Bundesliga
Tuchel praises star player Müller: “Thomas is Bayern Munich”
Thomas Tuchel highlighted Thomas Müller’s special position at Bayern Munich. photo
© Sven Hoppe/dpa
Thomas Müller enjoys a special position at Bayern Munich. Not only coach Thomas Tuchel makes that clear. The bosses are in exchange with the current captain.
In the Bundesliga final, Thomas Tuchel once again emphasized the special position of captain Thomas Müller with the German record champions. “Thomas is Bayern Munich and Bayern Munich is Thomas,” said coach Tuchel on Friday. “He’s playing for his twelfth championship.
That’s the entire focus.” Most recently, speculation about the future of the 2014 world champion had caused discussions. Thomas Müller himself had reacted amused to the reports about his premature departure from FC Bayern Munich.
“Very fresh, very good – it’s ready”
Müller had recently had to settle for the role of substitute twice in the Bundesliga and Champions League. “He’s still an important part, even if he came off the bench a few times,” said Tuchel. Most recently, Müller was only able to train to a reduced extent because of complaints. Before the home game against FC Schalke 04, he showed himself to be in promising form. “Very fresh, very good – he’s ready,” said Tuchel.
According to a “picture report”, CEO Oliver Kahn and sports director Hasan Salihamidzic are said to have had a conversation with Müller. The duo made it clear to the offensive player that the record champions would continue to rely on him.
Müller’s contract runs until 2024
“First and foremost” Müller decides for himself anyway, said Tuchel. All debates are completely exaggerated and shot far over the mark. Deriving a career end or something similar misses the point. “He’s totally focused. All Thomas wants is to win the championship with us.” With three games to go before the end of the season, Munich are leading the table with a one-point lead over Borussia Dortmund.
Müller’s contract in Munich runs until 2024. He himself commented on the speculation on social media. “If you could read the paper King D’avie…” the 33-year-old wrote on Instagram alongside a picture of him laughing and crouching next to King D’avie, one of his and his wife Lisa’s horses. Müller ended the sentence with the emoji of a monkey covering his eyes. To do this, he used the hashtags #now it is slowly getting wild, #full focus on the shell and #only the fcb.
Tuchel: “We have it in our own hands”
In the final sprint for the German championship, Tuchel does not want to take the personal sensitivities of his professionals into account. “It’s only possible now. Everyone has to put their personal situation aside now, their personal wishes. We can clarify everything in the first week of June, but not now,” said Tuchel before the game against FC Schalke 04 on Saturday (3:30 p.m. Sky).
FC Bayern will then have to do without Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (knee problems) and Josip Stanisic and Alphonso Davies due to muscle injuries. The long-term injuries Manuel Neuer and Lucas Hernández are missing anyway. Dayot Upamecano returns to the squad after injury, as does Leon Goretzka after serving a yellow card suspension. “Everyone who comes off the bench has to bring the energy with them so that we can achieve our goal, the championship,” said Tuchel.
Bayern Munich lead the table with a one-point lead over pursuers Borussia Dortmund. “With all due respect, but I don’t even notice Dortmund because I’m not interested in it,” said 49-year-old Tuchel. “We’re a point up and it’s in our own hands. I’m looking at the finish line and at our team.” BVB will host Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday (6.30 p.m. / Sky). “The approach can only be an advantage if we stay with ourselves and completely free ourselves from what the others are doing,” said Tuchel.
“We have to win the German championship, we have a lot to win,” said Tuchel. “No one is German champions at the moment, neither are we. That’s why we’re chasing the title.” Most recently, FC Bayern was not German champions in 2012. At that time, Borussia Dortmund cheered.