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For once all is not well at Bayern Munich. There is drama at FC Hollywood.
The current Champions League holders are staring at a quarter-final exit and are also looking at a change in their hierarchical structure too.
A club that usually oozes harmony appears to have reached breaking point between its manager Hansi Flick and and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic.
Time could be running out on Hansi Flick at Bayern Munich due to a strained relationship
Flick’s future at Bayern remains up in the air due to his differing views with Hasan Salihamidzic
Sporting director Salihamidzic and Flick are entrenched in a power struggle at the club
Bayern are staring at a Champions League exit ahead of their quarter-final second leg at PSG
There is a power struggle there with the pair unable to agree on how best to run the German juggernaut moving forward.
Flick’s future in Bavaria is in serious doubt too with the 56-year-old the strong favourite to replace the outgoing Joachim Low as Germany manager after the delayed Euros this summer.
According to BILD, there will be a showdown meeting between Flick, the Bayern board and Oliver Kahn this week about the former’s future.
Kahn’s role in this will be key. The former Bayern goalkeeper will become the club’s CEO from January 1, 2022 – succeeding Karl-Heinz Rummenigge on a five-year deal.
At the start of this year he officially joined Bayern’s supervisory board and so this will be his first true test at the top.
BILD report that Kahn wants to see for himself how serious Flick is about becoming Germany’s new manager and whether or not he does wish to leave the Allianz Arena.
Future club CEO Oliver Kahn will hold a meeting with Flick and the board to discuss his future
The 51-year-old will be at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday to assess Bayern at close-quarters
The 51-year-old’s thoughts are going to be key. Not only because of his future role but because of the division within Bayern’s structure.
Flick has the backing of Rummenigge but Salihamidzic has the support of club president Herbert Hainer and supervisory board chairman Uli Hoeness.
Kahn will be at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday night as Bayern look to overturn a 3-2 first-leg deficit around against Paris Saint-Germain.
The fact that he has flown to Paris to watch the game at close quarters is telling as he assesses the situation at his club.
A European exit, which is looking likely at present, could spell the end of Flick anyway at the end of the season – despite his huge success there already.
The board are split over backing Flick or Salihamidzic with Kahn yet to decide who to support
By their lofty standards, Bayern were floundering when Flick became their manager in November 2019. They were fourth in the table after 10 games, but also four points behind leaders Borussia Monchengladbach. They had also been thumped 5-1 by Eintracht Frankfurt during this time.
Flick had returned to the club only that summer as Niko Kovac’s assistant. Ironically when Kovac was sacked it was Salihamidzic who telephoned and asked him to take over the reins.
Driving to the training ground for talks, he decided that ‘out of loyalty to the club’ he should answer Bayern’s plea for help and became their interim boss.
Such was his emphatic impact though that this position soon became a permanent one in April 2020. Flick signed a deal through to the 2022-23 campaign after winning 18 of his first 21 games across all competitions at the Allianz Arena.
‘The club is very happy with Hansi Flick’s work,’ Rummenigge said of the extension.
‘The team has developed under his leadership and we’re playing attractive football, which is reflected in the results.’
Flick turned around Bayern’s poor start last season as they ended up winning the Treble
And deliver results he truly did as Bayern completed the Treble last term. They won the Bundesliga at a canter by 13 points to record their 11th-straight league title, beat Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 in the German Cup final and edged past PSG 1-0 in the Champions League showpiece.
However, despite the success on the pitch the relationship between Flick and Salihamidzic began to fall apart last summer over their transfer policies.
Flick was unhappy that chief playmaker Thiago Alcantara was allowed to leave for Liverpool, while he was against the club’s desire to terminate talks over a contract extension with David Alaba and to let Jerome Boateng’s deal expire at the end of this season.
Salihamidzic responded by some last-minute acquisitions in October in the shape of Eric Maxi Choupo-Moting, Bouna Sarr, Marc Roca and Douglas Costa. However, the latter three have barely featured under Flick while back-up striker Choupo-Moting doesn’t possess the same attributes as talisman Robert Lewandowski.
Flick was vocal in his displeasure as he swiped recently: ‘Let me say it this way: I have been the head coach for a year and a half here. We had a team last year that was quality-wise better than this year, everyone knows that.’
The departure of Thiago Alcantara (centre) to Liverpool last summer was against Flick’s wishes
Despite this hierarchical tension, Flick has still managed to deliver silverware – with the German giants winning the UEFA Super Cup in September and the FIFA Club World Cup in February. They’re on course to win a 12th-straight Bundesliga title too – as they sit five points clear of second-placed RB Leipzig with six games remaining.
However, they suffered a shock German Cup second-round exit to second-division outfit Holstein Kiel on penalties in January and face an improbable task in the Champions League as well.
After conceding three away goals at home in the first leg, Bayern’s best case scenario is a 2-0 win in Paris to reach the semi-finals.
Their mountainous objective would be a landmark moment in the competition. No side has ever progressed into the next round after losing 3-2 at home in the first leg. Eight teams have tried and failed beforehand – just to highlight the difficulty of the job in hand.
If Bayern somehow don’t achieve the great escape then expect war to break out further between Flick and Salihamidzic.
Bayern Munich will have to dust themselves down after conceding three goals to PSG at home
Kylian Mbappe (centre) scored twice for PSG during their 3-2 win at the Allianz Arena
Thomas Muller cuts a frustrated figure during Bayern’s defeat to the French giants on April 7
Former Bayern midfielder Hamit Altintop believes that the sporting director has the advantage in the power battle and has urged them the pair to make peace.
‘Hasan has played a huge part in the sporting success, he made it to the sports directorate. I think they are more likely to hold onto him than the coach.
‘Right now someone should say: boys, put your egos aside. You have to manage that better.’
If that isn’t managed better then don’t be surprised to see Flick take charge of the Germany national team once the Euros has concluded. It’s a job he coverts, having been Low’s assistant between 2006 and 2014 – including their World Cup triumph, and a role that he seems destined for.
The question is, will it be this summer or not?
Flick is the heavy favourite to succeed outgoing Germany boss Joachim Low as their next manager after this Euros – with the German having been his assistant for eight years previously
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