little training time, so you always have to walk a tightrope when making decisions,” he said after the 4-1 win at RB Leipzig, for example, and asked himself: “How much old do you do that is extremely proven? And how much new do you bring in? “
On one side of the ridge is the desire to tinker with tactics, which he indulged so excessively in his previous stations in Hoffenheim and Leipzig – and which made him interesting for FC Bayern in the first place. On the other hand, the knowledge that the team has mastered a proven system and that too many changes cause unnecessary confusion.
At first Nagelsmann relied almost exclusively on Flick’s 4-2-3-1 system, but now he’s daring to look more and more to the other side of the ridge. Nagelsmann is experimenting primarily in the defensive area, and has already tried backs of three, three and a half and four. If the first experiment in this regard failed in the not particularly convincing 3-2 win against 1. FC Köln, the team is now jumping confidently between the systems.
An extremely interesting option, especially with regard to the line-up, is the three-and-a-half chain used, for example, in the victory in Leipzig. Left-back Alphonso Davies moved forward in possession of the ball, the remaining three back-four members including right-back Benjamin Pavard formed a three-way chain to protect themselves. This alignment hides the fact that FC Bayern does not have a strong right-back.
There was no serious risk of falling during Nagelsmann’s previous tightrope walk, which is not surprising either: The 34-year-old comes from Landsberg am Lech in Bavaria and grew up with the mountains and their pitfalls. It is quite conceivable that he will take further tactical risks after the first positive experience.
FC Bayern’s defense is much more stable
As coach of FC Bayern, Hansi Flick set quite a few top scores, the most notable of which was certainly the six-tuple that was achieved for the first time in the club’s history. But under his direction the negative record also falls: most Bundesliga games in a row fell behind. Eight times in a row, FC Bayern had to prove itself as a catcher almost exactly a year ago (which it mostly succeeded in doing).
While the surprisingly high defensive behavior in the triple season turned out to be a recipe for success, it became a problem in the second season. When the ball was lost, the depth protection was repeatedly incorrect, at that time FC Bayern was easy to overcome with wide passes to the top and strikers running behind. The defensive problems accompanied Flick until his departure. In the end, he conceded 91 goals in 86 competitive games, more than one per game.
Under Nagelsmann, the defense is now a kind of showpiece after minor initial difficulties. In the past six competitive games, there have only been two goals conceded. The different systems work, the different occupations work. Above all, the three central defenders Dayot Upamecano, Niklas Süle and Lucas Hernandez have impressed so far with their focused performances and good coordination with one another.
