A year ago it was over there against Paris in the quarterfinals. The last two consecutive seasons without a European Cup semi-final for FCB were 2005/06 (round of 16) and 2006/07 (quarter-finals). “It’s the most important competition for us, we’ve set ourselves the goal of going far,” said goalkeeper and captain Manuel Neuer. “We have to process that first.” After all: In the championship, his Bayern are nine points ahead of Dortmund before the tenth title in a row – no other club has dominated the Bundesliga like this. That, too, is part of the truth.
Nagelsmann came as the most expensive coach
Nagelsmann himself spoke of one of “the most important games of my career” before Tuesday. Well, since he couldn’t win, the next time could be a little more uncomfortable for the coach, after all, not everyone in the club and in the not always quiet Munich environment should be satisfied without exception. “I don’t know what’s in store for me. Bundesliga. Bielefeld (on Easter Sunday, editor’s note) definitely,” he said on Amazon Prime Video. “But I’m not afraid, there are worse things.”
Before the season, the 34-year-old came from Leipzig as the successor to Hansi Flick, who had switched to the DFB, for a basic amount of 15 million euros (which can still increase), no coach has been more expensive so far. Of course, the people of Munich and their fans immediately put their hopes in him.
The coach is already missing pillars at the start
But Nagelsmann didn’t necessarily have an easy start, and you have to give him credit for that. Finally, two defensive pillars disappeared last summer in Jérôme Boateng and David Alaba, whose contracts were not renewed. The young successor Dayot Upamecano had teething problems – and is by no means the “loudspeaker” and stabilizer of the central axis of the field like Alaba before him. Incidentally, the Austrian moved into the CL semifinals with Real Madrid on Tuesday evening.
And at times Nagelsmann wasn’t even in demand as a tactician at FCB, but instead became the club’s mouthpiece, for example in the vaccination debate about midfielder Joshua Kimmich or in the Qatar protests at the annual general meeting. Because, among other things, the CEO Oliver Kahn and the sports director Hasan Salihamidzic held back publicly for a surprisingly long time.
Two bitter evenings seal the end of the Champions League
In the crucial quarter-finals there was a lack of players in top form. Leroy Sané needed a long start-up period on Tuesday before he revived the game, substitute Serge Gnabry remained pale. And although Thomas Müller set up Robert Lewandowski’s opening goal, he also missed the great chance to make it 2-0. Standing alone, he headed a few meters away, a missed opportunity. “If we do that, then we win it,” said Nagelsmann.
“In the end we lost the duel in Villarreal – and not today.” That’s what’s on top of that: In Spain, Munich could have lost more than 0-1. “If you look at the performance today, it puts the first leg in an even worse light,” the coach summed up.