Thomas Tuchel vehemently contradicted honorary president Uli Hoeneß after his criticism of the Bayern coach’s work with young players. “I have very little understanding for that. I find it absolutely baseless, but okay,” said Tuchel on Saturday on the TV channel Sky before Munich’s game in the Bundesliga against Eintracht Frankfurt. “It’s so far removed from reality that I wouldn’t have reacted to it at all if it hadn’t come from Uli Hoeneß.”
Hoeneß, 72, was from a panel discussion Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung been quoted as saying that Tuchel had “a different attitude” to the one the club wanted when it came to developing young players. “He doesn’t mean that you can improve (Aleksandar) Pavlovic, that you can improve (Alphonso) Davies. But: Whenever things don’t go any further, then we buy.” Hoeneß, on the other hand, said “you should work hard on them and give them self-confidence.”
According to Tuchel, Hoeneß’s criticism takes on a “bit of a different note” due to the timing.
Tuchel, who has to leave Munich in the summer, reacted visibly to the criticism in the Sky interview. He doesn’t know how to answer that: “I’m a little hurt in my coaching honor.” Especially since Bayern face Real Madrid in the semi-final first leg of the Champions League next Tuesday. This gives the criticism “a bit of a different note,” said Tuchel. Hoeneß’ words would scratch his “deepest understanding” as a coach, said Tuchel.
From his positions at FSV Mainz 05, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and FC Chelsea, he listed examples of the names of young players at the time that he and his coaching team had supported. “If we have proven something over the last 15 years,” said Tuchel, it is that “young players always have a place” in training and in games. He doesn’t want to have a discussion with Hoeneß: “If I have to swallow that, then I’ll swallow it. Don’t worry about it. I’ve already talked about it too much.”