Bayern Munich has fired coach Julian Nagelsmann. This is mainly due to Thomas Tuchel’s situation – but also to his own mistakes. Four reasons for the rapid failure of the former “long-term project” (Hasan Salihamidzic 2022).
Sporting record
Since the winter break, FC Bayern has lost ten points to Borussia Dortmund. Due to the 2-1 defeat at Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Sunday, BVB overtook the top of the table immediately before the direct duel. After 25 matchdays, Munich have only 52 points, which is the least since the last non-championship season in 2011/12.
Nagelsmann won the Bundesliga in his first season, but the pitiful defeats in the two cup competitions are what stick in his memory: FC Bayern lost 5-0 to Borussia Mönchengladbach in the DFB Cup and to outsiders in the quarter-finals of the Champions League Villarreal FC. This season, despite the Bundesliga stumbling, things went extremely well in the cup competitions.
In general, FC Bayern lacked any consistency during Nagelsmann’s 21 months as a coach. Both in terms of results and performance. A clear playing style was not recognizable. Certain patterns were repeated again and again in times of crisis.
Under Nagelsmann, Munich never looked as unbeatable over a longer period of time as they did under Jupp Heynckes, Pep Guardiola or Hansi Flick. The three also have better point averages than Nagelsmann (2.31).
problems with the team
FC Bayern has always been a player club, probably nowhere else is the locker room as powerful as in Munich. In the fall of 2017, Carlo Ancelotti’s leadership turned away, and he was promptly dismissed. “The enemy in your bed is the most dangerous,” said President Uli Hoeneß succinctly at the time.
The split between Nagelsmann and the team wasn’t as blatant as it was under Ancelotti, but there was still a lot of rumbling. During his first season, Robert Lewandowski, who was ultimately sold, stood out as a Nagelsmann critic, later other players followed. They were bothered by his penchant for self-expression and lack of self-criticism. Only Joshua Kimmich was considered a loyal companion, whose close relationship with the coach was sometimes viewed critically.
Captain Manuel Neuer also antagonized Nagelsmann by dismissing his goalkeeping coach and friend Toni Tapalovic shortly after his serious injury and replacing him with his own confidant Michaelrechner. “I felt like my heart was being ripped out,” said Neuer Süddeutsche Zeitung.
There was also dissatisfaction with the reservists, who Nagelsmann did not promote and deploy despite good performance. In his first season, for example, Marc Roca or Tanguy Nianzou, currently Ryan Gravenberch or Mathys Tel. The situation of Joao Cancelo, who switched to Munich in the hope of more match practice in the winter and then regularly sat on the bench, was also problematic.
Lack of development in many stars
Admittedly, there is a difference on this point: Jamal Musiala, for example, became a regular player under Nagelsmann and developed splendidly. Or maybe that’s just because of Musiala’s unearthly abilities. And even if FC Bayern rarely defended consistently as a team for a long period of time, some defenders such as Benjamin Pavard, Dayot Upamecano and Josip Stanisic visibly developed under Nagelsmann.
However, Nagelsmann did not live up to the motto once coined by Jürgen Klinsmann and actually valid for every coach, “to make every player a little bit better every day”. With Sadio Mané, Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sané, three of the most expensive attackers have been looking for form for weeks. Especially with Mané, the problems can also be traced back to Nagelsmann’s system: There is simply no ideal place for the superstar from Senegal in his preferred tactical formations, neither in 4-2-3-1 nor in 3-1-4-2.
appearance and public relations
Since Nagelsmann’s arrival in Munich, the biggest star has usually been the coach: Nagelsmann loves the public. A joke here, a flippant saying there. Everyone laughs, all good. And then roll the longboard to practice. Younger than some players, Nagelsmann consciously lived out his youthfulness – and ultimately failed because of it.
His appearance was always surrounded by a good deal of self-portrayal and sometimes lacked the necessary seriousness. This was not always well received internally, although the bosses sometimes left the young coach alone. Especially in autumn 2021, when the club was hit by Kimmich’s vaccination refusal and the Qatar escalation at the annual general meeting.
On the sidelines, Nagelsmann was seen moaning about regularly, and his freak out after the 3-2 defeat at Borussia Mönchengladbach was also detrimental to FC Bayern’s public image. Furious, he stormed into the referee’s cabin – and on the way back, in front of the assembled journalists, berated them as a “softened pack”.
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