Call for help to the fans
The sound of the Champions League anthem should once again achieve great things at FC Bayern – Munich’s comeback plan against Lazio Rome goes like this: On their favorite stage, coach Thomas Tuchel and his star ensemble find each other once again and team up for a final, outstanding goal in their collaboration. An early exit in Europe on Tuesday would ultimately ruin Bayern’s season – and probably require earlier consequences.
Tuchel made an unusual call for help to the Bayern fans 32 hours before kick-off. “We definitely need an emotional stadium!” Help from outside seems to be the last resort for the next coach who failed in Munich and a team that only sporadically delivers top performances in order to turn around the 0-1 result from the first leg and get into the quarter-finals to advance. Defender Matthijs de Ligt described Bayern’s tricky situation in drastic terms on Monday: “We’re all in this shit together – and we have to get out of it together.” As the second speaker of the day in the Allianz Arena media room, Tuchel didn’t give the impression that he was when there is still a big Bayern fire blazing in him. Even if he assured: “Everyone can be sure that there is no one who has more ambition to win the game than me.” The body language somehow didn’t match the combative words.
Bayern coach since the start of the championship series: How they went or had to go
Jupp Heynckes – July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2013
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Expenses for new recruits during their term of office: €122.4 million for 13 players
After Louis van Gaal’s term came to an early end with a lot of background noise, former coach Heynckes took over again. After three second places in the last titleless season of 2011/12, he can try to return to the top – and celebrates the triple in the summer of 2013. But his farewell is already certain because Munich has signed Pep Guardiola. Heynckes makes it clear that he is not comfortable with all the details of the replacement.
Pep Guardiola – July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2016
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Expenses for new recruits during their term of office: €175.75 million for 15 players
The Catalan star coach is the last Munich coach to leave, as was agreed upon when the contract was signed. Guardiola even suffered four competitive defeats in a row in 2015. The Munich team is eliminated in the semi-finals of the DFB Cup and the Champions League, but they are already confirmed as champions. The former Barcelona coach decides not to extend the contract during his third season. In his Bayern era, the only thing he was denied was the Champions League final.
Carlo Ancelotti – July 1, 2016 to September 28, 2017
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Expenses for new recruits during their term of office: €173.5 million for 9 players
The current successful Real coach is celebrating the double in his first season. When he had to leave early the following season, his team was only in third place in the Bundesliga table. The 3-0 defeat at PSG in September 2017, when Ancelotti stunned the Bayern bosses with his line-up and angered leading players, ensured the Italian’s ice time. Just 17 hours after the slap in Paris, humiliated FC Bayern threw their coach out the door. First Willy Sagnol helps out for a short time, then triple winner Heynckes takes over again until the masterful end of the season.
Niko Kovac – July 1, 2018 to November 3, 2019
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Expenses for new recruits during their term of office: €145.5 million for 8 players
As Heynckes’ successor, Kovac had to deal with his first serious setback in March 2019 with the clear round of 16 exit in the Champions League against Liverpool FC. There is repeated friction with leading players. There are trends in the team that want to get rid of the coach. Kovac celebrates the double in 2019, it ends in autumn. After a 5-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt after three wins, FC Bayern parted ways with Kovac. At this point, the Munich team is only in fourth place in the table.
Hansi Flick – November 3rd, 2019 to June 30th, 2021
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Expenses for new recruits during their term of office: €66 million for 7 players
As Kovac’s successor, Flick will initially be interim coach, and later he will be given responsibility for the star ensemble for a longer period of time. He records victory after victory. Flick also celebrates the triple and a historic six titles in one year. This gives him a contract extension until June 30, 2023, but the collaboration will be ended early. There are repeated differences of opinion with the then sports director Hasan Salihamidzic. Flick also really wants to succeed Joachim Löw as national coach. The club and coach agree to terminate the contract.
Julian Nagelsmann – July 1st, 2021 to March 24th, 2023
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Expenses for new recruits during their term of office: €204 million for 12 players
After a 1-2 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen after four competitive wins, FC Bayern slipped to second place in the Bundesliga. The then bosses Oliver Kahn and Salihamidzic see the season’s goals at risk and parted ways with Nagelsmann, who had signed a contract until 2026. The team is still involved in the cup and Champions League at this point. “Julian Nagelsmann shouldn’t have gone on a skiing holiday after the defeat in Leverkusen. If he had stayed in Munich, we would have sat down and talked on Monday or Tuesday. And, who knows what would have happened then?” Honorary President Uli Hoeneß raises a separation theory a little later.
