Bayern Munich is having a pretty typical Bayern Munich season.
Yes, they are not leading the Bundesliga, but trail Borussia Dortmund by just a point and would overtake them with a win in Der Klassiker on April 1. Their +45 goal differential is nearly double the next best team, suggesting they have, despite their position in the table, been the best team in the Bundesliga this season.
Bayern have won eight of eight Champions League games to reach the quarterfinal, and are also in the last eight of the German cup. Pretty normal stuff from Germany’s only real power over the last decade.
None of that, however, stopped the Bavarians from sacking head coach Julian Nagelsmann on Friday, and replacing him with Thomas Tuchel.
Why? According to CEO Oliver Kahn, Bayern have dipped since the World Cup.
“After the World Cup we have played less successfully and less attractively,” Kahn said in a club announcement. “The big fluctuations in performance have cast doubt on our goals for this season, but also our goals for the future. That is why we have acted now.”
There were reportedly other reasons that Bayern didn’t spell out in their announcement.
❗️News #Nagelsmann: Reasons
– negative sporting development in Bundesliga
– lack of player development (talents & top transfers)
Players & bosses were also surprised by the fact that he is on ⛷️ holiday while his team has to work. Internally opinion: Wrong signal! @SkySportDE 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/OzQkeINMws— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) March 24, 2023
The Athletic added: “Nagelsmann didn’t so much lose the dressing room as never really connect with it in the first place.”
Still, making a change at this juncture of a season that is still well on track has to qualify as a risk — but perhaps less so when Bayern had Tuchel available.
The Athletic said Tuchel told Bayern he would not wait until the offseason to take the job. Having lost out on Tuchel in 2018, when he chose PSG instead, Bayern were not prepared to let history repeat itself.
Nagelsmann, still just 35, will land on his feet after a mostly-successful stint that nearly lasted two seasons. But the manner of his exit will sting. Bayern may feel it was necessary, but the squad will have to respond to Tuchel quickly in order for the decision not to feel like a knee-jerk one.
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