Not just for the Champions League! Behind the change of coach Thomas Tuchel, Bayern will revive a historic dynasty

introduction

From his first day at Bayern, Nagelsmann has been at the centre of a storm of public opinion – until now, being dismissed from class may seem miserable, but it has also given him relief. Tuchel's takeover at Bayern is no surprise.

So what made Bayern's top brass determined to make the bold decision to change managers during the season?

Nagelsmann: From a talented young marshal to a grand presence

Nagelsmann's top-flight coaching began in the 15/16 season, when Gissdor and Stevens, two veteran German football churros, could not do anything about Hoffenheim's plight, and the team had only two wins until February.

In this case, Nagelsmann, who is still the Hoffenheim Under-19 manager, was appointed to manage the first team.

(Photo) Na Shuai took the helm of Hoffenheim

Nagelsmann's performance since his arrival has been impressive, and he has won seven of the remaining Bundesliga games and led the team to a thrilling relegation. The following season, he unbelievably helped the team finish fourth in the Bundesliga and qualify for the Champions League play-offs.

Two Champions League qualifications were enough to make Nagelsmann the best coach in Hoffenheim's history. In addition to his performance success, Nagelsmann has also developed strong players such as Juller, Flender and Rudy, and Gnabry also trained at Hoffenheim. At all levels, Hoffenheim reached a peak.

The manager's choice to coach Leipzig was a surprise

Somewhat surprisingly, Nagelsmann's next stop away from Hoffenheim was not Bayern, which he had in mind. Although the boss has made several overtures to Bayern during his time at Hoffenheim, he chose Leipzig's next stop in his managerial career.

Leipzig is Nagelsmann's land of dragons. Whether it's the incredible Champions League semi-finals in a pandemic year or reaching the DFB-Pokal final for the first time, East German teams have reached unprecedented heights. This also allowed Bayern to truly recognize his ability.

So, after Frick resigned as coach for various reasons, Nagelsmann took over the rudder of the Bundesliga banba. At Hoffenheim, he was the backbone of an entire team; In Leipzig, he was a master tactician who had never been seen before; At Bayern, he was expected to play a similar role.

The coach took over Bayern from Frick

Tuchel: It's been a long time to the top

Unlike the manager's smooth rocket-like ascent, Tuchel endured a long dark night before dawn.

Nearly ten years of coaching experience at all levels of the echelon has greatly enriched his understanding of the German football ecology, and after taking over the first team of Mainz, he has gradually built this team into a powerhouse that cannot be underestimated in the Bundesliga.

After his first success, Tuchel almost replicated a similar success at Dortmund. However, the sudden bus attack disrupted everything, including Tuchel's ambitious plan to spread his wings.

Losing to supernova-studded Monaco is not unacceptable, but Tuchel's fate with Dort has come to a quiet end.

Tuchel led Dort to the DFB-Pokal title

The DFB-Pokal winner is Tuchel's precious gift to Dort, and one of them may have the magic weapon to pick out the southern star. Some of these decisive factors are still valuable today. After a year of leisure and rest, Tuchel left Germany for the first time and became the navigator of Greater Paris.

The defending Ligue 1 champions are just an appetizer for the French hegemon, but the Champions League defeat has stung everyone's heart. On a rainy night at the Parc des Princes, the game fell with the downpour. When Marcus Rashford blew United's victory whistle with a penalty, neither Neymar in the stands nor Thomas Tuchel on the sidelines was so powerless.

During his Paris period, Tuchel missed out on the Champions League winner

But Tuchel has already endured numerous setbacks and it wouldn't hurt to have one more. In the Champions League the following year, Tuchel reached his first Champions League final with Leipzig. Despite the defeat to Bayern, it still gave all Paris fans a glimmer of light.

It's just that the way Tuchel left class surprised everyone, and similar to today's manager, Tuchel left Paris because of discord with the top. And then came the pinnacle of his career – bringing Chelsea to Champions League victory.

At Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel has finally fulfilled his Champions League dream

In the pinnacle showdown at the Dragon Stadium, Tuchel has spent his life at the fullest. The perfect three-centre-back build, Andreas Christensen on the brink and Kai Havertz won with one blow. For Tuchel, this is the best reward for two decades of hard work.

However, the plot in Paris repeats itself again. Tuchel expressed his support for Abu when he was suppressed, but the wishful thinking of the Chelsea could not keep him.

