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In what can only be described as a whirlwind 24 hours for the Bayern Munich community, the sudden firing of head coach Julian Nagelsmann has lent to many former coaches and players to lend their feelings on the situation which took the Bavarian giants by surprise. At a brief press conference today, one former figure was certainly taken aback.
“Of course, we were very surprised by the headlines last night, but Bayern didn’t announce anything, so out of respect for Julian and FC Bayern, I don’t want to say anything about that,” former Bayenr Munich boss Hansi Flick said at his press conference (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
The most recent former coach that Bayern fans remember fondly is undoubtedly Flick, who took the team to a treble winning season before leaving to become the manager for the German national team. Expressing surprise at the controversial firing is fitting as most people in the football world were, but the thing that stands out is what he didn’t say.
“I think it’s a pity that he’s now being deprived of the chance to win three titles. He remains an outstanding coach. Bayern players in the national team were very surprised, just like I was,” Flick told ProSieben MAXX (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
There is probably no one else who understands the expectations placed on a Bayern coach more so than Flick, and even with his massive success in a relatively short stint with the club, that pressure was certainly a deciding factor in his decision to leave. Now, with Nagelsmann on the other side of that spectrum, Flick might be looking at this situation as a what could have been if he had stayed a season too long in Munich. Nagelsmann was in the midst of the one of the most dominant UCL runs in recent memory, shutting down powerhouse offenses who’s budget on players hair product would dwarf many small nations GDP. But that still wasn’t enough for the board, and deep down, Flick can understand that better than probably any other coach in football today.
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