A benching for coach killer Müller? (Sport1)
Tuesday went off the rails with the brewing controversy emerging (or not emerging) between Bayern Munich and club legend Thomas Müller.
Before either of the two big Müller stories broke, however, Mario Basler had some thoughts on Müller’s situation at the club…and you might want to read them:
Thomas Müller’s heyday at Bayern Munich is over. At least that’s how Mario Basler sees it.
“I think Thomas Müller will be on the bench next year,” said the ex-pro in his podcast Basler ballert. “Bayern have other young players in the position of the veteran that the record champions have to let play there.”
But Basler warned the Munich bosses to continue to involve the veteran: “Otherwise he can be the death caller in the club.” Because Basler is certain that Müller has “a lot of power” in the club: “You have to try a few things with him, because Thomas Müller is the one who can turn off a coach’s water. If you ignore him, he quickly goes to Tegernsee.”
Damn…that is harsh. Anyway, let’s continue:
What is meant is: Müller would then complain to Honorary President Uli Hoeneß, who still has great influence in Bayern in the background.
Basler sees Müller in a completely different role: He is ready as an assistant coach. That’s why Basler advises Bayern: “You just have to communicate with him properly before he goes to Tegernsee.”
I’m not in the locker room and Müller is not in my contact list, but what I do know is that he is a proud veteran who has achieved many great things for the club during his career. If he believes that he can still play, he might just wander up to Tegernsee, but I don’t suspect he will get much help there these days.
The new front office has to take a stand at some point — even if Uli Hoeneß tries to apply some pressure. We thought the new bosses would go down with the ship for Julian Nagelsmann, but it turns out that they really are convinced that Thomas Tuchel is the savior for the next generation at the club. They cannot turn back now…not for any player, even a club legend.
Madrid plotting swap deal involving Alaba !? (The Hard Tackle)
Real Madrid could be proposing a swap deal involving former Bayern Munich star David Alaba to Juventus for Dušan Vlahović:
Real Madrid might propose a part-exchange deal to sign Dušan Vlahović from Serie A club Juventus, with David Alaba going the other way.
According to a report by Italian outlet Calciomercatoweb, Dušan Vlahović remains the subject of interest from Real Madrid. And the reigning La Liga champions are ready to offer a part-exchange deal to sign the Serbian striker from Serie A club Juventus. Such an arrangement will see 30-year-old utility man David Alaba heading the other way.
Vlahović is reportedly off of Bayern Munich’s transfer list, but as they say, anything can happen.
Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 2, Episode 43 (Bavarian Football Works)
It has been another crazy week for Bayern Munich as rumors are flying everywhere and fans are generally focused on next season while the 2022/23 squad is embroiled in a title chase.
These are clearly crazy times and that is exactly why Bavarian Podcast Works is here — to help sort through the mess like Luke Skywalker in that trash compactor during Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
Per the norm, there is a lot to talk about, so let’s get to it:
- The latest Sadio Mane drama.
- How Lionel Messi throwing a grenade into his relationship with Paris Saint-Germain could lead FC Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski back to Bayern Munich.
- The official nail in the coffin on that Harry Kane rumor and why I’m starting to come around on Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic.
- A look at the “leaked” list of Bayern’s plans for each player during the off-season.
Haaland is a freak…truly (Daily Mail)
If you want some insight as to how serious Manchester City’s Erling Haaland is about his craft, check out this quote from teammate Jack Grealish.
“Haaland’s the best pro I’ve ever seen. His mindset is something you won’t see again. He does everything. Recovers. Gym. 10 hours of treatment a day. Ice baths. Diet. That’s why he is what he is. But I swear I couldn’t be like that,” said Grealish. “I’m not as successful as Haaland. He’s scored more this season than I have in my whole career. But if he did what I occasionally did he would be like: ‘F****** hell I feel terrible today’. I have a release that’s different to this.”
Haaland is a marvel. Sure, he’s naturally gifted with his size, speed, strength, and overall talent, but he is always working to get better and goes to great lengths to take care of his body.
And yes, Grealish is a party boy…but he is pretty damn good as well.
Silva wants out at Leipzig (Get German Football News)
If you want just one reason to be a little hesitant about Bayern Munich’s potential pursuit of an Eintracht Frankfurt striker (Randal Kolo Muani), there seems to be a trend where players at that position for Die Adler go on to struggle elsewhere.
