Tuchel effectively concedes title race and comments on Kimmich incident
With the record champions due to catch an early flight back to Bavaria on Sunday evening, FCB trainer Thomas Tuchel was not available for a post-match presser following yesterday's shock defeat to VfL Bochum.
The German press were nevertheless able to solicit some additional comments from both Tuchel and club CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen on issues pertinent to the massively significant result.
The German press were nevertheless able to solicit some additional comments from both Tuchel and club CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen on issues pertinent to the massively significant result.
| Photo: Анна Мейер, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 |
"I doubt it will help prevent further discussions," Tuchel noted before boarding a plane back to Munich yesterday evening, "But that's not a problem. That's what [you journalists] do. That's the business. Talks like this take place even when we're winning games."
Earlier in his post-match interview with German broadcaster DAZN, Tuchel effectively conceded the title race. While taking note of the fact that his current club still pulled it off against the odds on the final match-day of last season, the 50-year-old unequivocally stated that he saw the defense of the title this year to be "unrealistic".
Both Tuchel and Dreesen issued comments on the altercation between midfielder Joshua Kimmich and FCB assistant coach Zsolt Löw following the defeat. Tuchel once again used the word "normal" to describe flare-up. As to the question of whether there would be any consequences for Kimmich, Tuchel noted that such a topic was "not for public disclosure".,
"I know what happened," Tuchel said, "That's a fairly normal incident after a defeat. We are a footballing locker room."
"Josh must have been upset about being subbed off," Dreesen added, "but that's normal. He gives all he has. He wants to win and play."