Tuchel: Bayern players not distracted by search for new coach
Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel said his players are not distracted by the club's search for a new coach to take over in summer.
"Everyone's interest is on tomorrow's game and the game on Wednesday. That has the utmost priority," he said in a news conference on Friday referring to matches against VfB Stuttgart on Saturday and Real Madrid next week.
Bayern need to find a replacement for Tuchel, who is leaving in June after a previous agreement with the club. Bayern missed out on the Bundesliga title for the first time in 12 years this season to Bayer Leverkusen, but are in the Champions League semi-finals.
Top candidates Xabi Alonso of Bayer Leverkusen, Germany team coach Julian Nagelsmann and Austria team coach Ralf Rangnick have all refused the job offer as Bayern's options are running short.
Tuchel, however, doesn't believe that the German record champions have become unattractive.
"The job was attractive enough for me. Otherwise I would prefer to remain silent about that. I'm the coach at the moment. We have attractive tasks ahead of us, we want to reach the final of the Champions League. I'm not worried about the future of FC Bayern," he stressed.
Asked about the possibility of staying, he did not categorically rule it out: "We have an existing contract and have agreed that we will terminate it earlier. Everything is always possible, but the answer is the same. The agreement stands."
Bayern have no concrete ambitions in the Bundesliga in the three games left this season, but still aim to reach the Champions League final. To achieve that, they will need to defeat Real Madrid in the semi-finals after a 2-2 draw in the first leg.
For Saturday's game at Stuttgart, Bayern will be without defender Matthijs de Ligt and midfielder Jamal Musiala.
"Matthijs de Ligt won't be in the squad. The plan is that he returns to training on Sunday, then we've got three days. Jamal Musiala won't be in the squad tomorrow. Same procedure there," Tuchel said.
De Ligt missed the Champions League semi-final game against Real Madrid on Tuesday due to a ligament injury in his knee. Musiala started the game, but has also been dealing with knee issues.
Tuchel added that winger Leroy Sané will travel with the team, while defender Dayot Upamecano is doubtful.
Bayern started against Madrid with Minjae Kim in defence, but he was responsible for two major mistakes that led to the two Madrid goals in the 2-2 draw.
Madrid broke the deadlock after goalscorer Vinicius Junior and Toni Kross, who provided the assist, took Kim by surprise. Bayern turned the game around and made it 2-1, but the defender brought down Rodrygo in the box and Vinicius converted the penalty.
Tuchel criticized Kim after the game, but said on Friday: "He'll continue to get our full support and has our backing. There's a good chance he'll play tomorrow."
"There are more ways to defend than always being greedy. He's someone who wants to defend in a very aggressive way. It's how he defines himself. The mistakes came from a good impetus," he added.
Bayern could probably rest some starters, since they already qualified for next season's Champions League.
Stuttgart also qualified to the top competition and were helped by keeper Alexander Nübel, who's on loan from Bayern.
"Alex is doing an excellent job. We're very pleased with how he's progressing and that he's so important. His performances are just as impressive as those of the Stuttgart team," Tuchel said.
