The atmosphere at Bayern is becoming more and more out of the control of the club’s leadership, and the team is increasingly reminded that in addition to the nickname “master of records” (I think there is no need to translate it), for a long time it used another . -FC Hollywood.
So, at the end of January, Ryan Gravenbarch publicly complained about deception by head coach Julian Nagelsmann, who promised him a place in the starting lineup for the match with Eintracht (1:1). Then Joao Cancelo went to Munich, dealing with Josep Guardiola for the fact that he flew past the base for the match against Arsenal (1-0) in the FA Cup. Don’t put your finger in his mouth either.
“THIS IMPACT CAUGHT ME WHEN I ALWAYS THROWN TO THE GROUND”
And now the firewood was added to the fire by the Bayern captain, Manuel Neuer, who publicly regretted the dismissal of the goalkeeper coach Toni Topalovic, with whom they have known each other for most of his career (since Schalke, it was Neuer who insisted on the Tony’s transfer to Munich in 2011) and friendly: Topalovic is only five years older than the goalkeeper of the German team.
“This decision was a hard blow for me. I was informed about this by the management of the club. The news was also a surprise to Tony. I didn’t understand this solution at all. It was like it knocked me over. This blow hit me when I was already lying on the ground. I felt like my heart had been ripped out.
This is the most brutal thing that has ever happened to me in my career, and I’ve been through a lot, you can call me hardened. But what happened now is a whole other level. All the boys in the goalkeeping group were like broken. The people sobbed. I think that says it all. Everyone loved Tony,” Neuer told The Athletic.
For the goalkeeper this was a great scare, because, among other things, the dismissal occurred at the moment he ended up in the infirmary due to a broken ankle, which he received while skiing. In the same interview, he recounted how much he lived through the loss of the opportunity to enter the field and the realization of the need to undergo surgery: “I got a lump in my throat and tears came to my eyes.”
WHY IS TOPALOVICH FIRED?
We can say that the 42-year-old specialist did not work well with Nagelsmann. The official wording is: “fundamental differences between him and the head coach.” But informed sources explain that the mentor was categorically not satisfied with the fact that Topalovich took information from Neuer’s coaching staff, and passed it on to his teammates.
In addition, Nagelsmann was irritated by the fact that the goalkeepers practiced separately from the rest of the team according to Topalovich’s training manuals, and the mentor did not have the opportunity to influence the process. Indirectly, the disagreement between them is confirmed by the fact that in a farewell post, Tony posted a photo with all the Bayern head coaches, except… of course, Nagelsmann.
The head coach’s discontent mounted, but for the time being management remained on Topalovic’s side, although Oliver Kahn and Hasan Salihamidzic had complaints against him. Thus, it is believed that the goalkeeping coach paid too much attention to Neuer and Sven Ulreich to the detriment of the team’s young goalkeepers.
SUCCESSOR TO THE OPERATION?
And they also say that Neuer’s injury was the trigger. There is a version that, due to his age, he is unlikely to be able to return to his previous level, so Kahn, himself a former Bayern goalkeeper, is preparing the ground for parting, and this requires reducing the influence of Manuel in the team and the club. In this sense, the dismissal of a coach loyal to him seems like a political move.
This version is indirectly confirmed by the reaction to an interview with Kahn himself, who said that such statements (what? How much was Neuer worried about a friend’s departure?) “do not correspond to his captaincy and values. from Bayern”.
“In addition, he made the announcement at a bad time because we have very important games ahead of us. Of course, it was difficult for him to find out about this, we must take this fact into account. We also realized this when we explained to him that this difficult decision at the time was the best for our team.
I was in a similar situation too, but common goals were my first priority. It was more important to me than my personal feelings. That’s why I decided then not to speak in public. Manuel has now done the opposite. We will definitely discuss this interview with him,” Kahn said in a conversation with DPA.
Apparently, the situation in the team is only heating up, and the situation can end in an explosion, which has only one result – Bayern will lose Neuer and Nagelsmann – locker room and workplace management. And then the rivals in the German championship for the first time in many years will have a real chance to seize the throne. This can already happen this season, because the Munich team has drawn the last three matches, and in the standings it has four rivals behind at once, lagging behind at a distance of only one victory.
