The famous stadium guest from England made a lot of trouble not being recognized. Hardly to make it out on Saturday among the 30,000 spectators at the top game in the Leverkusen arena, he hid his striking face under a black cap and behind a dark scarf. It is quite possible that he would have made it back to the plane undisturbed, in addition to him, his world -famous assistant would not have been clearly identified: And wherever that Anthony Barry appears, football coach Thomas Tuchel is not far. Tuchel and Barry have been as narrow as Derrick and Harry for together at Chelsea FC. Tuchel took Barry from London to FC Bayern and from there to the English national team. Alone, what was England’s national coach in 0-0 between Munich and Leverkusen?
The obvious thought – Tuchel was there to scout Harry Kane. Kane is not scouted. Kane is nominated, courted and massaged. Another idea: It was almost a year ago to the day on Saturday that Tuchel had experienced an evil 0: 3 in his function as FC Bayern coach. Was he coming to get rid of bad dreams? Unlikely. And so soon a popular theory was circulating: Tuchel was at the top game in Germany to convince himself live and in color of something that he had read from the Loch Ness on the panoramic side: Dayot upamecano is good recently to Man of the Match?
In fact, the astonishing top form of the longest -serving central defender of FC Bayern cannot be told without comparing this with it today. It is an ungrateful position on which Upamecano has to create. If people think of central defenders, then they remember bad passes, faulty penalty and red cards, very rarely only gates and top player openings (unless they think of David Alaba). Upamecano still drags the pictures of the Champions League quarter-finals against Manchester City 2023, which Bayern also lost because Upamecano had his hands and pants in two of four goals. Upamecano’s problem are “decision -making and risk management”, diagnosed Tuchel at the time: “He has a lot to learn, and he knows that too.”
When the coach Vincent Kompany started last summer to complete Upamecano’s training with gentle pedagogy and meticulous positioning game coaching, Bayern had just hired Hiroki Ito. Everything looked like the Japanese, a left foot, together with the Korean Min-Jae Kim, a right foot, were putting the Asian central defense of the future. It turned out differently: Ito suffered a break after his arrival, and when he was finally allowed to play in Leverkusen on Saturday with half a year late, when he was left -back. Because this Upamecano, which the trainer Tuchel would have liked to have had, is the best upamecano in history – and therefore just indispensable from central defense. Already in the 2-1 in the Infernalian Celtic Park of Glasgow, he rightly had the glass ball of the Man of the Match rested; On Saturday he threw himself towards the Leverkusen superiority as Last Man Standing.
Sports bosses Eberl and Freund are working on binding Upamecano beyond the end of the contract in 2026
Upamecano is an “outstanding defender,” said sports director Max Eberl in Glasgow. And in Leverkusen, sports director Christoph Freund agreed: Upamecano was “on a really good way”. He had become a “leader”, play “strong and constant at a high level”. The words were the exact opposite of what was previously mealed about Upamecano. Because neither him nor Kim or Matthijs de Ligt was noticed as a defense boss in the previous year, the role of experienced eric dier, who was actually only recruited as a temporary defender by Tottenham Hotspur. Lothar Matthäus, upper boss of all headlines recently, did not recently find, neither Kim nor Upamecano were able to orchestrate a defense.
It was a sentence that did not like the coach. These are “always these sayings,” said Kompany, “if you put prices in the air, you have a lot of bosses”. Should be called: As soon as big titles are won, nobody asks for leaders. Not only for Upamecano is this a comforting thought that would very much like to take on the role of defense chief and has already fought against his weaknesses with creative methods: Because he felt problems with hoarseness after big games, he was looking for the help of an opera singer. The two sang together. There were homework. Now Upamecano can roar across the entire square.
While a farewell to Eric dier emerges in summer, Eberl and Freund work at Upamecano on an extension of the contract beyond 2026. Obviously, the Frenchman benefits from switching to Kompany’s system. Just like Kim, he appreciates the forward -defiant, which is caused by the aggressive pressing. Unlike under Tuchel, the central defenders can now storm the ball win, they do not expect it. And unlike Kim, Upamecano had the advantage against Leverkusen that he was allowed to play as a right -footed side on the right side. On the other hand, the opponent made the right foot Kim to the goal of his press. Because he was forced to play the ball on the left side again and again, where ito had problems after months of play. The Japanese had to beat seven long balls, only one of them arrived.
Whatever Bayern’s central defense in the future, the harmonizing duo upamecano/ito with its feet would certainly be worth being tested comprehensively. Perhaps not in the big games that are pending, Bayern should qualify for the round of 16 of the Champions League this Tuesday in the second leg against Celtic. Better safe than sorry. In the big games, the likelihood is greatest that the old Upamecano will come to light again.