Bayern Munich, champion and leader of the German Football League, hired Michael Reichner to take over the goalkeeper coaching job, succeeding the dismissed Tony Tabalovich, whose abandonment caused controversy and a war of words within the corridors of the Bavarian club.
Bayern announced, on Wednesday, its contract with the 42-year-old coach, coming from local rival Hoffenheim, who, as a result of abandoning the latter’s services, will receive a “six-figure transfer allowance,” according to “Kicker” magazine.
The dismissal of Tabalovic caused great controversy after the severe criticism directed at the club by its goalkeeper and injured captain Manuel Neuer, who described the departure of his friend coming with him to Bavaria from Schalke 04 in 2011: “As if my heart had been ripped out of its place.”
Neuer added in an interview that Tabalović’s sacking was “the worst thing I’ve experienced in my career”.
What Neuer issued was not well received by the club’s management, which responded to the team captain through sports director Hassan Salihamidjic, who said on Sunday that Neuer: “puts his personal interests above the interests of the club,” adding: “As a captain, I expected a different position from him.”
The coach of the team, Julian Nagelsmann, who is believed to be behind the dismissal, also criticized Neuer for his position, according to what German media reported on Sunday, saying that if he had been in the place of the international goalkeeper: “I would not have conducted this interview.”
Nagelsmann previously worked with Reichner during his tenure with Hoffenheim, which spanned a decade, starting with his stint as coach of the under-17 team and leading the first team from 2016 to 2019.
Hoffenheim issued a statement on Wednesday saying that Richner’s departure was “the end of an era”, thanking the coach for the 15 years he spent serving the club.
