Thomas Tuchel believes Bayern Munich chief Uli Hoeness’s comments about his difficulties developing young players “insult” him.
Tuchel will leave the German giants at the end of the season amid a disappointing second campaign at the club.
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Bayern lost the Bundesliga title for the first time in 12 years and crashed out of the domestic cups, with Champions League glory all that remains.
Ahead of their semi-final first leg against Real Madrid, honorary president Hoeness criticized Tuchel’s ability to develop the club’s young stars.
Speaking on a panel hosted by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper via AP, he said: “He doesn’t think he can improve a [Alphonso] Davies, [Aleksandar] Pavlovic or [Jamal] Musiala.
“If it doesn’t work, you should buy someone else. I think you should work hard with him and give him confidence.”
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Hoeness also said that he expects the coaches to improve the youngsters, but Tuchel is not very happy with this assessment.
“[They] are so far removed from reality that there’s no… I don’t know how to answer,” he said when asked about the comments.
“On the one hand it insults my honor as a coach, because I think we have shown as a coaching team over the last 15 years that young players, especially those in the academy, always, always, always have their place with us in training and that they have a place on the pitch with their performances.
He added: “It’s so far from reality that I wouldn’t have reacted to it at all if it hadn’t come from Uli Hoeness. If it hadn’t come from Uli, I would have said, “Guys, this isn’t even worth talking about.” »
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“Because it comes from Uli, because it comes from our boss, because it’s four days before the match against Real Madrid, it’s judged a little differently.”
Tuchel could be sitting to cap off his time at Bayern with another major trophy after winning the Bundesliga title last season.
He has already tasted the Champions League after his triumph with Chelsea in 2021, who beat Madrid in the semi-final.
However, the 14-time winners could prove a tougher task this year, with Bayern still far from convincing on the European stage.
