Bayern Munich legend Lothar Matthaus believes young Julian Nagelsmann is the best choice to coach the iconic club. He backed the former RB Leipzig coach for his game awareness.
Nagelsmann replaced Hansi Flick who is the frontrunner for the Germany head coach job. He signed a five-year contract with Bayern that starts July 2021. “He knows the Bundesliga, he speaks the language. He was a fan at his young age, of Bayern Munich. He has done a very good job in Hoffenheim and Leipzig. Not only in the national competition but also in the Champions League with Leipzig,” Matthaus said in a media interaction on Thursday.
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When the big guns from England, Spain and Italy had already joined the European Super League bandwagon, German and French heavyweights like Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain maintained a strict stance against the exclusive competition. “The Super League is not the football we like, what we want. In football, we have our roots. Football is a business but it is not only a business. It needs fans,” said the 60-year-old.
Schalke woes
FC Schalke’s relegation has been one of the highlights of the season. The seven-time champion team which had played in Europe’s elite club competition and the Champions League just two seasons ago slipped to the second-tier after three decades.
The violence by the fans as a reaction to the relegation did not help its reputation. They attacked the players and coaching staff, disturbing the ethos of the beautiful game.
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Matthaus condemned the incident. “Everything went wrong for Schalke this season but it (violent fan behaviour) is a no-go in football. The fans can be unhappy, they can be upset, they can be angry but it should not be possible that the fans are coming into the stadium and beating the players. It is a signal we have to send to all the fans.”
“They (Schalke) have good fans they had great results in the past, this was long, long time ago we were not born (it) was the best Club in Germany in the 30s the 40s….they had a good position in the league, they play Champions League, they play Europa league was mostly under the past five-six teams in Germany.”
Matthaus feels Schalke’s dependency on international players in the recent past did not let the local players emerge.
The Bayern monopoly
With Italy seeing a new champion in Inter Milan after a nine-year domination period by Juventus, and Spain and France facing a high probability of seeing a fresh champion this season, the Bayern monopoly in Germany's top-flight seems impenetrable. For Matthaus, only Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig can match the top quality.
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“They (Dortmund and Leipzig) have to play a perfect season and Bayern will have to do something wrong. You saw the last two years, or three years, Dortmund and Leipzig, there were moments when they were close to Bayern. But then they were giving up stupid games against weaker teams,” said Matthaus, who had led West Germany to victory in the FIFA World Cup 1990.
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