Thomas Tuchel – March 24, 2023 to June 30, 2024
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Expenses for new recruits during their term of office: €184 million for 8 players
When the chance of winning the championship became a long way off, FC Bayern announced on February 21st that they were parting ways with Tuchel, who would still finish the season in Munich. The record champion’s championship streak could then be history after eleven titles in a row.
Tuchel’s early exit from FC Bayern? “Know what we agreed”
And when asked whether he also had the feeling that a knockout in the round of 16 could lead to new considerations about his separation decided at the end of the season, the 50-year-old replied coolly: “Not from my side. I know what we agreed on.” Tuchel is willing to endure the remaining term in Munich, even if the failure bothers him. “I am a very sore loser. I have a really hard time dealing with defeat and not having the influence that I want of myself. It’s difficult for me to look at the good side of this job right now.” Nevertheless, he believes he can “grow from it.”
Full stadium, floodlights, premier class anthem – in the past that has often been enough to inspire Bayern teams to big football evenings. “It’s a nice game to get back into,” said defender de Ligt hopefully. “It’s really annoying the way things are going right now,” moaned national player Jamal Musiala after the 2-2 draw in Freiburg, which virtually brought Leverkusen’s hunt in the Bundesliga to a standstill. When asked about questions about the starting eleven, which national player Leroy Sané could return to despite his knee pain, Tuchel stonewalled either Thomas Müller or youngster Mathys Tel. Defender Dayot Upamecano is suspended after his momentous red card in Rome.
Tuchel’s match plan revolves around the factor of patience in order to win by at least two goals in 90 minutes or extra time. “Patience, yes, when it comes to not getting frustrated and not losing your plan and your head. Patience, no, if it’s just about generating possession of the ball,” he explained. The coach’s “big headline” for the game is: “We have no time to lose.”
Bayern have to build steam. “We need a win by two goals, a top performance,” said Tuchel. And that against a Lazio team led by ex-Dortmunder Ciro Immobile, who scored from the penalty spot in the first leg, which is by no means a European football heavyweight. But coach Maurizio Sarri’s team can do one thing really well – and that is defending. “They know how to overcome such a lead,” remarked Bayern’s sporting director Christoph Freund.
Coaches with the most wins in their first 50 Bundesliga games
10 | Mirko Slomka | Schalke | 28 wins
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95 points
10 | Matthias Sammer | BVB | 28 wins
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95 points
9 | Branko Zebec | FC Bayern | 28 wins
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96 points
8 | Thomas Doll | HSV | 29 wins
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95 points
7 | Pál Csernai | FC Bayern | 29 wins
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97 points
6 | Helmut Benthaus | VfB Stuttgart | 29 wins
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100 points
5 | Udo Lattek | FC Bayern | 30 wins
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103 points
4 | Edin Terzic | BVB | 32 wins
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101 points
3 | Xabi Alonso | Bayer 04 | 33 wins
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109 points
2 | Hansi Flick | FC Bayern | 40 wins
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125 points
1 | Pep Guardiola | FC Bayern | 42 wins
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132 points
Bayern were eliminated in the quarter-finals three times in a row, in 2021 against Paris Saint-Germain, in 2022 against FC Villarreal, and in 2023 against Manchester City. This season it should (should) continue, at least to the semi-finals, ideally even to the final at Wembley. Goal scorer Harry Kane in particular still has this home game dream. A round of 16 exit would be fatal, even if it fits into the overall picture of this Bayern season. Somehow to fumble through until the end of the season, this plan by the bosses for the new sports director would have failed. Eberl’s task of building a transitional squad with a suitable coach would become even bigger and more complicated. Because next season everything has to be better in Munich: in 2025 there will be another “finale at home”.
Club comparison
€241.13 million
Market value
€976.20 million
€38.36 million
Issues 23/24
€187.50 million
Maurizio Sarri
Trainer
Thomas Tuchel
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