Bayern Munich: Uli Hoeness heaps praise on squad and Thomas Tuchel
After a terrible week midway through February, Bayern Munich have bounced back in the last few weeks. The Bavarian club went into the international break on the back of a positive performance against Darmstadt on Saturday.
The three defeats against Bayer Leverkusen, Lazio, and VfL Bochum in February forced Bayern chiefs to make a decision regarding Tuchel’s future. Bayern chose the option to part ways with Tuchel at the end of the season. The Bavarian club is yet to name a replacement for Tuchel.
The decision to provide clarity about Tuchel’s future has certainly helped the squad. Bayern has been unbeaten in the last five games. There have been significant improvements in defense and attack during this period. They booked a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League by clinching a comfortable 3-0 win against Lazio at Allianz Arena.
The response from players and Tuchel after Die Roten’s decision to make a coaching change at the end of the season has pleased Uli Hoeness. While talking to Kicker over the weekend (via iMiaSanMia), Hoeness praised players and Tuchel for pulling together in the same direction to improve performances.
"“First of all, I think it's very good how the team and the coach are dealing with the new situation. It's obvious that they have pulled themselves together and both sides are trying very hard to make the best of the situation.”"
- Uli Hoeness
It is looking increasingly certain that Bayern will not retain the Bundesliga title. They remain ten points behind Bayer Leverkusen after 26 games. It will take an incredible turn of events for Rekordmeister to overtake Leverkusen in the final phase of the Bundesliga campaign.
The Champions League remains the only realistic chance of silverware for Bayern this season. They have been drawn against Arsenal in the quarter-finals. Tuchel’s men will have to deliver near-perfect performances in Europe to bring the trophy back to Allianz Arena. Hoeness believes that Die Roten have a good chance to win the competition if they show a great level of concentration in the remaining knockout games.
Tuchel has previously won the Champions League with Chelsea. The Premier League side was not favourites to win the competition, but the German coach managed to extract solid performances. The Bavarian faithful would like to see Tuchel emulate the same feat with Die Roten before leaving the club in the summer. The road to the final is very difficult, but Bayern have the squad to win all five games to lift the title.
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Bayern will resume competitive football at the end of March against Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga. Tuchel will need his squad to keep winning games in the league to maintain momentum and have the best chance of capitalizing on Leverkusen’s possible slip-ups.