Is Jerome Boateng now coming back to FC Bayern? Coach Thomas Tuchel, who once wanted to bring the 35-year-old to Paris St. Germain, at least gives the defender the chance to show himself again and recommend himself for the big gig.
On Tuesday, at 9pm, FC Bayern host FC Copenhagen, in the second match of the Champions League group stage. Of course, the Munich team are favourites, even without the injured Serge Gnabry (broken arm) and Matthijs de Ligt (knee pain), who, just like captain Manuel Neuer, are staying in Munich and working individually at Säbener Straße. So too, recently, Jerome Boateng.
Tuchel: “He is a deserving player who has put in top performances over many years “
“Jerome lives in Munich, has kept fit over the summer,” said coach Thomas Tuchel, who together with his staff is now examining whether the 35-year-old could be an option for the defence and ease the tight personnel situation somewhat. That is why Boateng is now training on trial for a few days for the time being to prove himself. “He is a deserving player who has put in top performances over many years,” said Tuchel: “The doors are always open there.” Completely unrelated to Boateng’s headlines off the pitch. In the end, the conviction for assault was overturned. “Precisely because the proceedings are suspended,” Bayern’s head coach stresses, the “presumption of innocence” applies. So a return to the FCB must already be “in the cards”.
Boateng could now use his chance to get used to the routine again after almost six months without a competitive game. After that, “we will decide”, said Tuchel. The cup match against Münster (4:0) had already shown that the defensive line was thin and that Tuchel would have to make some – even unforeseen – experiments. Whether Boateng can close this gap, however, is questionable.
Joshua Kimmich, for example, who played together with Germany’s 2016 Footballer of the Year at FC Bayern for five years, was “happy to see him again”, as he says: “We won many titles with Jerome.” However, Kimmich also knows that the decision for or against Boateng is not made by the players.
