Opinion FC Bayern Munich
The defeat shows how much needs to change
As of: 02:39 a.m. | Reading time: 3 minutes
Coach Thomas Tuchel on the scoreboard after the game
Source: dpa/Peter Kneffel
FC Bayern misses the Champions League final at Wembley. The magnitude of the tragic defeat against Real Madrid is enormous. The club will have to learn lessons from this – and could benefit from them.
Text:This night was one of the most dramatic in FC Bayern’s recent history. The lost final of the Champions League in Barcelona in 1999 against Manchester United, the lost “final at home” in Munich in 2012 against Chelsea FC – and now Madrid. What a shock for the world club.
Even though it wasn’t a final, but a semi-final – the dimension is enormous given the circumstances. The dream of the German final at Wembley was shattered with the 1:2. The FCB-BVB pairing would have been an important signal for German football and its status in Europe, a historic pairing. Real’s entry into the final is not undeserved, but Bayern were close.
They only needed minutes to make their dream come true. Borussia Dortmund can hope for the title in the most important club competition in the world, Bayern are out after a big fight in the second leg. What a tragedy for the club, for Manuel Neuer, for Thomas Tuchel. On this special evening in the Bernabéu Stadium, the two who were the best in the game for a long time made a mistake: Manuel Neuer and the referee.
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The coach will now leave the club in a few weeks after a titleless season. In a television interview after the game, he had tears of disappointment in his eyes. Tuchel has never been seen so emotionally during his time with Munich. Despite the defeat, Munich had a good season in the Champions League.
Goalkeeper Neuer was the best player against Real for a long time. Then he made the crucial mistake in the final phase. Memories of the 2002 World Cup final come back to mind, when Oliver Kahn first made an outstanding save in the final and then made a mistake.
Also very bitter for Bayern: the referee’s wrong decision at the end of stoppage time. The team’s anger at the offside whistle is understandable. The fact that the referee apologized to Bayern speaks for him. But the behavior of the referee team in the scene remains a mystery. The referee should have waited to blow his whistle and his assistant should not have raised the flag.
Another “finale at home”
If Dortmund wins the final against Real, it would be a very explosive end to Bayern’s season. It would be very bitter for Munich – even without a trophy, and fifth in the Bundesliga with this triumph.
Next season the final of the premier class will take place in Munich. FC Bayern already has a new dream in mind: back home. CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen spoke about the Munich “Mia-san-mia reflex” that night in the team hotel. But first we have to deal with the drama in Madrid. And finding a new coach.
The anger after losing the 1999 final against Manchester drove the club to triumph two years later. A lot will change at Bayern next summer. A lot has to change. But the historic opportunity from the dramatic Wednesday evening in Madrid will not come back. And Tuchel’s time at Bayern ends with just one title.