With the start of the Bundesliga season fast approaching, Bayern Munich and Thomas Tuchel have to begin their preparations earlier than most as they face RB Leipzig in the DFL-Supercup on Saturday. However, after speaking to Bayern’s member magazine ‘51’, Tuchel is already beginning to think about the end of the season and where he would like Bayern to be.
“I don’t think any Bayern coach in the course of history has given any other answer than: at the top!” remarked Tuchel before explaining: “We want to be champions, finally back to the cup final in Berlin, and in the Champions League FC Bayern is always one of the title candidates.”
While the Bayern head coach would not reveal the club’s specific ambitions for this season, he would explain how winning the Champions League is “absolutely” something he wants to achieve in Bavaria. This is obviously something Tuchel has achieved before while at Chelsea, however, he would explain that lifting Europe’s most coveted prize was not as career-defining as he once thought it would be.
“I have to admit: It’s actually strange. You work hard for a dream, and at some point, it becomes a concrete goal – and when you have the Champions League trophy in your hands, it suddenly affects you a lot less than I thought. If someone had told me that beforehand, I would have that might come as a shock.”
The 49-year-old would explain that despite there only being “a fleeting moment” in which you can celebrate success, it is still an addictive feeling. Tuchel insists that “it is a good thing because it means you don’t shy away from hard work for the next day – and for the next game. My own demands are becoming even higher and at the same time the motor for my own further development.”
The increasing demands that the Bayern head coach places upon himself can be considered as Tuchel understanding his own flaws. “Yes, unfortunately. A strength and at the same time a weakness of mine. I can’t get out of my skin. It’s not always helpful because it can be a strain on others and myself. I’m always looking for the perfect game – although I know that doesn’t exist. I’m Sisyphus, who keeps rolling his stone up the mountain. A perfectionist and a football coach is a pretty disastrous combination. But you have to learn to accept that.”
Tuchel’s start to life in Munich was far from the perfect story he certainly would have hoped for. However, with such little time to implement his style on the Bayern side, it would always be the 2023/24 campaign that the head coach would be judged upon.
Despite a quiet transfer window that has seen the Rekordmeister ultimately left frustrated due to Tottenham’s resistance in letting Harry Kane leave the club, Tuchel understands where he wants his side to be at the end of May. However, it is clear to see that the 49-year-old is becoming more self-aware after realising that “life always has something to do with developing yourself.”
GGFN | Will Shopland
