Before the round of 16 first leg in the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain, the mood at Bayern could be better. Coach Julian Nagelsmann recently seemed irritated, sometimes even attacking his own players. Ex-professional Stefan Effenberg can understand the thin-skinned reactions of the trainer in part, but nevertheless sees him as having a responsibility.
After a 3-0 home win at FC Bayern, one could actually speak of a successful dress rehearsal for the premier class, but the largely uninspired performance of the record champions against basement child VfL Bochum caused discussions after the end of the game.
Coach Nagelsmann even felt compelled to publicly snub his team – just a few days before the first leg against Paris Saint-Germain. Such a performance will not be enough against the French star ensemble, the 35-year-old rumbled.
Stefan Effenberg was also critical of Munich’s latest performance. FC Bayern “didn’t perform well” against Bochum and now need a “performance increase,” wrote the former international in his “Sport1” column.
Effenberg: Nagelsmann at Bayern “not untouchable”
Although Effenberg found “good what Nagelsmann said to sharpen the senses again”, the 54-year-old also warned of the effects of the “Weeks of Truth” on the Bayern coach.
Not only the Champions League is important, the Bundesliga and the DFB Cup must also be taken into account. “Those responsible will also look at it,” emphasized Effenberg.
The decisive factor now is “how Bayern performs,” explained the native of Hamburg: “You shouldn’t be eliminated as quietly as you did against Villarreal last year. Nagelsmann will be measured by that.”
In the event of a fiasco, the trainer could also be on the brink, Effenberg suspected: “I wouldn’t go there now and say that he’s rock solid or untouchable.”