Bayern Munich had a poor midweek game as they suffered their first defeat in the Champions League after two years. The defending European champions succumbed to 3-2 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain at Allianz Arena. There is a mountain to climb in the second leg.
The defeat was not the only sad news for the Bavarian faithful on Wednesday. Just before the game against PSG, Hasan Salihamidzic confirmed Jerome Boateng’s exit at the club. It does feel like poor timing, even if the club had already communicated to Boateng about their decision.
Boateng’s departure may further strain the relationship between Hansi Flick and Salihamidzic. The German media has been consistently insisting that Flick had been on a collision course with the Sporting Director regarding squad planning going ahead.
The German defender is one of the most used players by Flick in the last 18 months. He was on the fringes of the first-team squad during Niko Kovac’s last few months at the club. Flick decided to give David Alaba and Boateng to form the partnership in the heart of the defense. The center-back pairing eventually provided the solid platform to win the treble last season.
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After winning the sextuple with these two defenders playing most of the games, both of them will be leaving in the same summer for nothing. Die Roten wanted to keep Alaba, but the two parties couldn’t reach an agreement over a new contract. Flick had also expressed his annoyance in media when he was asked about Boateng’s departure this week.
Apart from losing his first choice center-backs, the last summer transfer window is also likely to be a cause of concern for the German manager. Poor signings last summer (apart from Leroy Sane) has handicapped the squad after a couple of key players have been ruled out due to injury and illness.
All signs from Munich tell me that Hans Flick will be the next German National Coach.
— Jan Aage Fjørtoft 🏳️🌈 🇳🇴 💛💙 (@JanAageFjortoft) April 8, 2021
I have been wrong a couple times in my life....., but I don’t think I will be wrong here
Bayern got to find a new coach
Moreover, Flick has been dodging questions about his future in the past few days. He refused to comment on his future while talking to the media on Friday. The murmurs in the German media keep on insisting that Flick remains a top target for DFB.
The club’s thinking about building a younger squad is commendable. The nature of departure could have been handled in a much better manner. Maybe keeping one senior center-back would have kept the club and Flick happy.
As of now, Flick’s immediate focus will be to get mastermind a comeback in the Champions League quarter-final. Getting a big win in Paris is going to be a stiff task, and it will be a miraculous effort from this group of players to reach the next round. In one month or so, Flick’s future will be clear. As of now, it feels inevitable that Flick will be managing Germany next season.