Thomas Tuchel might have hoped for a gentler introduction to life in charge of Bayern Munich.
His first match is a crunch top-of-the-table clash with his old club Borussia Dortmund. Then follows cup and league fixtures against tricky customers Freiburg before a Champions League quarter-final with Manchester City that is daunting even for such a powerhouse club.
But on-field challenges only scratch the surface of the enormous job Tuchel has on his hands as he gets down to business at the Allianz Arena.
There’s rarely a dull moment at Bayern – the club known as ‘FC Hollywood’ – but Tuchel inherits from Julian Nagelsmann a divided dressing room, player problems and a host of tactical issues to solve.
It will take all the former Chelsea manager’s acumen to clean up the mess and keep Bayern on course in a season that could yet end up with them winning the Treble.
Equally it could all spectacularly unravel as their decade-long dominance of the Bundesliga is finally smashed.
Sportsmail takes a look at Tuchel’s groaning in-tray as he takes over at Bayern.
Thomas Tuchel oversaw his first training session as Bayern Munich manager on Tuesday
The incoming manager has plenty of matters on and off the pitch to solve as he begins work
MOVING THE PLAYERS ON FROM NAGELSMANN
Bayern’s decision to axe Nagelsmann while he was away skiing in Austria during the international break was certainly ruthless.
Given their impressive Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain and strong position domestically, his sacking took many by surprise.
Chief executive Oliver Kahn said the team was playing ‘less successfully and less attractively’ since the World Cup, with ‘the big fluctuations in performance casting doubt on our goals for the season.’
Bayern have won eight games, drawn three and lost twice since the resumption in January.
Sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic made his feelings clear about a lack of ‘drive, mentality and assertiveness’ after Bayern went down 2-1 at Leverkusen last time out.
While there is always the expectation that Bayern are 10 points clear at the top, other factors were at play.
Nagelsmann’s girlfriend Lena Wurzenberger, a reporter for Bild newspaper, was blamed for a ‘lack of trust’ between players and coach with everyone afraid ‘everything would end up in the newspaper.’
The Bayern dressing room is reportedly split over whether Nagelsmann’s exit is a good thing
Results and performances had fluctuated this season under Nagelsmann before he was axed
Unusually for this stage of the season, Bayern aren’t topping the Bundesliga table
Now he’s departed, it’s imperative Tuchel wins the trust of the players, with the dressing room reportedly split over whether Nagelsmann deserved the get the boot.
Bild report there were ‘pro and anti-Nagelsmann factions’ with seven players – including Manuel Neuer, Sadio Mane, Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry – not too disappointed he has left.
But the likes of Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Matthijs de Ligt, Dayot Upamecano and Benjamin Pavard were in favour of Nagelsmann’s methods.
So the onus is on Tuchel to convince this group to forget Nagelsmann and the reasons for his chaotic departure and follow his lead to make the best of the remainder of the season.
That might be easier said than done but it’s a pressing job as the players return from international duty this week.
BACK THREE OR BACK FOUR?
Tuchel will only have a couple of days to work on the training ground with Bayern’s internationals ahead of the Dortmund game.
It will most likely be a time of getting-to-know-you and reinforcing some basics, rather than grand tactical masterplans. It’s a bit like when he arrived at Chelsea mid-season and was straight into a game with Wolves the next day.
Tuchel likes his sides to have a tactical dexterity but one immediate decision will be how to line up defensively against Dortmund.
Bayern may have conceded just 27 league goals this season – the best record in the league – but they’re also been uncharacteristically sloppy at the back.
In the defeat to Leverkusen, Pavard and Upamecano both clumsily conceded penalties, while they shipped three goals to mid-table Augsburg the week before.
Dayot Upamecano didn’t have the greatest of afternoons as Bayern lost 2-1 at Leverkusen
£70million summer signing Matthijs de Ligt hasn’t fully established himself in the back line
Nagelsmann favoured a high defensive line and it left Bayern quite open in some games, with £70million summer arrival De Ligt not yet establishing himself as a reliable presence.
Bayern have made 13 defensive mistakes that has resulted in their opponents getting a shot off – more than anyone in the Bundesliga – and three of those led to goals.
Tuchel has long prided himself on creating teams that are difficult to break down and at Chelsea he usually preferred a 3-4-2-1 system that made use of attack-minded wing-backs Reece James and Ben Chilwell.
If he goes down the same route with Bayern, it helps that Nagelsmann laid the groundwork by playing three at the back in recent weeks.
In the Leverkusen game, for instance, Joao Cancelo was pushed a long way forward on the right flank, while Leroy Sane fulfilled the same role on the left.
Alphonso Davies can perform the role really well, while Kingsley Coman played on the right in the 2-0 second leg win over PSG.
Joao Cancelo’s dynamism could help Tuchel introduce his favoured wing-back system
Alphonso Davies could also be a key part of the Tuchel structure on the left-hand side
While there are blurred lines between wing-backs and wingers here, Tuchel will be encouraged he has ready-made players at his disposal who know what they’re doing.
With Kimmich and Goretzka outstanding deep midfielders, he can also rest easy that Bayern’s back line will be double-bolted when those wide players push forward.
At first glance, it appears Tuchel has a squad tailor-made for playing his favoured formation.
