Squad issues and Alonso brilliance - why Tuchel's spell as Bayern boss failed after less than a year

Bayern Munich will part ways with head coach Thomas Tuchel at the end of the season, less than one year after the former Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea manager made the move to Munich to replace Julian Nagelsmann. In a statement on the club website on Wednesday morning, Bayern concluded that the “working relationship” between both parties would come to an end one year earlier than Tuchel’s current contract with the club. 

"In a good, open discussion, we came to the decision to end our working relationship by mutual agreement in the summer,” said Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen. “Our goal is to pursue a new footballing direction with a new head coach for the 2024/25 season. Until then, every individual at the club is expressly called upon to achieve the maximum possible in the Champions League and Bundesliga. I also explicitly hold the team accountable in this regard. In the Champions League in particular, after losing 1-0 in the first leg at Lazio, we are convinced we will reach the quarter-finals at a packed Allianz Arena with our fans behind us." As part of the club statement, Tuchel added: "We have agreed that we will end our working relationship at the end of this season. Until then, I will of course continue to do everything I can with my coaching staff to achieve maximum success."

What went wrong for Tuchel at Bayern?

When the 50-year-old tactician arrived in Munich last year, he was tasked with improving upon the unconvincing job Nagelsmann had done as Bayern manager over the course of his nearly two-year spell at the club. And, ultimately, Tuchel was unable to do exactly that. At the time of the announcement, the former Chelsea boss had an average points per game record of 2.02 in all competitions, with 28 wins, five draws and 11 defeats. Not only is that less than Nagelsmann’s average of 2.31 points per game, but it’s also the worst record for any full-time Bayern head coach since Jürgen Klinsmann’s spell in charge back in 2009. And there are a few reasons for Tuchel’s poor showing at the Allianz Arena. 

Perhaps the most notable one is that like his predecessor before him, Nagelsmann has struggled to get the most out of a Bayern squad that is now relying on older players that are perhaps past their best. With an average age of 26.5, Bayern have the third oldest squad in the Bundesliga this season and Tuchel’s typical starting XI’s average age of 27.4 is the fourth highest in the division. Not only are five of the squad’s 10 most used players this season over the age of 28, but Bayern are also still notably reliant on notably older players, such as goalkeeper Manuel Neuer (37), Thomas Müller (34) and to a lesser extent Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (34). Couple that with the fact that the club’s famed midfield partnership of Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka have both just turned 29 and have struggled for form in recent years and it’s clear to see that Bayern’s squad may need a major overhaul with or without Tuchel in charge. 

The other major issue for Tuchel is that there was a domestic rival waiting to pounce on Bayern’s lull in form. The job Xabi Alonso has done as Bayer Leverkusen head coach has been nothing short of miraculous, as his side sit top of the Bundesliga table with a clear eight-point gap between themselves and Bayern. If Tuchel has been poorer than his predecessors then Alonso has broken new ground as Leverkusen head coach, with the club already amassing more points this season than it has at any stage in the last 20 years. In fact, Leverkusen have set the bar so high in the German top-flight this season that should they maintain this unbeaten form for the remainder of the season, they’re likely to finish the league campaign on 90 points. Which is just one point short of the record for the most points earned in a single league campaign, set by Bayern in 2012/13. 

Unlike last season, where Bayern were able to take advantage of a late slip up by Borussia Dortmund to win the league title on the final matchday of the season, Leverkusen have shone a light on Tuchel’s side and exposed its numerous problems. And as a result, the Munich giants have opted to “pursue a new footballing direction” without Tuchel and will most likely need to spend a lot of time and money rebuilding a squad that hasn’t looked up to the task of dominating German football or competing in European competition for some time.