Lothar Matthaus believes Thomas Tuchel has cluttered the minds of the Bayern Munich players – and suggested Hansi Flick may be the man to get the club back on track.
Tuchel’s position at Bayern was under increasing pressure today following last night’s 1-0 Champions League defeat at Lazio which came just four days after their 3-0 thrashing at Bundesliga title rivals Bayer Leverkusen.
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Although German newspaper Bild says the club have no immediate plans to dismiss the former Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain boss, Matthaus is becoming increasingly concerned with the team’s performances.
He told Bild: “We are talking about FC Bayern who have world class players. I follow Italian football, Lazio are nothing more than mediocre.
“The psyche [of the Bayern players] is not right. Not just in the game against Lazio but also against Leverkusen, Bremen, Union Berlin and Augsburg.
“The players do not have clear minds. Maybe they are being overloaded with ideas because they are used to the pressure to succeed.
“The team has no self-belief, no conviction. The coaching team, and Thomas Tuchel in particular, is responsible not just for the physical condition of the team but also the psychological condition. They have to get inside their heads.”
Flick is out of work after being sacked by Germany in September 2023 but had an incredible record at Bayern before leaving to take the national team job, winning two Bundesliga crowns as well as the DFB-Pokal, Champions League and Club World Cup in a trophy-laden spell from December 2019 to May 2021.
And former Bayern and Germany midfielder Matthaus thinks he would be the ideal man to step in should Tuchel depart the Allianz Arena.
“Hansi Flick is always a name [synonymous] with Bayern, you know his success story there,” he added.
“He is free at the moment. I am not saying he’s a better coach but perhaps he has something Tuchel does not have.
“He has always managed to improve players and give them great confidence.”