GET MANE FIRING
Sadio Mane has yet to show his best form in Bayern colours since joining from Liverpool
Bayern paid £27m last summer to sign Sadio Mane from Liverpool as they looked to replace the considerable firepower lost when Robert Lewandowski joined Barcelona.
Given the Pole had contributed over 40 goals in each of his last seven seasons in Bavaria, including a half-century last season, this was quite the burden.
And it’s fair to say Mane has struggled to match expectations. He hasn’t found the net since late October though, in fairness, he missed several games because of the fibula injury that kept him from representing Senegal at the World Cup.
Mane has 11 goals for the campaign but is nowhere near his Liverpool heights and reports surfaced this week suggesting Bayern are worried he doesn’t look fit enough.
Nagelsmann had started to use Mane in a more central role, when his best Liverpool form often came in a wider position with the aid of a rampaging full-back.
If Tuchel goes down that route tactically, it could well unlock some better form from Mane.
On the broader point of replacing Lewandowski’s goals, it’s should be a good thing Bayern have five players – Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting, Jamal Musiala, Sane, Serge Gnabry and Mane – on double figures for the season.
But there isn’t one single attacker coming close to replicating the kind of goal returns Lewandowski made look simple year after year.
Finding his true replacement – there is interest in England star Harry Kane – will be a priority task for the summer with Tuchel needing plenty of money to spend.
Filling the large goalscoring boots of Robert Lewandowski has proved a challenge for Bayern
SANE STRUGGLES
Another unhappy camper is Leroy Sane with it emerging in the German press this week that he has been commuting between Munich, London and Manchester to be with his family.
Having not been called up by Hansi Flick into the Germany squad, Sane was absent from Bayern training last week and it emerged he’d flown to England to be with wife Candice and their two children.
She reportedly decided to move back there having grown tired of being in Munich, placing a strain on the winger who was hopping from city to city and left feeling lonely.
He had been in and out of Nagelsmann’s side with his form dropping off since the World Cup despite a return of 13 goals and seven assists in all this season.
Sane has never totally clicked at Bayern since he joined from Manchester City in 2020 and it remains to be seen whether he leaves in the summer. His contract runs until 2025.
Tuchel will do well to have an early heart-to-heart chat with the player to get the most from him in these final, crucial weeks of the season at least.
Leroy Sane has reportedly been ‘commuting’ between Munich, London and Manchester after his wife and children moved back to England
Sane has two children with the American model Candice Brook but she no longer wanted to live in Munich, according to reports in Germany
DEFUSE THE NEUER SITUATION
Another vexing situation Tuchel will inherit concerns goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. It isn’t a pressing selection issue because the broken leg he suffered skiing after the World Cup will keep him out for the remainder of the campaign.
It’s more whether to cut the cord with the 37-year-old club captain, who is approaching 500 appearances for the club, in the summer.
Neuer clashed with Bayern’s hierarchy over their firing of goalkeeping coach and close friend Toni Tapalovic in January and his future at the club is in doubt.
This may be a decision that is taken out of Tuchel’s hands but the arrival of Switzerland international Yann Sommer as Neuer’s stop-gap replacement on a contract until 2025 eases the situation.
Tuchel may decide Sommer is a good-enough replacement for Neuer going into next season and a potentially explosive situation can be avoided.
Alternatively, his new regime may allow Neuer a fresh start at the club and Tuchel will benefit from having two top-quality keepers competing for the gloves.
Manuel Neuer courted controversy after he broke his leg during a skiing accident
Despite being out of action, Neuer has still managed to grab the headlines. He was recently fined for his controversial interview over the sacking of former keeper coach Toni Tapalovic
MULLER MASTERPLAN
Nagelsmann always seemed unsure how best to deploy Thomas Muller and the 33-year-old is far from an assured starter these days.
However, a return of four goals and seven assists in just 1,062 minutes of Bundesliga action this season points to an enduring quality.
As Nagelsmann switched between different formations in his final weeks in the job, Muller has been used both as part of a forward two and as a No 10.
Muller’s ability to find space has always been impressive and the man who has worn the captain’s armband in Neuer’s absence has the tools to thrive in both.
Tuchel would be advised to make use of Muller’s vast experience as he clearly has plenty still to give. But deciding precisely where he fits into the jigsaw is the pressing task.
Thomas Muller has plenty to offer but his game time has been limited this campaign
RESTORE THE SUPERIORITY COMPLEX
Usually at this stage of the season, Bayern are 10-15 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga and in with a loud shout of European glory as well.
They look vulnerable this time around, having dropped points in 10 of their 25 Bundesliga games, to find themselves neck-and-neck with rivals Dortmund.
With off-field distractions compounding matters, Bayern have been unable to find their trademark winning consistency this season and they have needlessly dropped points.
Yet the way they dispatched PSG 3-0 on aggregate in Europe just shows they still have quality in abundance.
With season-defining games on the agenda from the outset, Tuchel must restore the old swagger. He inherits a team full of serial winners who have forgotten how to win handsomely.
Tuchel himself also has a very good CV, notably winning the Champions League with Chelsea just two years ago having taken PSG to the final the season before that.
They could be a very good match if he can restore the old standards.