Tuchel tries the extremes

With the 1-1 draw against TSG Hoffenheim, FC Bayern Munich has reached another low point. The players are at a loss, a mistake in the sporting leadership is becoming increasingly obvious and the new coach is experimenting with the extremes of communication.

Although the game between FC Bayern Munich and TSG Hoffenheim ended in a 1-1 draw, there was a clear winner and a clear loser. This was then shown in a wonderful way in the mixed zone. Shortly after a Hoffenheim supervisor had carried a crate of Tegernseer beer in the direction of the guest cabin with a happily grin, Bayern players who were affected crept into the Munich evening from the other side.

While the team played well at times in the 3-0 defeat in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals against Manchester City on Tuesday, they presented themselves lethargically and unimaginatively against Hoffenheim. Offensively harmless, defensively vulnerable. A performance as gray and rainy as the sky over Munich.

On the part of FC Bayern, only the usual suspects wanted to comment in the mixed zone, but even they were curt – their helplessness about the questionable performance was obvious. After the somewhat exaggerated whitewashing of Manchester, this time the analysis was critical.

In the same wording, temporary captain Thomas Müller and his deputy Joshua Kimmich said that what happened was “difficult to explain”. Müller was “shocked by our own performance”, Kimmich spoke of an “absolutely bad performance”. Defense chief Matthijs de Ligt saw a positive aspect: “It can’t be worse than today.”

FC Bayern maneuvered themselves into a devastating situation

After a number of low points off the pitch – the Manuel Neuer case with all the side stories, Julian Nagelsmann’s pack freak out, the mole affair, Sadio Mané’s physical attack on teammate Leroy Sané and so on – this 1-1 draw against Hoffenheim was a sporting low point of the season , maybe even in the recent past.

In just four weeks, FC Bayern maneuvered themselves into an absolutely devastating situation. Although the team did not consistently play well and successfully under the supposed long-term project coach Julian Nagelsmann, they still had chances of winning all three titles at the end of March.

But that was obviously not enough for the sporting leadership around CEO Oliver Kahn and sports director Hasan Salihamidzic. So they sacked Nagelsmann right before the crucial phase of the season and replaced him with Thomas Tuchel. An extremely expensive measure that was by no means worthwhile, at least in the short term. So far, Tuchel has only won two out of five competitive games, there was no so-called coaching effect, and – not surprisingly – there is still no sign of any further development in football.

In the DFB Cup, FC Bayern was eliminated by outsiders SC Freiburg, in the Champions League there is no hope for the second leg against City on Wednesday, at least after the impressions from the Hoffenheim game, and in the Bundesliga the lead over Borussia Dortmund was only because of the incompetence of the pursuer. With a majority, BVB lost a 2-0 and a 3-2 against VfB Stuttgart, who were threatened with relegation.

FC Bayern: Benjamin Pavard’s goal was doubly significant

When stadium announcer Stephan Lehmann announced the final result from Stuttgart in the Allianz Arena shortly after the final whistle in Munich, what was possibly the loudest cheering of the afternoon erupted. It is significant that FC Bayern has to rely on the inability of the competition in the current situation.

The only other reason to celebrate was significant in two respects: Benjamin Pavard’s goal to make it 1-0 (17th). Indicative of the lack of ideas in FC Bayern’s game, because it resulted from an accidental shot by Kingsley Coman. Indicative of the storm problems, because with Pavard a defender had to meet again. Bayern Munich’s last three goals have all come from defenders.

When Andrej Kramaric converted a free kick to make it 1-1, winter new signing Yann Sommer once again didn’t look good in goal (73′). Although FC Bayern then reared up a bit, there were few clear chances. Winger Serge Gnabry, who had been in shape for weeks and had been used again as a center forward, forgave the few, sometimes miserably.

FC Bayern: Salihamidzic and Kahn are silent – ​​Tuchel criticizes

In the absence of the injured Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, the glaring mistake of the sporting leadership in not having signed a nominal successor for the emigrated striker Robert Lewandowski is becoming increasingly obvious. Instead, they brought in Sadio Mané, a winger who is now so frustrated that he beat teammate Leroy Sané and was suspended for the Hoffenheim game.

Salihamidizic and Kahn were unavailable for comment after the game. Your new coach meanwhile expressed similar consternation as his leading players. “That was bad,” complained Tuchel. “It was too slow, too emotionless, not dogged. We lack the sense that it burns. We need a different spirit quickly.” With this harsh criticism, Tuchel has already resorted to both extremes of the communication keyboard within a very short time.

After the game against City, which was decent but clearly lost, he tried to build up his team with exaggeratedly positive words. He was “very satisfied” and therefore even “in love with his new team”. The result of this declaration of love was a similarly bad result in relation to the strength of the opponent, coupled with a much poorer performance. After this 1-1 draw against Hoffenheim, Tuchel should no longer be in love – but above all shocked.

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