FC Bayern has regained the lead in the table – but the game against Hertha BSC shows that Munich have not yet found a common rhythm again. Neither on the field nor in the stands.
Thomas Müller and Joshua Kimmich defiantly yelled “Only FCB will be German champions” after the 2-0 victory over Berlin in the direction of the Munich south curve. A mantra that has been a constant certainty in recent years, but whose truthfulness is now more uncertain than it has been in a decade. The 2-0 win against Hertha BSC – or rather the surprising loss of a point by Borussia Dortmund against VfL Bochum – has put Munich back in the position to lift the championship trophy for the eleventh time in a row at the end of the season to lift.
But anyone who watched the game against Hertha should have their doubts as to whether the team in its current state actually has the strength to survive the difficult final spurt of the season without further slip-ups. “Our self-confidence is not the greatest right now,” said Thomas Tuchel after the game at DAZN, letting it shine through that there is something in Munich that shouldn’t actually exist in the Bayern cabin qua club motto: self-doubt.
No rhythm, no common game idea
Because this team has already won too many titles, dominated the Bundesliga too often and won too many important games. But against Hertha you could see an insecure team on the pitch, which has not yet found its rhythm in the eighth game under Thomas Tuchel.
There was no flow of the game with the record champions. The well-rehearsed processes, the blind understanding, until the 69th minute they were almost completely missed. Then Joshua Kimmich sent a chip ball in the direction of friend Serge Gnabry, who converted a diving header to make it 1-0. Otherwise, there were a lot of ball losses in the game structure, such as that of Kimmich in the fifth minute: a bad pass from five meters, which reached Florian Niederlechner and made the Bayern defense wobble. And Bayern rarely played the rest of the game directly, but rather postponed it sluggishly.
FC Bayern is currently a headless entity
The Munich game seems headless. Old top performers like the double six Kimmich-Goretzka have been looking for their strong form for weeks, with which they had formed one of the best control centers in Europe in the past. The long-standing leader Müller finds himself on the bench in important games under Tuchel. And Manuel Neuer can only watch and do nothing after his skiing accident.
FC Bayern surrendered to their fate against Hertha in a remarkably impulsive and silent manner. No visible rearing up, no loud screams, no whipping. This win against the bottom of the table was not forced. The fact that Kimmich’s passes found the teammate, unlike against Mainz or Hoffenheim, made the difference. Otherwise, many things also reminded of these games.
Hainer avoids confessing to Kahn
And on the grandstand, too, one noticed that the executive floor was no longer a well-rehearsed orchestra. In this way, President Herbert Hainer avoided making a commitment to CEO Oliver Kahn. “Believe me, we’re all concentrating on the sporting side now,” said Hainer when asked: “Otherwise we analyze and debate the overall situation. We calmly discuss it internally and very carefully, just like Bayern Munich does is used to.”
The counted sports director did not want to know anything about a farewell from Munich: “Of course I’m still here (next season, ed.),” said Kahn. “There is certainly a need for discussion here and there: Where can we improve? But that’s all in the future.” It has been decades since Bayern Munich conductors were so out of tune.
Kahn’s future is in the hands of his players
The decision on Kahn’s future is to be made in the meeting on May 22nd, between the 33rd and 34th Bundesliga matchday. “Maybe we’ll have decided the championship by then,” said Hainer. The most important thing is “what happens down on the pitch – and that we win the eleventh German championship”.
Kahn’s future is in the hands of this unsettled Munich team, which has lost its rhythm, especially since Nagelsmann’s dismissal. Maybe it will help to clap the well-known mantra into your head like a prayer wheel: “Only FCB will be German champions”. At least with the well-known executives, this game against Hertha could have triggered something: “There simma again. Now let’s get the thing!” shouted Müller after the game in the mixed zone. Now the players just have to prove on the pitch that the old Bayern Munich are actually back.
Source: Focus Sport
04/30/2023 – 9:45 p.m
