FC Bayern, BVB and Real Madrid
And those who were said to be dead are still dancing
By Tobias Nordmann
April 18, 2024, 7:43 p.m
Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern are in the process of bringing a weak season to a good end. The giants, who were disappointing in the league and cup, are successful in the Champions League. And Real Madrid is also still dancing for Henkelpott.
Kevin De Bruyne had tried everything. The Belgian playmaker shot and shot and shot. But he only scored once. In the aftermath, we know that the strategist was only prolonging the suffering of his “skyblues”. In classic Pep Guardiola tradition, defending champions Manchester City played the giant club Real Madrid in the quarter-final second leg of the Champions League. The guests were constantly dancing on the edge. But the Royals did not finally crumble into dust. At the last moment they dodged the devastating blow of the hammer, staggered into the penalty shootout and then stabbed ice-coldly. Madrid is one of the best four teams in Europe, Manchester is not.
Yes, Real Madrid is Real Madrid. A giant, always ready to go a little further beyond himself. And yet hardly a damn was given to Carlo Ancelotti’s ensemble. Despite the great battle in the first leg, which ended 3-3 and left Europe ecstatic. But the memory of the year before was too present. Real arrived with a draw and were then beaten up in the worst possible way by City in Manchester. Toni Kroos had therefore warned in advance of “deja vu”. And his royals had learned. As a passionately defending blue-collar group, they used all their defensive strength to counter the fury of the hosts. Successful. DFB defense chief Antonio Rüdiger sank the final penalty.
But no sooner has the fat football Ömmes from England been pushed off the Road to Wembley than the next obstacle stands in the way: the enigmatic FC Bayern, who appear so remarkably robust and strong in Europe, but who sometimes compete in the bread-and-butter competition offers shockingly poor performance. Because the Champions League actually offers the last opportunity to bring the turbulent relationship between the club and Thomas Tuchel to a happy end (this summer) and garnish it with a title, Madrid has to prepare for the most defensive FC Bayern imaginable.
Tuchel doesn’t care about high-speed football
He finally wore down Arsenal FC with a perfect plan. Not high-speed football, but a game against the strengths of the top English club. Playmaker Martin Odegaard was put on the chain by Konrad Laimer, Raphaël Guerreiro worked on winger Bukayo Saka’s system so sensitively that he couldn’t find a frequency to send. Tuchel, who had so often failed to understand his team, delivered his masterpiece. And could possibly reach the Champions League final for the third time. So far his record is balanced: with PSG he lost (to FC Bayern), with Chelsea he won (against Man City).
Whenever the Munich team faced the “Gunners” from London in recent years, they were not only the favorites, but always lived up to their role impressively. But this time the weights had been distributed differently in advance. Before the duels, Arsenal was currently the strongest team in Europe. Odegaard, Saka and Kai Havertz produced one offensive fireworks display after the next. And at the back, William Saliba and his defensive colleagues stood as stable as Tower Bridge in the water of the Thames. From Munich’s point of view, it didn’t seem to match at all. Some offensive forces were not on duty at all, others were more occupied with themselves. And in defense, especially in central defense, Tuchel repeatedly had to witness big individual failures.
“The players are the drivers”
But then this: The Munich team squeezed out everything that was still in them as a top team. FC Bayern worked extremely passionately and disciplined as a perfectly coordinated collective against the Londoners, taking away their pace and enthusiasm. And sometimes he also had a Manuel Neuer who did Neuer things. The desire to score goals was squeezed into straightforward counter-attacking football. The injured Leroy Sané and Jamal Musiala provided the big wow moments.
The once shock-loving Tuchel, who had dealt so much against his own team this season and had to endure so much criticism (especially from Didi Hamann), was subsequently sung with great hymns for his tactical masterpiece. And others via X from ex-boss Oliver Kahn, who brought the coach to Munich as Julian Nagelsmann’s successor over a year ago. The club also posted a picture from the dressing room with Tuchel screaming and cheering in front of the entire Bayern team. United in happiness and success. Because of the long distance between the team and the coach. Something is happening on the home stretch. Tuchel humbly confessed afterwards: “It’s all just a vehicle. The players are the drivers, they drive the car and fill it with life.” Now the car races on towards Wembley.
BVB wants to go to Wembley
To where he, FC Bayern, won the Champions League in 2013. Against Borussia Dortmund. And this emotional giant from the pot, who has been declared dead, stubbornly refuses to leave the European dance floor. In a fiery tango on Tuesday evening, Atlético Madrid were eliminated. Footballers like Julian Brandt, Marcel Sabitzer and Niclas Füllkrug experienced great resurrections. Brandt and Sabitzer took control of the game in a way they hadn’t seen in a long time. Füllkrug redeemed himself, the team and the fans with a goal after a long time. And the sometimes erratic Emre Can and Nico Schlotterbeck pulled together hard and held on robustly, even having creative moments in the opening game.
The big winner for Dortmund was coach Edin Terzić. Like Tuchel, the BVB man also had to endure a lot of blows. Because the benefits often weren’t right, he was put on the verge of losing his job several times. But like Houdini once did, he freed himself in sometimes surreal ways. One stage: the Champions League. In the “group of death” with Paris St. Germain, Newcastle United and AC Milan, the Black and Yellows survived in first place and then knocked the in-form PSV Eindhoven out of the competition. In all duels, Borussia only had a chance once: in the first duel with PSG. Now it’s time for a new edition: Kylian Mbappé and his men ate up FC Barcelona in the second leg.
There is no more restraint at BVB. “The stadium was on fire today. It was a back and forth. You could see that everyone showed incredible willingness on the pitch today and didn’t spare a meter. That was the key,” enthused Füllkrug. And declared Wembley as the target. Everything else is “nonsense”. Colleague Brandt, who is remembered by national coach Julian Nagelsmann for a European Championship ticket with such performances as against Atletico, says with regard to PSG and the group duels (0:2 and 1:1): “We are also slow to win at the turn.” The dance floor will be reopened on April 30th, and those who are said to be dead are still dancing. And at least one in the final.