When Bayern Munich sacked manager Julian Nagelsmann and hired Thomas Tuchel, the club was certainly expecting better than this. Before Nagelsmann was sacked, Bayern was alive in all competitions, 2nd in the Bundesliga and in the quarterfinals of the DFB-Pokal and the Champions League. Now, Bayern has been eliminated from the DFB Pokal by SC Freiburg and is 3-0 behind in the CL after the first leg against Manchester City. The results after the sacking have left a lot of egg on the board’s face and Bayern’s CEO, Oliver Kahn, spoke about the situation.
Speaking to Sport Bild, (as captured by @iMiaSanMia), Kahn expressed his regrets about the bad results recently. “We always want to win. Such performances, with these results, hurt us. The same goes for the fans. The Pokal exit, the draw [in the Bundesliga against TSG] Hoffenheim — of course we imagined things would go differently.”
So why are things going so wrong? Kahn suggests that the “willingness” of the squad is lacking. “We have over 20 international players in our squad. It’s certainly not a lack of quality. There was little willingness recently. Inconsistency is our consistency. That cannot be the ambition of this team.”
Some might say changing coach at such a crucial stage of the season may be a reason as well. Kahn does not mention it, though.
Instead, he calls on the players to get their acts together. “Everyone needs to know what’s all about in the decisive phase of the season — to show who FC Bayern are. We would still have a chance against Man City only if we take that to the pitch.”
Oh, and Tuchel needs to do better as well. “The last few games have shown there are some big screws that Thomas Tuchel has to adjust. Under Thomas Tuchel, the team will find its form and consistency.”
Can it find that form and consistency in time to complete a miraculous comeback against Manchester City? …It seems like a long shot, doesn’t it?