However, the two American marketers, Egliba and Burley, were not impressed by Tuchel's style, which also allowed him to retire halfway through the season.

The idea of changing coaches: the myth of competitive level and player development

Since the start of the season, the boss has experienced serious instability in the Bundesliga competition. The Bundesliga giant's supremacy has seen its biggest loosening in the past decade. This strong sense of crisis eventually led to Bayern's top brass making up their minds to sack the manager, and Tuchel was identified as the candidate to defend Bayern's status.

At the Champions League level, the boss opted for an unchanging tactical framework in the second leg against Villarreal, but Chukowadze's goal was a ruffle for the Southern Star's efforts. Kimmich's problems with Gretzka became more pronounced that season.

Chukowuzze's goal knocked out Bayern

It must be seen that Nashuai has given a feasible answer to the problem of the partnership between Natsuki and Ji. With a two-legged victory over Paris in the Champions League this season, this pair of midfield combinations can still play to their full capacity thanks to the strong arch of top defenders and the pillar role of true centre-forwards.

But this on-court performance is not enough to change the inherent problems of the two. In general, the coach and his team are directly responsible for the training of the players and are the first person responsible for the direction of the player's growth. The distance between Kimmich and Gretzka from the real top of the world is where the coach is responsible.

In addition, the development of Upamecano has also fallen short of expectations. Whether it's the doubts that injury management brings to the top management, or the instability in landing judgment and half-ball, the spearhead of the underlying logic of these issues points to Nagelsmann.

Upamecano seems to be far from what people expect from him

Similar problems occurred with Sane and Gnabry. Although it has been a long time since Hoeness's "German FC" plan, this ambitious goal has been etched into Bayern's DNA, so Sane and Gnabry naturally have a transcendent status that no other player can match.

For managers, the direction in which such players grow is about locker room politics and expectations at the top – in other words, if they don't help them develop smoothly, then the manager's position will be directly affected. Taking Barca as an example, can spectators imagine that a manager dares to take Pedri?

Kahn: Defender of German tradition

As a player, Kahn served as the team's last line of defence to protect Germany and Bayern. In the management era, Kahn, as the senior management of Bayern, kept the team's traditional bottom line - not only the use of German players, but also the lowest logic of Bayern, and even German and northern football.

Kahn has always been Bayern's patron saint

A manager similar to Kahn was the legendary Maldini of Milan. In the turmoil in Milan, he decisively rejected Rangnick - on the surface, Rangnick's resume and management experience are enough to support him to become Milan's next generation of leaders, but the internal logic of Red Bull is not in line with the direction of Milan.

Specifically, the choice of key points before and after Milan is very un"Red Bull": Leo is Angolan, Tomori is an English defender, and Kalulu is a French-speaking African.

In contrast, Red Bull's selection trail revolves around the Gulf of Guinea, with the typical example being Keita – talented, capable of developing, but not high enough to be a strong fighter.

Kahn led the dismissal of the manager, and the logic was similar: Upamecano was good, but the introduction of him was motivated by internal competition in the Bundesliga, and if he was the main player, it would be off course. The same goes for Shubo Morting, who has unique value as a true centre-forward, but if he is only bet on him in a tough fight, it will inevitably deviate from Bayern's direction - neither Klose nor Gomes have such a tough first-class treatment.

The positioning of Shubo-Moting is a difficult problem

To keep Bayern's tradition, reusing the Germans is the first thing – something the manager has failed to do; Important youth training is necessary - Na Shuai has worked hard in this area, but it is far from enough compared to his predecessors; Foreigners are also needed at the top of the game – but the boss has also failed to make Koeman a world-class star.

As a seasoned player and management, Kahn understands the risks that come with the innovative model that comes with coaching, and this risk accumulates over time to the point that the senior management cannot bear. In fact, Kahn's boldness to defend tradition is enormous, and changing managers in the middle of the season is a challenge with significant risks.

From a sporting point of view, if it collapses later in the season, the impact may take several seasons to mitigate. And the upending of the team's tradition is a much less likely thing. The more difficult path between the two is chosen, this is the courage of the lion king, this is the personality charm of the lion king.

Despite being often teased, Sully is indeed the top sporting director

Sully's contribution as sporting director is also remarkable, and during the Frick period, Sully repeatedly turned down multiple Frick-led signings. Although these transfers could have given Bayern a stronger impetus in an actual sporting sense, the team's traditions: Germans, academy, foreign kings, are the foundation of success.

