Many people are still surprised by the sudden decision to sack coach Nagelsmann of the Bayern leadership. Because the Gray Lobster is still aiming for a double title this season. Although they have just lost to Leverkusen and lost the top of the 2022/23 Bundesliga rankings, they can still regain the No. 1 position from Dortmund. Because the difference is only a fragile point, the tournament still has 9 rounds ahead, including a heroic battle between the two teams on April 1.
In the Champions League, they entered the quarterfinals after convincing PSG in both rounds of the 1/8 round and will face Man City. It should be emphasized that Nagelsmann’s Bayern have won all 8 matches at the most prestigious European playground at this club level. Explaining this shocking decision, CEO Kahn finally spoke up.
“The moment we signed the contract in the summer of 2021, both sides expected to be able to stick together for a long time and that was always the principle between the two sides until the last days of the contract. Nagelsmann follows the same philosophy as Bayern. It’s beautiful, effective football.
But so far, we see that Bayern’s quality squad is increasingly failing to deliver what it wants on the pitch, despite winning the 2021/22 Bundesliga title. After the 2022 World Cup, we played less and less attractively. The clear ups and downs put our goals into question this season, even after the 2022/23 season ends. That’s why we need to act now,” emphasized CEO Kahn.
Kahn wants to allude to the quality of players’ transfer issues this season. Gray Lobster is rarely violent. But this season they spent up to 67 million euros to bring Matthijs de Ligt to the Allianz Arena, 32 million euros to own Sadio Mane. However, both of these stars have not met expectations. Meanwhile, on loan from Man City, Joao Cancelo is still struggling to find a place in Bayern’s main squad. Therefore, the graves have raised questions about the use of Nagelsmann’s troops. Perhaps the 35-year-old military leader used his surname the wrong way and needed someone new to correct him immediately. And that person is Tuchel.
Kahn and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic have officially confirmed that the former Dortmund, PSG and Chelsea coach will take over Nagelsmann’s job. In the next few hours, Tuchel will officially make his debut at the Allianz Arena before heading to the Sabaner Strasser center to meet the players and start training. The 49-year-old leader has signed a two-and-a-half year contract. That is, Tuchel will stick with Bayern until mid-2025.
In less than a week, Bayern has a Der Klassiker match against Dortmund, Tuchel’s former team. This is the decisive 6-point match to the championship race this season. Gray Lobster must win, otherwise the gap with Dortmund will be extended to 4 points in case of losing the match. And Tuchel will be under enormous pressure on his Bayern debut.
But compared to Tuchel, Kahn is the one under more pressure about the mid-season change. Currently, he has the absolute support of former club leaders such as Uli Hoeness and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. But if Bayern is still empty-handed at the end of the season, it is Kahn, not Tuchel, who will be judged by president Herbert Hainer.
Is the dismissal of Nagelsmann the right decision for Kahn and his associates, or will he become the one to throw Bayern into an unnecessary crisis? The answer must be until the end of the season. However, the performance against Dortmund coming here and the fate of Bayern against Man City in the Champions League quarter-finals will partly answer the above question.
Apparently, it was Kahn who was sitting in the pressurized “on the anvil under the hammer” scene, not Tuchel.
