Neuer finds clear words
At FC Bayern “everyone has to have a bad conscience”
February 24, 2024, 9:17 p.m
Ideally, Thomas Tuchel will be allowed to look after FC Bayern Munich for another three months, then the short era of the world coach will end in 2021. For the most experienced players in the squad of the German soccer record champions, Tuchel’s failure is also a failure of their own.
FC Bayern Munich beat RB Leipzig 2-1 (0-0) on the 23rd matchday of the Bundesliga and won a special game: Not only is it the first win after three painful defeats in a row, the duel against the Saxons is also the first game after the news of coach Thomas Tuchel’s retirement at the end of the season.
After the success, Manuel Neuer commented on his coach’s decision to say goodbye for the first time ever. At FC Bayern, the captain told Sky, “everyone has to have a bad conscience. Not just the coaching team, us too.” The fact that world coach Tuchel, the third top coach after Hansi Flick and Julian Nagelsmann, is leaving prematurely within a few years “naturally also casts a bad image on all of us that we didn’t make it with such a top coach. We now want to go all the way to the Continue professionally at the end of the season.”
Tuchel only took over the team from Julian Nagelsmann last March. The current national coach was dismissed as second in the table in his second season as coach of the record champions. “It’s not always the teacher’s fault when grades are bad. We have responsibility when a good coach is fired,” emphasized Neuer. Tuchel himself didn’t show anything in the preparation for the game against the fifth-placed team, reported Neuer: “Nothing was noticed in his speech. He did it very professionally today.”
One problem for FC Bayern, which has struggled badly this season, is the changed structure in the squad: “You have different players in the team than before, when things went a little by themselves,” said the eleven-time German champion: “This self-image, in this jersey “We haven’t had the opportunity to beat teams in spades this season or in the recent past. We have to work our way back.”
“Tablecloth not completely cut up”
Thomas Müller joked and celebrated after Harry Kane’s winning goal with Thomas Tuchel, who had put him back in the starting line-up in this game. The veteran was happy about “a win for all of us. We’re all in the same boat. It wasn’t an easy time for us, after three defeats in one week.” You can see that “the tablecloth is not completely cut, even though we certainly had our problems in the past, otherwise the situation would not have arisen.”
Offensive force Müller also praised the coach’s preparation. “It is significant that we have our strongest phases in the early stages of the games, where it is easier to follow the match plan.” In this game too they had “the better playing structure in the first half”. “But we weren’t effective enough. We totally dominated Leipzig in the first half. We didn’t let them get a chance. Even though the game was a bit lucky at the end, we’re happy that we won in the end.”
Tuchel was happy with the start of his Bayern farewell tour through the Bundesliga, and the victory also gave him relief: “We scored 1-0 when Leipzig was on the rise. We showed a good reaction after the 1-1 draw. “The bottom line is it’s a deserved victory,” he said on Sky. “Today’s win is good for the players, it’s good for all of us at the club.” The late success means the gap to league leaders Bayer Leverkusen remains eight points.