“We accepted this as a team-building measure,” confirmed Munich’s sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic on Sunday. He expressed hope: “Our team had set itself even higher goals this season and has been very busy with itself and its future path since being eliminated from the Champions League. I learned as a player how strength can grow from defeats. Such a one Joint action by the team can be an important basis here.”
Nagelsmann sees an urgent need for action. Immediately after the embarrassing 1: 3 (1: 2) at FSV Mainz 05, the Bayern coach indirectly asked the question of character and called for a personnel and structural inventory during the summer break. “When it seems like we have to do some service and there is no passion, that’s the point where we have to change something. That’s where we are right now,” said the 34-year-old, adding: “If you’re ten years old one after the other becoming champions, there comes a time when you say we have to do some things differently now. I want us to continue on this path successfully and not at some point say, shit, we missed the point.”
It remains to be seen whether the Ibiza trip will put Bayern back on the road to success before the end of the season. “It doesn’t fit at all, especially after a game like this,” criticized record national player Lothar Matthäus on Sky. “As Julian Nagelsmann, I would also take tougher action: the days off are canceled after a game like this.” Instead, Manuel Neuer & Co. only have to return to training on Tuesday.
Joshua Kimmich does not only see an increased need to speak with Bayern, who failed early in the DFB Cup and in the Champions League, and who disappointed again in Mainz. “The performance should give us something to think about. Of course we became German champions last week. Nevertheless, that has happened to us far too often this season,” said the midfielder on Saturday and demanded: “We have to analyze that very clearly so that the won’t happen again in the next two games and especially in the next season.”
With their bloodless appearance, the highly paid Munich star selection – Marcel Sabitzer was substituted at half-time – was just as puzzling in front of 33,305 spectators in the sold-out Mainz Arena as their coach in the subsequent analysis. “I have an explanation, but I won’t give it to you. It’s nothing for the media world,” Nagelsmann dictated to the journalists after the final whistle. He only wanted to talk to the team internally about the reasons. The Bayern coach was similarly mysterious in relation to his plans for the future: “There are already approaches to change, but I won’t reveal them.”
The performance on Saturday reinforced the impression of the past few weeks that Bayern sometimes have a mentality problem. Bochum, Salzburg, Villarreal and now Mainz – the list of weak performances this year is long. “I think we always need a certain basic passion in the game. We didn’t have that today. It’s a bit human when you’ve just won the championship. But we still wear the Bayern logo on our chests,” Nagelsmann criticized his protégés and emphasized: “There are too many defeats of this kind.”
The fifth bankruptcy of the season in the Bundesliga – there were so many for the Munich team seven years ago – could have been even higher. The superior team from Mainz, for whom Jonathan Burkardt, Moussa Niakhaté and Leandro Barreiro were successful, only hit the woodwork three times. “We can’t get nine hundred percent chances against us, that just doesn’t work,” Nagelsmann complained about the poor defensive behavior. 22:7 shots on goal for the hosts showed the balance at the end. Bayern last allowed that many five years ago in the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid.
Robert Lewandowski’s 34th goal of the season was not enough because Bayern lacked passion and emotion. “I also saw players who really wanted to win. But there were a lot fewer than at Mainz,” analyzed Nagelsmann. This should not be repeated in the final games of the season. “It’s absolutely clear that our players will give their all with their professionalism and footballing strength against VfB Stuttgart on Sunday to give our fans a nice end to the season as German champions in their own stadium with a win,” said Salihamidzic.
Source: Nachrichten