Thomas Tuchel brings: a mature three-centre-back and an excellent attacking philosophy

For Tuchel, Bayern's staffing is perfect, he has "never fought such a rich battle". Whether it's top-notch centre-backs and reasonable staffing in defence, or a superior attacking group up front, this is what Tuchel dreams of.

At Chelsea, Tuchel's three centre-backs can accommodate both Thiago Silva and AZP veterans, or use James to protect Andreas Christensen's side, and this defensive system is very consistent. At the same time, the running of the midfield is also a key factor in balancing the front and rear defenses.

This is probably the best centre-back combination in Europe

At Bayern, Matthijs de Ligt and Upamecano are necessarily the cornerstones of Bayern's defensive line, while Cancelo, Blind, Pavard and others all have enough solid three-centre-back experience. The possibility that Tuchel will once again come up with a perfect three-centre-back is very high.

It must be mentioned that Blind's height as a wing-back under the three-centre-back system is very high, which has been confirmed in the European preliminary round in the Netherlands. In an idealized situation, Bayern could even play on both wings to maintain the effect of attacking high throughout the game. And the rotation of Alfonso and Blind is also a point to look forward to.

Blind's classic car still has oil

Tuchel's most iconic midfield combination at Chelsea is N'Golo Kante and Jorginho. At Bayern, a difficult problem is that Kimmich and Gretzka, two physically ill-equipped Bayern, also have to juggle confrontation and running, and then complete various tasks in attack.

For Tuchel, whether he can use the pair well is still an important indicator of the manager's business ability. The end of the coach's class is directly related to the pair. Frick sidestepped some of the issues by using Thiago in his Champions League winning season, but the defeat to Paris the following year brought him to the forefront.

Kimmich and Gretzka's flaws are inherent, including, but not limited to, stiff bodies and a high center of gravity.

Although the technological advances brought about by their individual efforts cover a large proportion of the flaws, mistakes made in critical situations always make these flaws seem unavoidable.

In heavy snow, Kimmich's fatal loss of possession changed the tide of the game

Tuchel's arrival is likely to address the impact once and for all. It's not that Tuchel and his team can make Kimmich flexible and stop being dropped on important occasions within a few months, but that he can find a tactical way to balance individuals and teams, and truly pinch the right chain of midfield logic, rather than patching the boss.

Bayern's future: rebuilding the world of German football

Hoeness's "German FC" is well known, but this goal is often misinterpreted.

Of course, Hoeness's ideal Bayern does not come from his personal imagination, but because he has witnessed and participated in it, and knows what Bayern's true peak should be like.

The answer is Bayern in the 70s, and although Hoeness himself is not a participant in Bayern's third consecutive Champions League, this extraordinary achievement is incomparable to the shock of his contemporaries. Similarly, as a member of the German team at the time, Hoeness also saw and was partially involved in the feat of reaching three finals in four World Cups.

This is undoubtedly the most successful era of German football

What is even more shocking is the ecological environment of German football that year, the 79/80 season of the UEFA Cup, the German team swept the final four, showing the unprecedented dominance of the unprecedented, and has never come. And this is the golden age of German football.

Bayern's pursuit of this excellent environment for German football, if it is out of its own sense of responsibility for German football, is obviously somewhat one-sided.

Another slightly hidden factor is that Bayern's own strength also needs the support of the talent of the teams. At club level, many stars will not reach the top level if they are not developed at Bayern.

It's not so high for anyone who has seen the ceiling. Six-time titles are great achievements, but the ultimate goal in the heart of Bayern's top brass is a three-in-a-row; It's great to qualify in the European Bundesliga, but they want to see the last four come again; Germany are in deep trouble, but they still hope that one day Germany will reach the final again.

Both Hoeness and Rummenigge have witnessed Bayern and Germany at the top

epilogue

Going back to this season, Bayern's goal is very clear – without the Champions League it would be a losing season. This is also the most realistic reason for the determination of the top management to change the coach.

Presented with the perfect opportunity, Kahn and Sarri are willing to take a chance, because it is already the best time for Bayern to start a new dynasty and revive German football. Kahn inherited the goal shared by Hoeness and Rummenigge – to put Bayern on top of Europe and Germany on top of the world.