Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann accuses players of having ‘ZERO per cent work rate’
- Julian Nagelsmann was furious after Bayern Munich’s defeat by Bayer Leverkusen
- Nagelsmann’s team is one point behind Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund
- Sports director Hasan Salihamidzic was also extremely critical of the team
Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann was furious after his side’s 2-1 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen and accused his players of having a “zero per cent” work rate.
Although Bayern took the lead that day through Joshua Kimmich, two second-half penalties from Exequiel Palacios doomed them to defeat at the BayArena.
The German champions are currently second in the Bundesliga, a point behind leaders Borussia Dortmund, prompting fears they might not be able to extend their decades-long stranglehold on the title.
Nagelsmann admitted after the game that his team deservedly lost to Leverkusen on Sunday.
He said: “Until the last ten minutes we were the worse team. There wasn’t enough power on the pitch, we didn’t play well. So we deserved to lose.’
Nagelsmann did not hold back with his devastating assessment of his team and branded them lazy.
He said: “We’ve had that time and time again. It had gotten better in the last few weeks, this pairing of emotion and quality. Today we were lazy. Defensively and offensively, some players had a zero percent quota. We were really weak in our own game presentation.’
Bayern sports director Hasan Salihamidzic was also massively frustrated and admitted that he had “rarely experienced” such a lack of mentality at Bayern.
Salihamidzic played for Bayern between 1998 and 2007 and has been their sporting director since 2017.
He said: “That wasn’t what Bayern Munich meant. We missed everything. We let ourselves be overwhelmed by a team that was still playing on Thursday. Bayer was better in every way.
“I have rarely experienced so little drive, so little mentality, so little duel, so little assertiveness. This team is so good when they have a mentality from the start and go 100 percent, but [they can be] just as bad if they don’t and think they can do anything with it [their] Quality.’
In Bayern’s first game after the international break, there will be an exciting duel with title rivals Dortmund on April 1st.
However, there is little time to prepare for the game as many players will be on international duty.
Last week, Nagelsmann claimed there was a mole in Bayern’s dressing room after German media released tactical plans.
Documents about how Bayern changed their tactical style were published on the German site Bild.
Nagelsmann was very frustrated by the situation and said: “It bothers me a lot. The person who transmits this harms each of the players, he is not the target.
“What is the person transmitting this looking for? What are you waiting for? I don’t see what his motivation could be other than making the task easier for the opponent.
“Moles are protected species. Every time you drive through the countryside you see 80,000 moles and you can’t get rid of them. Your quest is very, very difficult.”
“I hope that person can’t look in the mirror because it’s not fair.”
Bayern are in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, where they meet Manchester City, while they face Freiburg in the DFB-Pokal round of 16.
Nagelsmann, who previously coached Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig, took charge of Bayern Munich in 2021 and won the Bundesliga title in his first season at the club.