Munich (AP) – After the Champions League end with FC Bayern, Julian Nagelsmann met with hatred. The Munich coach spoke of 450 death threats on Instagram against his person.
He gets such messages “actually after every game, regardless of whether we win or lose”, reported Nagelsmann unbelievable. Threats would even be aimed at his mother. That was “pretty wild,” said Nagelsmann before the Bundesliga game on Sunday (3:30 p.m. / DAZN) at Arminia Bielefeld. “Of course you can display all of this, but then I won’t be able to finish.”
FC Bayern were eliminated after a 0-1 draw in the first leg on Tuesday with a 1-1 draw against Villarreal in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. This is a sporting shock. But so much hostility in a parallel digital world?
Often anonymous aggressors
If he sets up a chain of three, he gets more death threats than with a chain of four, Nagelsmann described the comments on the social network. In the event of a defeat, there are “another tick more” of these threats.
Nagelsmann was outwardly composed with this incomprehensible resentment. “I don’t give a shit, people should write what they want,” said the Bayern coach. “I can’t understand it.”
Some people would forget “all possible decency” and go “completely” crazy as soon as they turned off the television. “They still think they’re right. That’s the bizarre thing,” Nagelsmann criticized the often anonymous aggressors.
Walking barefoot is grounding
In terms of sport, the 34-year-old has enough work to do. After the premature exit from the DFB Cup and the Champions League, only the Bundesliga remains as a chance for the title. So Nagelsmann tried to distract himself while running barefoot on the training lawn. “It grounds you and takes the frustration out of your head,” he said.
On Thursday he sat with his mother on the terrace and phoned CEO Oliver Kahn about the squad planning, which he wanted to include world footballer Robert Lewandowski. “Of course I would like to keep him,” assured the Munich coach again.
Nagelsmann now wants to complete this tenth championship in a row as quickly as possible. Although he also admitted “a bit of sadness” within his team after the knockout in the premier class. But his stars now have to “do their job” in the championship. “Clear order” are two wins in the next two Bundesliga games at Arminia, who are threatened with relegation, and six days later at home in the top game against permanent rival Borussia Dortmund.
Clear lead
“You have to turn this sadness into vigour,” demanded Nagelsmann. With a win against Bielefeld, Munich want to get “a match point game against Dortmund”. The lead over Borussia is currently nine points, which is almost impossible to catch up.
However, the appearances of left-back Lucas Hernandez and winger Kingsley Coman in Bielefeld are questionable. Both had muscular problems, reported Nagelsmann. With Hernandez, who had to go down against Villarreal in the final stages on Tuesday, he still had “a bit more hope” for an assignment than with Coman. Defender Niklas Süle is not yet available after the flu.