Should Thomas Tuchel leave FC Bayern immediately and not at the end of the season? CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen makes it clear in an interview.
With a hard-fought 2-1, FC Bayern won the top game against RB Leipzig at the weekend and thus gave themselves a little breathing space in terms of sport. The gap to league leaders Leverkusen is already eight points, and the Champions League is also threatened with elimination after the 0-1 defeat against Lazio Rome. The record champions are in crisis.
Now the boss of the German prestigious club speaks. In an interview with the “Bild” newspaper, Jan-Christian Dreesen revealed that an immediate separation from coach Thomas Tuchel was not in the cards. “We have decided – as described in the press release – to part ways amicably in the summer. Everything else – such as the alleged offer to separate immediately – is nonsense,” said the CEO of FC Bayern.
“It was a one-on-one conversation, the content of which is not intended for the public. That’s why I don’t want to go into details,” Dreesen continued. The 56-year-old met Tuchel, who is six years his junior, for lunch on Tuesday. “It was about many things, not just the early separation in the summer: how he sees his situation, how he assesses the team, just the analysis that Thomas also spoke about,” said Dreesen: “I also have my perspective for him “We have created clarity together.”
Dreesen: “I took the players to task”
Tuchel will leave the club in the summer. The coach only took over the team from Julian Nagelsmann in March 2023. There is speculation that Nagelsmann could return to Bayern in the event that the supposed coach of choice, Xabi Alonso, does not want to move to the Isar. The Spaniard is currently coaching league leaders Bayer Leverkusen. Dreesen did not want to comment on possible Tuchel successors.
“It makes no sense to speculate about the new coach now,” he said: “We have to look at every good coach and then hopefully find the best one for us that we can get in the summer.”
Nagelsmann is currently still under contract with the German Football Association (DFB). He wants to have a successful home European Championship with the German national team. After that he would be without a contract and could repair the dent left by his expulsion from FC Bayern. This took place under the old club management with the duo Oliver Kahn and Hasan Salihamidžić, now the record champions are under new management, and Max Eberl will also start his job as sports director on March 1st.
After Nagelsmann’s surprising expulsion from Bayern, Eberl expressed criticism of the club’s old management. “We always talk about credibility in football. One would like to be able to exercise a little patience,” he said in a talk in the “Leipziger Volkszeitung” at the time. Eberl appreciates the young coach; both worked in different roles at RB Leipzig for a while. “He is a young coach who has outstanding abilities. What he did in Leipzig was outstanding,” he said.
Until the coaching question is clarified, FC Bayern wants to do everything in its power to successfully end the current season with Thomas Tuchel, emphasized Dreesen in “Bild”. “I have made the players responsible because there is no one to blame in this situation,” said Dreesen and formulated a specific goal: “With a view to the Champions League: We definitely want to reach the quarter-finals in the second leg against Lazio Rome.”