Loose lips? Nagelsmann admits Bayern Munich have a “mole” after secret tactics leaked

Bayern Munich, the reigning Bundesliga champions, are in series trouble after manager Julian Nagelsmann launched an angry tirade against a “mole” who was leaking secret information to the media.

Bayern Munich has proven to be a leaky ship this season, with multiple problems revolving around internal infairs integrity. Confidential information seems to be finding its way into the public domain, and the German club has no idea how.

In January, the Bavarian club sacked goalkeeper coach Toni Tapalovic, who was accused of sharing information from the coach meeting with his best friend Manuel Neuer, the club’s captain.

German media reported at the time that Nagelsmann was furious after discovering that conversations between staff members were being relayed by Tapalovic to the players.

However, that sacking didn’t stop the problem, as the German publication Bild reported a detailed game plan which was given to the players by the coach. Filtrations kept on happening, generating unnecessary internal tension.

In the leaked images displayed on Bild, they show a clear breakdown of team tactics and player routes, which completely dismantles Nagelsmann’s tactical build-up to the fixture.

Bayern Munich is in real trouble as there seems to be no confidentiality between players and staff, and at this stage of the season, the team should be focusing on the later stages of the Champions League.

Nagelsmann reacted by holding a public press conference ahead of their Bundesliga game against Bayern Leverkusen, expressing his concerns: “It bothers me a lot, the person who transmits this harms each of the players, he is not the objective.”

Nagelsmann added: “Moles are protected species. Every time you drive through the countryside, you see 80,000 moles and you can’t get rid of them. Their search is very, very difficult. What is the person who transmits this looking for? What are you waiting for? I don’t see what his motivation could be, beyond facilitating the task for the adversary”, explained the German coach.

Bayern Munich has launched an investigation into how the leak came about and is determent to get to the bottom of this problem, which has been going on for some time.

The situation with Tapalovic underlined the tense atmosphere inside Bayern, with the goalkeeping coach sacked after working for the club for over 11 years. He worked very closely with long-serving goalkeeper Neuer, who was even his best man at his wedding.

Neuer, who was out for a skiing injury, displayed his frustration with the club's decision, “that blow hit me extremely hard,” he told The Athletic. “For Toni, too. I didn’t understand that at all. It knocked me down.” Will be interesting to see how Neuer and Bayern Munich play out, as team cohesion during the later stages of the season is essential.

Despite the internal problems, Bayern is still in the Bundesliga title race and the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The German giants seem to be having a great season and it would be a shame to see internal strife causing the team's downfall.

Bayern Munich lost their most recent game 2-1 against Bayern Leverkusen, further adding to the dressing room drama. Nagelsmann’s side is now in second place, one point behind Borussia Dortmund who also has a game in hand.

The Bavarians will face a strong Manchester City in the next round of the Champions League match-ups next month, after knocking out Paris Sain-Germain 3-0 on aggregate. The quarter-finals match will be a major “make or break” moment for Bayern.

Pep Guardiola will also be returning to a familiar stomping ground in Munich, where he coached the Bavarian side for three years. The Catalan coach won a total of seven titles during his time at Bayern Munich, a drastically different situation to what the team is experiencing now.