Nagelsmann and Blind are going through hard times at Bayern Munich. After ten titles in a row, there are serious reasons to doubt an eleventh championship scale. Bayern is the leader, but already lost nine points in 2023 and is tied in points with Borussia Dortmund and Union Berlin.
After Saturday’s defeat at Borussia Mönchengladbach, the pressure has increased on Julian Nagelsmann, the trainer of Daley Blind, Matthijs de Ligt and Ryan Gravenberch, among others. Lothar Matthäus, ex-football player of Bayern and the national team of Germany and now a columnist for Sky Sport, sees support for Nagelsmann crumbling.
“It feels like the pressure is mounting by the week. But to be honest, they also often leave him to his fate. Whether it was at the members’ meeting, or when managing during the corona crisis. Why doesn’t the board stand in front of him, as is certainly necessary for a trainer at Bayern? You slowly get the feeling that not everyone in the club management is still behind him,” said Matthäus.
The columnist explains, “It cannot be explained otherwise, because it is especially important in difficult times that you support each other. If Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeness were still around, they would have acted as bodyguards for their trainer. They would never have allowed him to end up in such a situation.”
Nagelsmann received a lot of criticism for his performance in the dugout after the attractive match in Borussia Park. Early on, Bayern defender Dayot Upamecano was sent off for bringing down a player who broke through, and Nagelsmann made it clear that he disagreed with that decision.
Criticism on Daley Blind
Daley Blind received a starting place at Bayern Munich for the first time against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday afternoon. German media did not find the former Ajax player convincing in the defense at Der Rekordmeister.
Blind started on the left in a central three-man defense. Nagelsmann’s original battle plan could go to waste early on due to an early red card for Dayot Upamecano, which angered the Bayern coach. The leader in the Bundesliga then went down 3-2 with ten men.
Blind was on the field for the entire match, but was criticized in the German media for his performance. “He started solidly, but in the second half he played a negative role in Mönchengladbach’s second and third goals,” reports TZ. Blind is rated by the tabloid with a 5. In Germany, ratings are made on the basis of 1 (very good) to 6 (poor).
Abendzeitung München found that Blind was not up to the speed of the Mönchengladbach attackers. “The January acquisition was allowed to play from the start after three raids. The veteran performed his duties properly, but clearly lacked speed in the one-on-one duels. The goals against in the second half fell to his left,” said the newspaper, who gave Blind a 4.
