Ballack on Bayern:

“Have burned two top coaches in two years”

Michael Ballack (right) does not blame Thomas Tuchel.(Bild: APA/AFP/MICHAELA STACHE/INA FASSBENDER)

Michael Ballack does not blame the coach for Bayern's crisis. The 98-time Germany team player puts the blame on the Munich players, saying that the club had "burned two top coaches in two years", according to the 47-year-old.

"I believe that a certain saturation process has set in among the players and that the self-image of self-motivation is no longer there, as was perhaps the case in the successful coronavirus year of 2020," Ballack made clear in an interview with Kicker. Dissatisfaction at the club was already apparent under Julian Nagelsmann. Although the Munich team still had a very good squad on paper this year, a few things had slipped.

According to Ballack, it was not Nagelsmann and Tuchel who were responsible for the disappointing results. Rather, sporting director Max Eberl and sporting director Christoph Freund must now "clearly pull the lever to get the hunger back in and bring about proper stability in the areas of hierarchy and salary structure."

Michael Ballack himself played in Munich from 2002 to 2006.(Bild: dpa/dpaweb/Frank Leonhardt)

Rangnick as Tuchel's successor?
With Nagelsmann and Tuchel, Bayern have burnt out two top coaches in two years. "That has to be said quite clearly," says Ballack. The long-time Bayern professional does not think that bringing a coach with a new playing philosophy on board in Ralf Rangnick is a good idea. "They already tried that two years ago with Nagelsmann. They were convinced of the quality of the coach and wanted to build something long-term, but they didn't give him the time and instead declared the project a failure after just one and a half years."

The German record champions are 16 points behind league leaders Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, with Xabi Alonso's side needing just one win in six games to dethrone Munich. Munich have also long since been eliminated from the cup - all that remains is the Champions League, where Tuchel's squad will face Arsenal in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.