What the renewed goalie quake at Bayern means for summer

Mentor from Neuer away!

What the renewed goalie quake at Bayern means for summer

The dismissal of goalkeeping coach Toni Tapalovic causes a tremor at Bayern. Manuel Neuer says goodbye to his mentor with an emotional text, while the change probably plays into the hands of Yann Sommer.

Published: 18 minutes ago

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Goalkeeper coach Toni Tapalovic is fired at Bayern after eleven years.

The news comes as quite a surprise on Monday evening: After eleven years, FC Bayern Munich is separating from goalkeeping coach Toni Tapalovic (42).

According to “Bild”, the main reason for the separation should be “irreconcilable differences” with Julian Nagelsmann (35). Tapalovic is said to have found it difficult to follow the Bayern coach’s instructions and passed on “internal information” from the coaching room to Manuel Neuer.

The lack of contact with Nübel

Tapalovic himself spoke up on Instagram after his dismissal and was surprised: “After more than a decade, my time at Bayern Munich ended surprisingly today”. He also provides pictures of all Bayern coaches with whom he has worked. Only Nagelsmann lacks any trace in the series of images – a clear sign.

In addition to the relationship with Nagelsmann, Tapalovic is also said to have been fatal to Alexander Nübel. The keeper, who was loaned to Monaco by Bayern Munich in 2021, complained publicly at the weekend in the “ZDF Sportstudio” about the lack of contact with Munich: “I think you could have exchanged views from time to time about the situation, how it runs. But that was not the case”.

“Yes, that should have been different. Of course we will talk about it internally, »said Bayern’s sports director Hasan Salihamidzic after Nübel’s statements to «Bild-TV» on Sunday. A day later Tapalovic is gone.

«A pioneer of modern goalkeeping»

The goalkeeper coach is considered a close confidant of Manuel Neuer (36), the two already worked together at Schalke. The currently injured keeper commented on Instagram on Monday evening about the dismissal of his mentor: “Today an era ends in Munich, everyone knows that all these successes would never have been possible without you,” writes the five-time world goalkeeper.

He calls Tapalovic a “pioneer of modern goalkeeping” and says he shaped him as a goalkeeper and took him to a new level. The two also maintain a friendly relationship off the field, so Tapalovic was even the best man at Neuer’s wedding.

Advantage for summer?

Bayern’s newcomer Yann Sommer (34) was only able to work with the goalkeeping coach for a few days. Tapalovic was still on the bench for Sommer’s debut on Friday in Leipzig, but he will no longer be there for his second game against Cologne on Tuesday evening.

For our Nati goalie, however, the change in personnel is not inconvenient: If there was a duel between the Swiss and Neuer next summer, Tapalovic would probably always have been one of the biggest supporters of Neuer.

A privilege that Neuer no longer has. (bjl)