The mood at FC Bayern is in the basement after the two defeats in Leverkusen and Rome. Coach Thomas Tuchel confirmed this before the guest appearance at VfL Bochum. The “trend reversal” should be successful there.
FC Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel sat rather thoughtfully, carefully weighing the words, at the press conference before the away game at VfL Bochum (Sunday, February 18, 2024, from 5:20 p.m. in the live ticker and in the full audio report). “The mood is of course depressed because we wanted to win,” said Tuchel right at the start.
“The mood is depressed”
The defeats at Bayer Leverkusen (0:3) and Lazio Rome (0:1) hurt the coach and team. The defeat in Rome was “only” a first leg defeat and not yet an elimination from the Champions League, “but of course the mood is depressed.” In training, everyone is currently “trying hard to turn the mood around”.
Tuchel and his coaching staff have tweaked the small adjustments to help the team. “We broke up the routine a little, changed it a little,” he explained.
No two training groups, the entire team together and “the focus is more on the action, the joy of playing, the sense of achievement.” In short: there was little tactical work done. The team should first get back to having fun with football.
How do you find your way back to lightness?
“The most difficult thing is to get lightness back,” added Tuchel: “There’s no recipe for that. There’s no magic formula: just relax and play with more confidence.” From his experience, the best way to bring a team back to its former strength is on the training pitch.
Because the season at FC Bayern is far from over: “Giving up is not an option. Neither in the title race nor in the Champions League. It goes on, you have to prove yourself as a coach and as a player.”
Turnaround at VfL Bochum
After a “very bad week,” he firmly believes in a first step back to more positive times at VfL Bochum. “I am sure that we have every chance and will definitely have the energy to initiate the turnaround,” said Tuchel.
However, at times he also appears to not believe that his moody Bayern team can quickly reach their best form. He doesn’t believe in a “runaway win” in Bochum, where the home team has often shown its strong side recently. The longing for beautiful, successful football from FC Bayern – it could still remain unfulfilled this weekend.