Luka Jović and Ante Rebić (who mostly played as part of a striker tandem in 2018/19) are a couple examples of players who have not gone on to reach the heights that were expected, while Sebastien Haller has been…okay. Another player who went on to not exactly be great after leaving Eintracht Frankfurt is André Silva, who is out of favor at RB Leipzig.
Now, Silva wants to leave this summer, which is probably a good idea given that Red Bull Salzburg attacker Benjamin Šeško will joining Die Roten Bullen this summer:
Bild reports that RB Leipzig striker André Silva wants to leave RB Leipzig in the summer as he has become unhappy with his game time.
The 27-year-old has spent most of this season coming off the bench for Leipzig and when he has played he has not reached the levels he did at Eintracht Frankfurt where he scored 45 goals in 71 games. In Silva’s two years in Leipzig, he has scored 26 goals in 94.
The situation is likely to get worse for Silva as Red Bull Salzburg’s Benjamin Šeško is to join Leipzig at the end of the season. Leipzig are preparing for the departure of Silva as new Leipzig sporting director Rouven Schröder was at Bayer Leverkusen vs Union Saint Gilloise scouting striker Victor Boniface.
At one point, Bayern Munich had interest in Silva. Bayern Munich needs a striker. Could things rekindle on that front?
Bavarian Podcast Works: Flagship Show — Season 5, Episode 44 (Bavarian Football Works)
Bayern Munich is winding down its 2022/23 season and is doing everything it possibly can to continue holding on to the league lead.
Over the weekend, Bayern Munich was unconvincing in a 2-1 win over Werder Bremen and, well, we have a lot of thoughts on where the team is coming out of that. Let’s take a look at what we have on tap for this episode:
- Thoughts on the Werder Bremen match including Thomas Tuchel’s selections, Jamal Musiala’s recent struggles, the solid showing for Ryan Gravenberch, and why certain players might be getting a longer look these days.
- The delicate balance of keeping the focus on winning the league title, while also setting the team up for next season.
- Thomas Müller’s situation and pondering if Tuchel is sending him a message about where he stands ahead of next season.
- Some takes on the recent transfer rumors involving Gravenberch, along with Bayern Munich’s links to both Randal Kolo Muani and Ousmane Dembélé.
Madrid, United to challenge Bayern for Kolo Muani (Le10 Sport via 90Min.com)
Real Madrid could pose a challenge to Bayern Munich’s effort to ink Eintracht Frankfurt attacker Randal Kolo Muani:
Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are chasing the signature of Eintracht Frankfurt forward Randal Kolo Muani, who has scored 20 goals in all competitions during his first season in Germany.
Moreover, Manchester United could also shift its focus to Kolo Muani if it cannot secure Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane, Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez, or AS Roma’s Tammy Abraham (per Four Four Two):
Manchester United have three forward options listed earmarked in a case deal for Tottenham striker Harry Kane is unachievable – Kolo Muani, Inter’s Lautaro Martinez and Roma’s Tammy Abraham.
Rice’s next move should bring a lot in return (Daily Mail via 90Min.com)
West Ham United is counting on a nine-figure return on a sale of Declan Rice:
West Ham are set to demand £100m for Declan Rice this summer.
Arsenal FC appears to be in the lead for Rice at this point, though many fans would like to see Bayern Munich get involved in the bidding. Personally, I like Rice, but not for that kind of money and I’m not in the camp that believes Bayern Munich absolutely needs a midfielder this summer at this point.
Bavarian Podcast Works: Postgame Show — Bayern Munich 2-1 Werder Bremen (Bavarian Football Works)
Things have been difficult for Bayern Munich lately; not even Thomas Tuchel (despite his questionable choices) can deny that. Today was yet another day of hard work, grind and careless errors but Bayern won and made it two consecutive wins — the opposition teams were rather poor in both the games but you can only play the fixtures the DFL sets in the order they set them. In this podcast, we look back on the game and discuss the following:
- The points tally for previous champions
- Why Serge Gnabry should not be sold
- Werder Bremen’s deficiencies that allowed Bayern to win this game
- Bayern’s good performers on the day
- Thomas Müller’s absence in the starting lineup
- A look around the Bundesliga and what took place this weekend