Tactical giant Thomas Tuchel ready to shake things up at Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich’s new coach, Thomas Tuchel, has taken to the training ground at Säbener Straße with plenty of his characteristic high-energy and enthusiasm already on show.

As the 49-year-old settles into his new role, investigates what possible tweaks the former Mainz and Borussia Dortmund boss might make to the record champions as they build towards Der Klassiker and beyond.

Tuchel was referred to as a tactical giant by some during his time in Dortmund and as the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Mainz would confirm, there is plenty of truth in that. The Bavaria native boasts an enormous pool of tactical ideas while his in-game versatility repeatedly poses major problems for opponents. That was certainly the case in the 2021 Champions League final, when his Chelsea team defeated Manchester City and their coach Pep Guardiola on the tactics board before doing so again on the pitch.

What makes Tuchel the master tactician that he is, is that he is not tied to a single idea or concept, or even a specific formation. The recently appointed coach likes to vary his plans for each game, adapting his sides to whichever opponents they may be facing.

In his first steps with Bayern, expect Tuchel to build on what Julian Nagelsmann left behind as a base. “It’s not the time for big changes in systems or tactics,” the new man explained at his unveiling on Saturday. Having begun his tenure during the international break, many of Bayern’s players were away with their respective nations. Some will not rejoin the team again until the end of the week. Yet what about the medium term and the possible changes to Bayern’s tactical set-up?

Bayern are generally known for their classic 4-2-3-1 formation. It has been a line-up that has stood the test of time at the club with only only former FCB coach Guardiola varying things with his three-man defences. Otherwise, 4-3-3 and other such standard formations were both the norm, and highly successful.

When Nagelsmann arrived, he occasionally experimented with other systems. After a disappointing start to 2023 that saw the team play out three draws using four defenders, Bayern’s now former coach switched to a back three, and it brought success. As many as nine wins in 11 games were recorded following the switch with a 4-2-3-1 being Nagelsmann’s preferred alternative in the latter part of his tenure.

With Nagelsmann varying things depending on the tactical situation, playing 4-2-3-1, 4-1-4-1, 3-4-2-1 or even in a 3-1-4-2, there is clearly already plenty of variation there for Tuchel to play with from the get-go.