After the 1: 5 of FC Bayern Munich in Frankfurt, the club parted coach Niko Kovac - a traceable decision for most media. Even with the SPIEGEL it was said that she had no alternative.
But was Kovac really the problem? Or does the weakness of Bavaria have deeper reasons?
This statistic shows that the Bayern under Kovac have indeed played unusually bad. Their offensive embodies European top level. But the team leaves more opportunities than usual. The number of goals conceded (16 after ten league games - in 2016 it was 17 after 34) is alarmingly high.
Actually, Kovac was considered a coach, who particularly understands the pressing, the game against the ball. But the numbers suggest that the FC Bayern defens, especially defensively for years, steadily. Little though, and it always sufficed for at least one title per season. But the trend could not stop Kovac, he has even tightened under him.
Bayern may have wobbled in the fall of 2019 often behind. But his attack is still an elite. Only three teams in Europe's top leagues scored more goals on average (Manchester City, Atalanta, Barcelona).
Uwe Anspach / DPA
Bayern under Kovac: three times as many goals as in 2016
If the Bavarians are on the offensive, lurk up to four players near the opposing defensive chain, ready to sprint in the back. Timing of these depth runs and the Passgebers, often Thiago or Joshua Kimmich, are well matched, the Bayern unfold tremendous force. You can overrun defensive lines in the literal sense.
But that has its price.
Offensive and defensive can not be considered separately, both condition each other. The high and wide positioning of many offensive players means that the midfield center is understaffed. In the 2-2 in Augsburg, the 3-2 in Piraeus, last in Frankfurt, always controlled the opponent's center, the former territory of Bavaria.
The Bavarian dominance of the past years was based on tactical point of view on some essential concepts.
- There is the positional game of the Dutch football school, which brought Louis van Gaal 2009 in the club. The pros have been assigned zones that they must occupy depending on the game situation. If everyone joins in, the ball-leader will always have pass options and he can play them almost blind.
- Jupp Heynckes made the positional game more flexible and thus harder to calculate. Above all, he introduced the Gegenpressing, so the direct Nachsetz after ball losses.
- Pep Guardiola was a master at adapting his own game to opposing strengths and weaknesses. The result was a dominance machine, a team that systematically pushed and nailed its opponents into their box.
The Bavarians are far away from this level. They still have plenty of possession, but they attack less through the center and more on the outside. Bayern have lost the middle. And her patience.
Protection can also be created by the defense in possession of the ball, the distances between the team members remain low. In Munich, however, they often sought the way forward. Benjamin Pavard, for example, began some attacks, though he and his defending colleagues were too low to move in a compact manner. When the passport arrives, it becomes dangerous for the opponent. But if not, then for Bayern.
Ten Bundesliga clubs have scored fewer goals than Munich this season. They have to ask themselves if they have a quality problem, on the six with the slower Javier Martínez, in the defense with Alphonso Davies and Pavard. The defensive deficiencies are also a consequence of the fact that the team does not always attack together. It's up to the new coach to change that.
But which is the right one for the job?
Obliging a defensive specialist may seem logical in the face of goalkeeping. But this is only advisable if he thinks of defending already while attacking. It takes a coach to refine the details for which it matters whether a midfielder in possession is four meters down. Boateng, Müller, Lewandowski, Kimmich, Thiago, they have all played under Guardiola, they know what it's like to be trained by a football obsessed. One that may annoy you but makes you better. Even so, Manuel Neuers statement can be interpreted, the passes in the game of Bayern would have to have a message again.
Thomas Tuchel would be one, but is in Paris until 2021 under contract and said on Tuesday, he has no plans to break this. Ralf Rangnick would probably be able to fix the Munich deficits very quickly, pressing and Gegenpressing dominate his teams. For other problems could arise, because against deep defenses his teams did not always find the right means. However, Rangnick has already canceled.
Instead, it says in "Bild", now speak for Arsène Wenger as a solution to the end of the season. Wenger was until 2018 coach at Arsenal FC. The style of his team was characterized by creativity and personal responsibility of the players. In the end, his arsenal seemed as if it had missed the connection to the tactical modern age.
The traded Erik ten Hag seems more fitting, his Ajax team plays modern, dominance-oriented football. He is, however, to have at the earliest in the summer. It is quite possible that interim coach Hansi Flick will remain in office until then. That should depend on how Bayern beat Olympiakos in the Champions League in the evening (18.55, live ticker SPIEGEL ONLINE, TV: Sky) - and especially on Saturday against BVB.