After the fiasco in Heidenheim, Thomas Müller is quickly looking ahead. The pressure on the Munich team before the Arsenal hit is enormous, and the sports director is particularly responsible for the players.
Thomas Müller went straight back on the attack. He was “almost in fighting mode again towards Tuesday,” said the FC Bayern Munich veteran. “The resentment in me is almost smiling again.”
The quarter-final first leg of the Champions League at Arsenal also started 0-0, said Müller. The duel with the Londoners is of enormous importance for the German football record champions. It’s about maintaining the last remaining title chance of the season. After the embarrassment at 1. FC Heidenheim (2:3), the pressure is even greater.
“We still have the Champions League,” said Müller after the defeat on the Ostalb, which saw Bayern’s gap to Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen grow to 16 points on Saturday. “I would only resort to general criticism – if at all – when we really have nothing left worth fighting for.” The 34-year-old demanded after his 700th competitive game for Munich that it is important to remain closed for the time being.
But these words must now be followed by action, demanded Bayern’s sports director Max Eberl, who would also have expected “a little more manliness” in Heidenheim after the wasted 2-0 lead. “Everyone is always demanding, everyone wants, but actually on the pitch when it matters, that’s not how we know Bayern Munich,” said Eberl in the ZDF sports studio. When asked how the search for a coach was going for the coming season, he replied harshly: “I’m not really interested in the search for a coach at the moment, sorry.”
Hoping for Neuer, Sané and Coman to return
Eberl also openly admitted that he couldn’t think of much to encourage him for the game against Arsenal. Especially since the Premier League title contender, who won 3-0 at Brighton & Hove Albion, is “a little bit better in terms of football, with all due respect to Heidenheim,” said the Munich sports director.
Eberl explained that they hope for the return of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and the offensive players Leroy Sané and Kingsley Coman. At first he couldn’t say anything more specific about the trio.
Coach Thomas Tuchel, who is increasingly criticized and – as of now – is leaving in the summer, will also be on the bench in London. “We’ve changed coaches all the time,” said Eberl. Before the final spurt, in which the season can only be halfway saved in the Champions League, he is primarily holding the players responsible.
Source: Stern
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