Thomas Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel

According to rumours, Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel was dissatisfied with standards during a recent training session and smashed a slalom pole in rage. The 49-year-old German head coach, who took over for Julian Nagelsmann after he was fired in questionable circumstances, has only been in the position for a month, but it looks the pressure is mounting.

Tuchel’s results have been dismal since his arrival at the Allianz Arena. The former Chelsea manager has presided over seven games, winning two, drawing two, and losing three. The reigning Bundesliga winners have also been eliminated from every cup tournament, including the DFB-Pokal after a shock quarter-final defeat to Freiburg; not to mention their Champions League exit to Manchester City.

Thomas Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel has not enjoyed the best of starts as his predecessors at Bayern Munich. Credits: Twitter

Thomas Tuchel livid in Bayern training session as job stress seems to have got on the manager

Thomas Tuchel’s future at the Bavarian club has been placed further into doubt following a humiliating 3-1 defeat to Mainz 05 on Saturday, with a board meeting to consider his stay scheduled for May 22, according to BILD. And an incident in training before of their league match against Hertha Berlin this weekend has further fueled speculation about his dissatisfaction with the squad as a whole.

According to Goal, Thomas Tuchel was not happy and content with how Bayern players ‘presented themselves’ in the final game of the training session, which took place on the diamond tiny field. Tuchel sought to correct the offensive patterns and player movement on multiple occasions, but his efforts were in vain.

Then, as his fellow assistant coaches looked on, he appeared to break a slalom pole with his knee out of “sheer frustration”. Borussia Dortmund now sits one point ahead of Bayern in the Bundesliga title race with five games remaining, owing to their recent dismal record.

Tuchel’s fate could now be decided on 22 May, when the Bayern board meets. According to Bild, the club’s supervisory board which will meet five days prior to Bayern’s final league game of the season away to Koln, will discuss the fates of their CEO, sporting director, and first-team manager.

The 49-year-old ex-Chelsea boss has only managed two victories in his first seven games in charge, though the first was a crucial success over Borussia Dortmund. Things have fallen apart since that early high, and Kahn, Salihamidzic, and chairman Herbert Hainer went into the Bayern dressing room after the team’s recent defeat to Mainz. However, Kahn in his presser abstained from pinning all the blame on Tuchel as he said:

“Thomas Tuchel is the last person we need to talk about now. He is doing everything he can to help the boys progress. There are 11 men on the pitch who have to work hard to achieve the goals of this club. What the team showed on the pitch is not enough. We played a catastrophic second half. Who was the team that wants to become champions? It will be very difficult to become champions with such performances.”

With pressure now starting to get better of him, Tuchel will look to steady the Bavarian ship and reclaim the top-spot in the league. On Sunday, Bayern Munich will play Hertha Berlin at home in the Bundesliga. They have five games left to try and retake first place in the Bundesliga, but they are one point behind Borussia Dortmund.