Lewandowski, cabin, mentality
How Nagelsmann fatally lost FC Bayern
By Tobias Nordman
03/23/2023 11:41 p.m
FC Bayern ended the long-term project Julian Nagelsmann abruptly and at this point in the season it came as a complete surprise. More and more arguments had recently been found to critically question the work of the young coach.
Why did Bayern Munich fire Julian Nagelsmann on March 23? You don’t know, but you’re very excited to see what the bosses have to say in the next few hours. How they justify their sudden departure from unconditional trust in this young coach, who was supposed to put the record champions back in the heart of Europe in a duel with the sponsored giants from France, Spain and England. As the sacred alternative: the Munich family against the money of cool investors. But this project has now failed miserably. More than three years earlier than originally planned. Actually, Nagelsmann, who came in summer 2021 for a record fee from RB Leipzig, should stay until at least 2026.
At first glance, Nagelsmann’s separation may seem absurd: in spring 2023 he and his team will still be able to win the three major titles: the championship (for the eleventh time in a row), the DFB Cup and the Champions League . But on closer inspection, there have been more and more arguments to justify the expulsion for weeks. Hardly anything has come together in the Bundesliga since operations resumed after the World Cup in Qatar (measured by FC Bayern standards), the Munich team lost ten points to the resurrected Borussia Dortmund and at the weekend they also led the table to the big ones rivals lost. After a 1-2 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen.
“So little drive, so little mentality”
It was a defeat that revealed for the first time how bad the record champions’ nerves are. Sports director Hasan Salihamidžić judged the team mercilessly: “I’ve rarely experienced so little drive, so little mentality, so little duel, so little assertiveness,” was a crashing verdict. Another read: “We missed everything. Got us from a team on Thursday (in Europa League) still played, let it overrun.” Suddenly there was not just anger, there was panic. And maybe there was already the admission that the dream of Nagelsmann and a golden era in Munich would not find a happy ending. Especially with Thomas Tuchel It was to have a man whose qualities are beyond any doubt (even if he was rubbish everywhere as a guy, which cost him several jobs) and who was traded more and more hotly in the international coaching carousel.
For FC Bayern, the situation was clear: As long as Tuchel is on the market (which became less and less likely given the rumors about several top clubs), there is a plan B for Nagelsmann. Even if it doesn’t actually need it, they had repeatedly emphasized. From the bosses on Säbener Straße to the shadow boss at Tegernsee. At the beginning of the month, Uli Hoeneß called out to the media that the Nagelsmann issue would be resolved in six to eight weeks. How right he was, it actually went much faster. Bitter punch line: Of course he meant it completely differently. Now it’s over, before the big duels in the league against BVB, in the DFB Cup with the brave surprise team SC Freiburg and especially in the Champions League (in the quarter-finals) against Manchester City, Nagelsmann has to go. A clear indication that they simply do not trust their (ex) coach to win big. Not in the mixed situation in spring 2023.
Stress with Robert Lewandowski
Nagelsmann has lost everything in the past few weeks, and the dressing room in a fatal way. It is the sanctuary of every football team. Everything is created here: tactics, team spirit, a flow. In the end, however, apparently nothing was created here. What ultimately led to the rupture? The separation of goalkeeping coach and Manuel Neuer confidant Toni Tapalovic, whom the head coach accused of lack of loyalty and leaked internals? The gradual resignation of the powerful and in his way indispensable Thomas Müller, which his predecessor Niko Kovac had already stumbled upon? His “pack” attack on the referees? Or his apparently constant tactical changes against the team’s well-being? In the end, it all culminated in the search for another mole who had subjugated the dressing room and fatally weakened the coach.
However, the incidents from this year are the continuation of a long series of arguments or oddities that the Munich team let their head coach get away with. Last season he fell out with record scorer Robert Lewandowski. The Pole fled furiously to FC Barcelona after an undignified posse. His successor was Sadio Mané, a completely different type, more of a man for the wing. A world-class player, a transfer coup whose integration was only moderately successful until his serious injury shortly before the World Cup. Also something that fell back on Nagelsmann, had to fall back. And when the start of the new season (despite the cracking 5-1 at Eintracht) didn’t go well, when the coach persistently did without a real “nine”, which had always been good for FC Bayern, he only corrected his tactics on the prayers the bosses.
Up to the winter break, things remained mostly trouble-free, the team played well, Nagelsmann was firmly in the saddle. And so the bosses simply accepted the oddities of the 35-year-old. From his fashion extravagance to his relationship to his unusual appearances with an e-skateboard on the training ground or as an “Easy Rider” on his Harley. But then came the World Cup break, then came Neuer’s serious skiing accident. Then came the separation from Tapalovic, the angry interview from Neuer, in which Nagelsmann also did not get off well, whose relationship with the leader was already considered difficult. Because, among other things, he talked more to Joshua Kimmich than to the captain. In retrospect, the fact that Neuer was only mildly punished by FC Bayern (because of money) against the knowledge of the club against the knowledge of the club should also have been proof that the coach did not want to let everything get away with it.
Too many players not at top level
Nagelsmann was a guy who was always the center of attention, who knew his worth for the headlines. But sometimes this guy was just too powerful, too much of a focus. Maybe a little too unapproachable. For the media, for the fans, maybe for the bosses and the team. They had given him everything he wanted. Desired players, video walls and secret places. But apparently they sensed in Munich that it threatened to become a one-sided bill. The team stumbled too often recently, players like Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sané shone with bizarre outfits or absenteeism at meeting points. But not on the field. He couldn’t (anymore) get the form weaknesses of his stars under control. He also discredited the hyped winter newcomer João Cancelo, who he accused of not being able to master the current system.
The championship in Munich is not a nice-to-have, it is a must-have. The fact that she is now in danger was a problem for Nagelsmann. And because in the duel with Manchester City, who recently played uninhibitedly, the next premier class waddling threatens, the panic was obviously great. The red button was pressed.