It’s perhaps one of the unwritten laws of the Bundesliga that goes without saying that, but there is always pressure on the manager of FC Bayern Munich. While the job might not be as dispensable as it is at some of Europe’s other top clubs across the major five leagues, the club’s front office will not shy away from pulling the plug when the time is right — as history has shown.
For Julian Nagelsmann, Bayern’s board and front office has continually maintained their viewpoint that the former Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig manager is the man for the long-term future of Bayern. He’s had his fair share of poor runs of form at Bayern, but right now they are at least still in the running for another treble.
In a recent interview on Welt Am Sonntag with Julien Wolff, Nagelsmann spoke about how he’s been able to adapt to, and deal with, the immense and continuous pressure that comes with being Bayern manager. “Before I made the move, I naturally imagined what I could expect as a Bayern coach and got a lot of information about it. However, what you cannot fully prepare for, is the extreme black-and-white thinking that sometimes takes place,” he explained.
As he eluded to, the media reaction to the Bayern manager is so tightly intertwined with their performances and treated as almost a direct reflection of the manager, perhaps more so than it is at other clubs. There’s a reason why Bayern has been nicknamed “FC Hollywood,” as there’s also never any shortage of drama, on or off the pitch. Nagelsmann has just had to deal with some sort of internal mole leaking tactics sheets to the press ahead of the Bundesliga clash against Bayer Leverkusen — which Bayern lost.
“Either everything is super good or everything is super bad. There’s nothing in between. At the beginning of last season, for example, I was praised for speaking out on many topics. I was described as refreshing,” Nagelsmann stressed (via @iMiaSanMia).
Nagelsmann has always toyed between using a back three system and a back four, which is always a topic of intense debate among fans. Some swear by the back three, while others would prefer to avoid it at all costs. For Nagelsmann, it seems to have worked wonders at least sometimes, and it was on display in their two wins over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League round of 16. “Almost overnight, the exact same thing was interpreted negatively in public. Before the games against Paris, to give a sporting example, it was criticized that we were playing with alternating back 4 and back 3. After that, it was hailed as the greatest tactic ever,” he said.
The winds in Bavaria, it seems, blow hot and cold.