After Hansi Flick’s departure, Julian Nagelsmann is considered the favorite for the national coaching position. If the 36-year-old actually takes over the German national team, not all FC Bayern professionals are likely to jump for joy.
When Bayern’s club patron Uli Hoeneß was asked by “Sky” about the availability of Julian Nagelsmann for the DFB on Tuesday during the inauguration of the Gerd Müller monument in front of the Allianz Arena, he chose pithy words as usual.
“It certainly wouldn’t fail at FC Bayern,” the 71-year-old made clear. Reports had previously made the rounds that those responsible at the German Football Association had already visited Munich to explore the conditions for Nagelsmann’s release.
The trainer has no longer worked as head coach for the record champions since the end of March, but still has a valid working paper until 2026.
Nevertheless, a move to the national team seems possible: FC Bayern would apparently not charge a transfer fee for Nagelsmann, as they once did with Hansi Flick – probably also in order to improve the status of the club’s own DFB candidates.
All seven FCB professionals with experience in the German selection have already worked with Nagelsmann at Säbener Straße, and mostly successfully. However, there were also conflicts with a duo.
FC Bayern: Thick air between Nagelsmann and Neuer
If Nagelsmann gets the contract and prepares the national team for the home European Championship next June, Manuel Neuer probably won’t be too enthusiastic.
At the beginning of the year, the captain publicly confronted his superior at the time. The background was FC Bayern’s separation from its long-time goalkeeping coach Toni Tapalovic.
He moved from FC Schalke 04 to Munich together with Neuer in 2011. Both are personal friends; Tapalovic was once the keeper’s best man.
The driving force behind the dismissal is said to have been Nagelsmann, who repeatedly clashed with Tapalovic.
Neuer didn’t want to accept his friend’s sudden departure without saying a word and went public. In an interview published by both the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” and “The Athletic”, the veteran let off steam and indirectly attacked Nagelsmann.
“It was a blow for me – when I was already on the ground. I had the feeling that my heart had been ripped out. That was the most brutal thing I have experienced in my career,” Neuer said, sparking weeks of discussions out of.
Changing of the guard in the national team is increasingly likely
Only a little later the “kicker” revealed that Neuer had not had a good relationship with Nagelsmann before. The journal wrote that it was “severely burdened”. One of the rumored reasons: Nagelsmann is said to have seen Joshua Kimmich as his direct contact at FC Bayern.
The issue was not completely resolved until Nagelsmann was released in March, as Neuer was working on his comeback in rehab away from the team. The 37-year-old is now close to returning to team training.
Whether a national coach Nagelsmann would simply ignore the February quarrels and nominate Neuer anyway can at least be questioned.
In addition, his long-time deputy Marc-André ter Stegen is more important than ever as a regular in the national team’s goal. Two top performances in the last two tests against Japan (1:4) and France (2:1) provided new arguments for a permanent changing of the guard.
The “kicker” also recently suggested such a scenario. Neuer “would not automatically start as number 1” in the event of a comeback in the DFB team, it was said.
Thomas Müller is not a fan of Julian Nagelsmann at FC Bayern
But it wasn’t just Neuer who had his problems with Nagelsmann at FC Bayern. According to consistent media reports, long-time favorite Thomas Müller was also not a supporter of the coach.
Too often he had to sit on the bench, even though he was ready for action, and too rarely did the offensive all-rounder feel adequately informed about this.
The relationship is said to have completely cooled down immediately before Nagelsmann’s dismissal, when Müller was substituted at halftime in the 2-1 defeat in Leverkusen, which cost the coach his job.
The 34-year-old is now only a stand-by player in the DFB team, but when he is there, as he was recently after his re-nomination, he continues to show passion and full commitment.
Only on Tuesday evening did he prove that he could still give something to the team with the opening goal and many other successful actions against France.
The only question is whether he would be able to prove this when Nagelsmann takes over as national coach. It is quite conceivable that the era of Müller and Neuer in the national team will end despite a shared past at FC Bayern.
Heiko Lütkehus