Berlin, April 3 (IANS) There was only a small amount of celebration when the new coach of Bayern Munich, Thomas Tuchel, talked about his first game with the team.
The mission to regain the league lead might have been accomplished by beating Borussia Dortmund 4-2, but the victory seemed overshadowed by repeating turmoil due to the noisy dismissal of Tuchel’s predecessor Julian Nagelsmann, reports Xinhua.
Former Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea coach Tuchel admitted he had rarely been as nervous as he was during his debut with the Bavarian club. The 49-year-old praised the determination and will of his new squad but spoke of “a lot of potential we have to reveal.”
Tuchel’s perfect start was somewhat clouded by growing tensions between Bayern’s leaders, the agents for sacked Nagelsmann, and Bayern icon Lothar Matthaeus.
While chairman Oliver Kahn and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic claimed to have done everything to inform Nagelsmann about his departure, the coach’s agents “sports360” said in a public statement that they had to call Bayern to find out what was behind the leaked information found in the media. Although Kahn admitted the leaking was almost a disaster, he claimed to have tried to reach Nagelsmann. Several media had reported Nagelsmann’s dismissal before the coach was informed.
German record international Matthaeus accused Kahn of lying “as Bayern didn’t try to see him personally. He was skiing only 150km away in Austria.” Former leaders, such as Uli Hoeness and chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, “would have acted differently and the right way,” Matthaeus added. As a fact, Bayern’s reputation, claiming to be a family-like club, was damaged due to the newest reports.
Amid the turmoil, Tuchel seemed lost as he had to lead a struggling team back on track in only two training sessions. “We all knew what is at stake, but for me, it might take a while to re-dig into the Bundesliga,” Tuchel said happily about the good start as it makes his team gain confidence.
The new coach’s approach was visible as the former Dortmund coach intends to return to position-bound tactics in which “players can play out their best.” Tuchel admitted to feeling the greatest relief about his debut victory but added that the 2023 title race in the league continues. Finding consistency at the highest level has become his most pressing issue as his predecessor Nagelsmann failed on that.
–IANS
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