Julian Nagelsmann had a few sayings ready again this time. The Bayern coach likes to talk about his job, which reliably brings him interesting encounters. This Wednesday, for example, he will have the pleasure of meeting the Benfica coach. Jesus Jorge is the name of the man, 67 years old, an original of the guild, someone “with pepper in the ass”, as Nagelsmann revealed before the duel in the Champions League.
“He lives this job, you can tell from the way he goes on the sidelines,” said the Bayern coach. And he also provided a small tactical analysis. An eleven who are looking for “playful solutions” are the leaders of the Primeira Liga, “they want to play football”. That sounded respectful and well informed. At the same time, Nagelsmann is not one who is very worried.
In terms of sport things are going well at Bayern, the 5: 1 in Leverkusen still has an effect as a statement. And so the only imponderable remains the situation around Lucas Hernández, who in a little over a week in Spain is facing jail time for domestic violence and a disregarded verdict regarding a ban on contact with his partner. The defender is present in Lisbon, but it is uncertain whether he will be able to go about his work in the coming weeks.
The situation is spicy because the game in Lisbon could be one of the last for Lucas Hernández before he should be arrested
The questions to Bayern have been the same for days – the answers are also similar to those in the film “Groundhog Day”. Of course, he would “speak to Lucas if I notice anything unusual, but he can assess the situation very well,” emphasized Nagelsmann. In the morning, the Frenchman looked jolly at the final training session, he joked with his colleagues and looks forward to a starting eleven.
Because Alphonso Davies is injured and Leon Goretzka stays in Munich with a cold, Hernández is scheduled as a left-back at the Estádio da Luz. The situation is spicy because the game in Lisbon could be one of his last before he is due to be arrested on October 28th. He is running out of time to evade the decision by making an appeal.
On Tuesday, a spokesman for the judiciary in Madrid announced the German press agency with that there is still no date for the decision of the regional court on the postponement. It is therefore uncertain whether the court will still deal with the Hernández camp’s objections by the deadline. A meeting with the judges has been scheduled for next Friday. Maybe you know more then, it was said. None of this sounds like relaxation for the most expensive player in Bayern history. There was also another bad news: If the prison sentence persists, the 25-year-old cannot serve it abroad, for example in Germany. He would definitely have to go to Spain.
For Nagelsmann, the uncertainty surrounding Hernández means that he may have to make do with a defender less in the future. Therefore, he was tempted to strengthen his remaining defensive players, such as Dayot Upamecano, whom he knows very well from his time in Leipzig. “Upa has developed very well, he has an unbelievable defensive gene,” praised the coach. Good genes, the Munich defensive can really use them.