Julian Nagelsmann: Stress test for the Bayern coach

Anyone who bet on FC Bayern as champions before the Bundesliga season was rewarded with lousy odds. It seemed too obvious that the champions of the last decade would also win the title this time, especially since the Munich team had made strong use of the transfer market. The departure of Robert Lewandowski was compensated with Sadio Mané from Liverpool FC. The fact that a top striker in the Premier League was persuaded to switch to the Bundesliga was considered a masterpiece by Hasan Salihamidzic. The fact that the sports director later presented Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt as the new head of defense fueled the conviction that Bayern would be a little more unbeatable this season than they already were.

But now, after seven match days, FC Bayern is in the biggest crisis since November 2019. At that time Niko Kovac lost the trust of the team and the bosses, his successor Hansi Flick then made a hesitant ensemble back into a real team and led Nine months later she became the acclaimed triple.

The memory of the legendary change of mood is still fresh and has contributed to speculation about the liberating effect of a change of coach again these days. Because like back then, the meager sporting performances with the low point of a not undeserved 0-1 defeat at FC Augsburg on Saturday cannot be explained with the quality of the squad. Anyone who sat on the Bayern bench at the weekend would be an undisputed regular player in all other Bundesliga clubs.

Julian Nagelsmann does not convey any Bayern cardinal virtues to the team

But it is quite obvious that coach Julian Nagelsmann has so far neither succeeded in integrating the top-class newcomers nor in conveying the cardinal virtues of the record champions to the team. This includes a confidence bordering on arrogance, a dominant style of play, but above all merciless efficiency in front of goal, for which Robert Lewandowski has symbolized in recent years. Anyone who saw how Bayern’s striker squandered the clearest chances in Augsburg and how keeper Manuel Neuer desperately stormed forward to at least provide a bit of a goal threat in the final minutes made the absence of the Polish snapper even more obvious.

The crisis is not necessarily dramatic because of the five points behind Union Berlin. The season is long. What keeps the bosses busy, however, is the obvious stagnation of the troops. Last season, the club’s management had already attributed the elimination in the Champions League to the supposed outsider Villareal to a lack of greed and passion. It was therefore a warning sign that Hasan Salihamidzic stated again: “The boys have to concentrate better and focus better, be more greedy to win the games”

Now Julian Nagelsmann could fight the descent, explain his tactics, spread confidence and outline the way to recovery. Instead, the coach made a mysteriously resigned and almost enraptured impression at the press conference after the game. There is hardly a journalist’s question that he didn’t return cynically or in a snotty manner, only to then state cryptically: “I think about everything: about myself, about the situation, about everything.”

Did he realize that this appearance was also a breach of Bayern etiquette? If there is an iron rule for coaches at the record champions, it is always to appear confident and relaxed. Trainers who lose control and overview usually don’t work long on Säbener Straße. Julian Nagelsmann, however, has not made a solid impression for weeks. His clear referee scolding after the 1-1 draw against Mönchengladbach, for example, also caused irritation internally.

Maybe lucky that an international break is coming up. Time to think about yourself, about the situation, about everything. And maybe also about how he can bring FC Bayern back to the top of the table as quickly as possible.