Football is a very fast industry, where things move at a great pace. The Bavarian faithful experienced the ruthless nature of football this week. Bayern Munich decided to part ways with Julian Nagelsmann with immediate effect on Friday, while Thomas Tuchel was unveiled as the new head coach on Saturday.
It was a surprising development for Bayern fans since Nagelsmann was heavily backed by club officials throughout the season. He was considered part of the long-term project since Die Roten agreed to a five-year deal with him in 2021 and paid a record fee to RB Leipzig for his services.
Moreover, results have not been catastrophic for Die Roten on the pitch. They had been inconsistent in the Bundesliga but remained just one point away from the points table. The form of Bayern in the Champions League and DFB Pokal was flawless this season. They had recently booked a place in the Champions League quarter-final after a comprehensive 3-0 win on aggregate against PSG.
Few reports in Germany have suggested that Nagelsmann may have lost the trust of players. However, Joshua Kimmich has quickly dismissed these reports. While talking to TZ after Germany’s win against Peru on Saturday, Kimmich insisted that Nagelsmann didn’t particularly lose the dressing room. The German midfielder believes that the lack of consistency on the pitch from the team led to the drastic change.
"“We won only 5 games out of 10. But I can say that he didn’t lose the dressing room. I’ve already been through a few coaching changes – there was nothing to indicate internally that he lost the dressing room or that players are unhappy. We all were surprised.”"
Bayern had two poor patches of form in the Bundesliga this season. They went through a winless run of four games in September. However, the team bounced back strongly in October and went into the World as Bundesliga league leaders.
The second poor run of form came when Bundesliga resumed after the World Cup in January. Die Roten suffered three consecutive draws before losing to Borussia Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen. The poor league results in 2023 made sure that Die Roten slipped to second place, one point behind Borussia Dortmund.
Despite the inconsistent performances in the Bundesliga, Julian Nagelsmann enjoyed very positive results in the Champions League. They won all of their eight games in Europe, which included wins against Inter Milan, FC Barcelona, and Paris Saint-Germain.
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With the business end of the season coming up after the international break, Bayern chiefs believed that a change was needed to achieve the sporting goals for the season. Time will tell if Bayern manages to achieve success this season with a new coach as Thomas Tuchel starts taking training sessions from Monday.