Thomas Tuchel criticises timing of Bayern Munich’s game against 1.FC Köln | OneFootball

Speaking at the press conference (via Kicker) ahead of Bayern Munich’s away game against 1.FC Köln on Friday evening, head coach Thomas Tuchel has criticised the timing of the game after the international break.

On the scheduling of the game, Tuchel said: “This is of course a very, very, very unfortunate appointment, when I say this as a coach, it will be used again as an excuse. But it’s not. If you have heard Jürgen Klopp, he will play against Manchester City on Saturday noon.”

The Bayern head coach then emphasised the impact that this can have on the players: “I can tell you that the feedback from the national coaches is that the top players who play at the highest level of Champions League and in the national team are tired. Mentally tired, emotionally tired, exhausted, physically tired. It’s not just about seeing the minutes of the game. They spend so many hours on the bus, in the hotel, on the plane while travelling. This is stressful. And there is a time difference. The respective player must first process all this, and put it away. This cannot be in the interests of the players, and if it is not in the interests of the players, it cannot be in the interests of the game.”

Looking ahead to the game in Köln, Tuchel said: “We will be ready, We will not ride around to adapt to the circumstances. We have decided on a short-term arrival on Friday morning, (this should give the players the opportunity to) sleep at home in their own bed, to see their families and partners.”

Tuchel’s comments on the timing of the game are valid as Bayern’s Kim Min-Jae and Alphonso Davies will both return from their international duty a day before the game. While the rest of the team who are not German internationals, who played in Berlin and Austria, have had to travel across Europe or further afield in Africa. Compared to Köln’s where they only had two internationals for Austria (Kainz and Ljubicic).

A game with fewer internationals, such as Heidenheim vs Bochum on Sunday could have been scheduled for the Friday evening slot as it is obvious before the games are even scheduled that Bayern will have a host of internationals called up.

GGFN | Jack Meenan