Crashing out of the Champions League on Tuesday night brought with it an unfamiliar feeling for a Bayern Munich squad so used to success. The concepts of exits, though, is one you feel the club is going to become familiar with over the coming months.
Knocked out on away goals by Mauricio Pochettino’s Paris Saint-Germain side, the feelgood factor of last year’s Sextuple is eroding fast. Matters off the pitch are playing their role in that, too.
Head coach Hansi Flick and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic are in the midst of an intense power struggle for control at the Bavarian club, while some of the club’s most trusted players are being shown the door.
After years of relative stability, Germany’s behemoth has reverted to type. FC Hollywood are back, and this year’s show has been a blockbuster of epic proportions. Now, the focus on repairing the damage, both externally and internally.
After Tuesday’s disappointment, it appears almost inevitable that there will be a change at the top. Flick has been publicly courted by the German national team to replace Joachim Low, and he has never shied away from the possibility.
He only served to fan the flames on Tuesday evening after the game, when he refused to shut down talk of him leaving.
‘Regardless of whether things are going well here or not, you always have to think. Where am I going? What's next? I'm always thinking about these issues,’ he said.
‘Because for me, success is a constant process. For me, always there is an obligation to evaluate everything, face new challenges or think about how to approach it. Of course I have my ideas about it.’
Flick also made mention about the most important factors in a job. For him, he says, it is enjoyment. And this season, that has been in short supply at Bayern.
Infighting with Salihamidzic, which culminated in the head coach snapping ‘shut up’ at his colleague in front of a shocked Bayern team bus, has made his position largely untenable.
Oliver Kahn, who is set to replace Karl-Heinz Rumenigge as the club's CEO this summer, wants to sit down with the 56-year-old to discuss his plans.
And while the likes of Rumenigge, who has been on the head coach's side throughout the power-struggle, has sought to play down the chances of him leaving, others have not been as tactful.
Club icon Lothar Matthaus was more resolute in his opinion when working as a pundit on Germany’s Sky Sport on Tuesday evening. ‘I'm convinced that Hansi Flick will not still be Bayern coach next season. The DFB wants Hansi Flick as a long-term solution and has made him an offer.
‘The [final] Bundesliga game [of the season] against Augsburg will be Flick's last match as Bayern coach.’
While that may be one of the more widely shared opinions in Germany, his musings on a possible replacement caused even more of a stir.
‘Bayern is interested in Julian Nagelsmann,’ he announced.
What has perhaps been more telling is the reaction of the RB Leipzig head coach, who took the opportunity to downplay that link on Wednesday afternoon.
‘There were and are no talks with FC Bayern,’ said a clearly disgruntled Nagelsmann during his press conference on Wednesday.
‘I have no idea where Lothar got this information from. This of course applies to my agents, there were no talks with them either.’
Even if it is the case that the 33-year-old – previously courted by Tottenham – is being entirely honest in his assessment, it will not stay that way for long.
Bayern have a happy habit of snapping up the best talent surrounding them in the Bundesliga, and they would not think twice about extending that to coaching positions.
That will continue to be the case this summer on the pitch in any case. Dayot Upamecano is already set to make the switch from Leipzig to the Allianz Arena, even if his current boss is less unsure on the move as yet.
He will form part of a new-look backline for whoever is in charge, alongside Luis Hernandez who was hugely impressive in Tuesday’s 1-0 victory in Paris.
On their way out are David Alaba and Jerome Boateng. The former has made clear his desire to move on, most likely to pastures new in Spain, after the Bavarian outfit baulked at his wage demands.
The latter, who has been a mainstay in the defence since joining from Manchester City in 2011, is being shown the door, with the club having already confirmed his contract will not be renewed.
It is part of an overhaul on the pitch that has already seen Thiago Silva depart the club, leaving for Liverpool last summer.
However, one move that will not be happening is a bid for Erling Haaland. Bayern have made a habit of poaching the best from their nearest Bundesliga rivals, with Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski both swapping the yellow and black for red.
The club have confirmed, however, that the Norwegian is not on their radar and have placed their faith in Lewandowski, at the age of 32, to continue his fine form that saw him named the World’s Best Player by FIFA last year.
However, should Haaland stay at Signal Iduna Park beyond 2021, then there is great confidence within Bayern that a deal could be struck.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com