Thomas Tuchel reportedly knew the moment that his time was up as Bayern Munich boss.
News broke on Wednesday that the former Chelsea manager would leave the German giants in the summer, with Tuchel coming under increasing pressure after a disastrous run of results.
A 3-2 defeat by Bundesliga strugglers Bochum on Sunday was the final straw, which came after a damaging 3-0 loss to title rivals Bayer Leverkusen the previous week, while they were also beaten 1-0 by Lazio in a Champions League last-16 tie last Wednesday.
And, a report in The Athletic has cited the moment Tuchel was aware he was going to be sacked.
Thomas Tuchel reportedly knew the moment that his time was up as Bayern Munich boss
Tuchel was sacked after Sunday’s 3-2 loss to Bochum, but he will stay in post until the summer
The report claims Tuchel is usually withdrawn following defeats, while he is often unsociable and looks to avoid any attempts to speak to Bayern’s hierarchy.
However, on the flight back from Bochum to Munich on Sunday, club officials saw that Tuchel was acting differently to his regular demeanour.
Tuchel was reportedly in a jovial and relaxed mood, with the 50-year-old even smiling and cracking jokes as one source said: ‘He knew it was over. The pressure was off.’
The report goes onto state that Bayern’s board – which included supervisory members Uli Hoeness and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge – debated what to do next over the following days.
Despite the realisation that a change was needed, the board felt there was no-one suitable to take over on an interim role, and the decision was made to keep Tuchel on until the end of the season.
Bayern’s hierarchy hope that those players who have been struggling will now improve their performances, given there is clarity over the manager’s future.
They similarly are expecting that Tuchel’s cranky mood will be replaced by a more positive outlook, with the belief he may either become more ruthless towards his squad or increasingly sympathetic to their needs.
However, the report also claims that there is a slight worry among the hierarchy that things may not get better and they could be forced to bring forward Tuchel’s departure.
Bayern have been on a dismal run and may fail to win the league for the first time in 12 years
After three defeats in a row, they are now eight points behind Bayer Leverkusen (pictured)
The German coach was brought in in a state of near-emergency last March when the club decided to axe Julian Nagelsmann, with the former Chelsea boss guiding Bayern to the Bundesliga title on the final day after Borussia Dortmund slipped up.
He has won 28 of his 44 games in charge and, while he has been hindered by competing with an extremely impressive Leverkusen team under Xabi Alonso, Tuchel has never fully convinced in the role.
Bayern return to action on Saturday against RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga as they look to bring an end to their three-game losing streak, with the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Lazio coming up on March 5.
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