Bayern Munich annoyed by speculation around Julian Nagelsmann
It has been a season of ups and down for Bayern Munich despite being alive in all competitions by the end of February. Last week summed up Die Roten’s season in the best way possible. After a terrific 1-0 win against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, they succumbed to a 3-2 defeat against Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
The inconsistency in performances of Bayern in the Bundesliga has led to a lot of speculation around the future of Julian Nagelsmann. The German coach has been under intense scrutiny for most of the season due to Die Roten’s failure to go on a good run in the Bundesliga.
Bayern first went on a winless run of four games in the Bundesliga during September, their longest run for more than a decade. Nagelsmann managed to recover from this poor run of form by enjoying great results in October. However, the start of 2023 has been indifferent to Die Roten, as they have won only two of their six league games.
Despite the inconsistency in results, Bayern remains at the top of the Bundesliga due to a superior goal difference. However, the standards are high at Die Roten, so few poor results led to a full-blown crisis. The speculation around the future of Nagelsmann has frustrated the club hierarchy. While talking to SportBild this week, sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic insisted that Nagelsmann remains part of Die Roten’s long-term plans.
"“It annoys me. It irritates me! All discussions are unnecessary. I wish we’d let our coach work in peace. Julian is a long-term project of FC Bayern.”"
Julian Nagelsmann has made some bold decisions at Bayern in the past two months. The German club’s decision to part ways with long-term goalkeeping coach Toni Tapalovic led to a fierce interview with Manuel Neuer. The German goalkeeper was not happy with the club’s decision to sack Tapalovic. It looks like Nagelsmann wanted to work with a new goalkeeping coach instead of Tapalovic, who has been working at Die Roten for more than a decade.
In terms of tactical decisions, Nagelsmann decided to start Thomas Muller on the bench against PSG. His decision was vindicated as Bayern clinched a crucial victory in Paris ahead of the second leg in Munich at the start of March.
Bayern chiefs have publicly backed Julian Nagelsmann on numerous occasions. They have also given him the best possible conditions to flourish, highlighting their faith in his coaching acumen. Unless there is a significant drop in results or performances, Nagelsmann is not leaving Die Roten anytime soon.
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The German coach will be looking to consolidate Die Roten’s place at the top of the Bundesliga table on matchday 22. Bayern will host Union Berlin on Sunday as the two sides are level on points. The Bavarian club needs to stitch a good run of results starting from Sunday to successfully defend the Bundesliga title.