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Lothar Matthäus talks about the situation of Bayern Munich

The former midfielder takes a look at the chaos in Bavaria.

FC Bayern München v Borussia Mönchengladbach - Bundesliga
I’m liking Lothar’s interviews lately
Photo by Harry Langer/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

Bayern Munich aren’t doing so hot right now.

The team just lost 0-1 in embarrassing fashion to FC Augsburg and tension has developed in the locker room. After a blistering start to the 2022/23 season, Bayern for some reason have now failed to win their last four games in the Bundesliga. Their last league win was the 7-0 rout of VfL Bochum back in August.

Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann must be feeling the pressure as the sack might be around the corner. The man from Landsberg am Lech is currently seen as the person responsible for the club’s recent struggles and poor performances.

Ex-Bayern player and pundit Lothar Matthäus, however, still sees Nagelsmann as the right person to be at the helm for Bayern. Lothar spoke to Sky (via Twitter account @iMiaSanMia) and defended Nagelsmann, pointing out that support for each other during these hard times will do the club good.

FC Augsburg v FC Bayern München - Bundesliga
Nagelsmann and the team must get their act together
Photo by Roland Krivec/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

“Julian Nagelsmann is still the right coach for Bayern,” Matthäus said. “It’s nice that Oliver Kahn backed him right after the Augsburg defeat and the catastrophic streak of four winless games. That was exactly the right thing to do and what Julian now needs from the club.”

“Yes, it’s definitely the most difficult phase in the young career of this great coach and I still believe that he will turn things around and draw the right conclusions. He has to think a lot and analyze — as he already said in the press conference after the game.”

Lothar also said that Nagelsmann will go back to the drawing board and find another winning formula for Bayern. “He will think about the football he wants or needs to play,” said Lothar. “I haven’t heard anything bad or negative about Nagelsmann from the environment. I don’t think he lost the dressing room, that the team is playing against him or that they want to get rid of him.”

1. FSV Mainz 05 v FC Bayern München - Bundesliga
Was the 1-3 loss to Mainz the root cause of Bayern’s stutters?
Photo by Mario Hommes/vi/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

Remember when Bayern players teleported to Ibiza after losing 3-1 to Mainz? Well, Lothar thinks that a mentality problem developed from that event and said that the mentality needs to be improved in situations like these.

“I rather believe that the chances and performances are being treated a bit negligently at the moment,” Lothar said. “This may have started when the players flew to Ibiza after the defeat in Mainz last season. And now they got carried away by the outstanding start to the season.”

“After the first few games, even I was sure that this season would be a certain success and that we would experience unprecedented dominance. Maybe players have succumbed to the praise and were no longer quite so focused and hungry.”

Former Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea FC manager Thomas Tuchel is being tossed around in discussions as a potential successor to Nagelsmann, but Lothar remains firm on his stance.

Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich - UEFA Champions League Final
Would you take Tuchel as Nagelsmann’s replacement if he goes?
Photo by UEFA - Handout/UEFA via Getty Images

“I neither believe that Julian Nagelsmann is in danger, nor that Thomas Tuchel, for example, is being discussed” Lothar declared. “Nagelsmann was not given a five-year contract for nothing, and they paid a lot of money for him.”

“This is the longest contract term that a coach has ever received in Munich and therefore everyone will try to get out of this situation together.”

Lothar also highlighted the Bayern’s biggest problem at the present: finishing chances. “It’s all about converting chances. On the one hand, there are not that many chances per game and on the other hand, they are not being converted. The players have to finish their chances properly and make the most of them. That’s what distinguishes a Bayern player.”

Bayern take on Bayer Leverkusen, Dortmund, and high-flying Freiburg in the next three games in the Bundesliga, alternating with two successive games against Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League. This is a tough stretch of games, and hopefully Nagelsmann has a proper plan to get the big red machine up and running again.

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