Bayern boss Kahn has to face debates about management course and squad planning after the next title knockout. The supervisory board signals the green light for a record transfer.
Oliver Kahn had just finished his explosive agenda on leadership, the coaching quake and the inevitable nine-man debate when triumphant Erling Haaland literally floated out of the Allianz Arena like a symbol of Bayern’s crisis. After the next title knockout, the former goalkeeper “titan” Kahn, who had been steeled by immense pressure situations, promised a self-critical analysis of Munich’s misery with calm words, despite all the longing for a star striker à la Haaland, in which he is now particularly in the spotlight.
“Now we are trying to become German champions. And then we will certainly go into ourselves. Then we will ask ourselves many, many questions,” said Kahn after the 0:3 and 1:1 against Manchester City and the next sobering exit in the Champions League quarterfinals, the third in a row since the last title win in 2020. The respectable, but without goal punch fought draw in the second leg was too little on Wednesday night. Wounds instead of miracles. Internationally, Bayern are moving away from teams like Man City, who now face defending champions Real Madrid again in the semifinals.
A month after the stunning coaching swap from Julian Nagelsmann to Thomas Tuchel, the glorious club with the most expensive squad in its history is threatened with its first title-less season since 2012, something that would hardly be tolerated by the powerful honorary president Uli Hoeneß, who made one of his now rare visits to the dressing room on the depressing night of the Champions League. In the announced season assessment, the word of the club’s patron from Tegernsee will have an incomparably more significant weight than, say, the big banner in the fan curve. “Goals may be missed – but not the values of the club! Question management policy!” was the message to Kahn and Hasan Salihamidzic.
Since Kahn (53) replaced long-time CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge as the new CEO in the summer of 2021, the title record is no longer Bayern-like. German champion in the first year, maximum national champion this season. “I played here for 14 years. I know how it is here when goals are not achieved. Then criticism just comes up,” Kahn stated. The explosive situation was heated up by a tweet from Norwegian TV pundit and ex-national player Jan Aage Fjörtoft, which fueled speculation about Kahn’s future. His replacement was “a question of time,” Fjörtoft whispered.
Kahn’s coaching experiment with Nagelsmann, who was hired for a record fee, failed. Success under Tuchel, who was sent to the stands with a yellow card in the final phase, did not materialize, at least not in the short term. When the bosses made the coaching change, there were still three titles in it. “We are totally convinced that with Thomas Tuchel, sooner or later we will be back where we all want to be, right at the top – in Europe, too,” said Kahn. And basta!
But does the current squad have the (royal) class? At first glance, and judging by the performance in 180 minutes against City: Yes. But momentous individual mistakes like those made by Dayot Upamecano in the first and second legs and a lack of goal-scoring power speak otherwise. The quality of the Munich team does not match that of the ensemble of star coach Pep Guardiola, who marched through the stadium catacombs with a large entourage on his return to Munich. A penalty goal by Joshua Kimmich as the only goal in 180 minutes is revealing. What would have been in it if another Robert Lewandowski had been on the pitch? Or if City’s leading scorer Haaland had been wearing the Bayern jersey?
“We’ve tried everything in the run-up to the season to re-stock the nine, even with a nine, which we did see today, but unfortunately not with us,” Kahn remarked on Haaland, currently Europe’s top-scoring striker at 22. “How many nines are there at Robert Lewandowski’s level? There aren’t many,” Kahn said, “And if there are, it’s in price regions that are extremely high.”
The “necessary small change” had been missing in the case of Haaland, who moved from BVB to England for 75 million euros and a mega salary, Salihamidzic already admitted. “In the next few weeks, we will see what the coach has in mind, what the possibilities are and who comes into question. The financial things we will then also decide,” Salihamidzic said. He added that they “didn’t kill” in front of goal on many chances against Man City.
The magic 100-million-euro limit for a transfer could fall for the first time this year at FC Bayern. There has already been a lot of speculation about Tottenham star Harry Kane, Victor Osimhen from SSC Napoli or Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani. What is striking is that the semifinalists City with Haaland, Real Madrid with Karim Benzema, AC Milan with Olivier Giroud and Inter Milan with Romelu Lukaku have real top-format nines.
“Our sporting goals are to play at the top in Europe. And whatever we have to do, FC Bayern is in a very good financial position,” said President and Supervisory Board Chairman Herbert Hainer. The equity ratio is “incredibly” high and there is “still a bit of money in the fixed deposit account.” The supervisory body, of which Hoeneß is also a member, seems inclined to give its blessing to a record transfer.
The new coach – “in love with shock” in Manchester and “very satisfied” in Munich – is still protecting and strengthening his current stars for the time being. Tuchel sees them facing a “test of character” in the league finale, starting on Saturday against his ex-club Mainz. The elimination in the Cup and Champions League is not necessarily to blame the 49-year-old, although he surprised with two City games without figurehead Thomas Müller in the starting eleven. “We don’t need to open things up,” said captain Müller. Although the veteran, like actually all in the FCB delegation, cited the poor turf and the even worse performance of referee Clément Turpin. But Müller also admitted that he had to “look at his own nose”.
Without the Cup and Champions League, Bayern may have fewer games, but all the more debates. And should the eleventh championship in a row not succeed, also Tuchel goes heavily damaged into the summer and the coming season. “The fact that we don’t win the games is not down to any manager or coach or anyone else,” said international Kimmich, “but solely down to us players. “