Former Bayern Munich great Bastian Schweinsteiger has told a German newspaper it may be time for Thomas Müller to move on. Schweinsteiger also revealed Jose Mourinho's interest in the Bundesliga and in Bayern.
While the club were able to take that decisive step on Sunday, they could do nothing about the words of one of their playing icons earlier on in the day. Schweinsteiger's comments to tabloid Bild am Sonntag were broadly diplomatic but also somewhat revealing, particularly when discussing his former Bayern and Germany teammate Thomas Müller, whose happiness with life under Kovac is the subject of some speculation.
"His situation is different to mine back then [when Schweinsteiger left Bayern for Manchester United]. I was playing every game, then van Gaal contacted me, I wanted to try something new. Thomas is often on the bench lately, a change of air can be good at the end of a career - that's how it was with me. Thomas still has great quality," the Chicago Fire player, who recently announced his impending retirement, said.
Müller wanted in Manchester
Müller has recently had a run of starts for Bayern after expressing his frustration at being benched for much of the early part of the campaign but has still yet to score a Bundesliga goal this season. The former World Cup Golden Boot winner has long been a rumored target for Manchester United, with some suggesting a move could still happen in January. Schweinsteiger claimed that Müller "would be an asset for Man United" and confirmed that Louis van Gaal was interested in the Bayern man when he was in charge at Old Trafford.
Jerome Boateng was sent off in Bayern's defeatImage: Reuters/R. Orlowski
"Van Gaal really wanted him, always asked me, 'What's your friend Thomas doing?' He would have done us good at United back then. But Thomas was a bit younger, he did not want to leave Munich. Maybe that has changed."
Schweinsteiger, who will soon start working as a pundit on German TV, added that he has not ruled out a coaching role in the future, before revealing that one of his former bosses had taken an interest in the club.
Jose Mourinho is one of the names touted as a Kovac replacement, particularly given the Portuguese boss is currently out of work. While he stopped short of saying the former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United coach would be a good fit on Säbener Strasse, Schweinsteiger said Mourinho had laid the groundwork for a move to Germany.
"I can imagine Mourinho in Germany. I remember he was always asking me about Bayern and the Bundesliga. During our away games, there was always Bundesliga on TV. He really knew every single player, even from the smaller teams. He was also learning German."
Another of Schweinsteiger's former teammates, Oliver Kahn, will soon be joining the Bayern board, in order to be groomed as the successor to Karl-Hienz Rummenigge as CEO, while Uli Hoeness will step down as president later this month.
"For us as well as for Uli Hoeness, the farewell is not easy," said Schweinsteiger. "After all, we all know Bayern only with Uli Hoeness. But with Oli Kahn, the right man comes at exactly the right time for the club. That certainly makes the upheaval in the front office easier."
With the German champions currently somewhere between crisis and flux, that upheaval won't be restricted to the front office.
Bundesliga matchday 10 in pictures
An early red card for Jerome Boateng contributed to a miserable return to Frankfurt for Niko Kovac. RB Leipzig also ran riot, putting eight past Mainz while Düsseldorf, Borussia Dortmund and Gladbach all won.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/A. Hassenstein
Augsburg 2 - 3 Schalke
A brilliant solo effort from Amine Harit earned Schalke a comeback win that lifts them to sixth, level on points with Bayern Munich. Augsburg's veteran midfielder Daniel Baier gave the hosts a 38th minute lead before Stephan Lichtsteiner put through his own net to level it up. An Alfred Finnbogason penalty was cancelled out by an Ozan Kabak header before Harit slalomed his way to the winner.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/A. Hassenstein
Fortuna Düsseldorf 2-0 Cologne
Fortuna Düsseldorf won the first Rhine derby since 1997 with a goal in each half. Rouwen Hennings scored his sixth league goal of the season, tucking away a neat penalty into the bottom corner. Erik Thommy kept his head to score the second just after the hour mark to secure Düsseldorf's second win in three games. The defeat is Cologne's seventh in the league this season.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/L. Baron
Eintracht Frankfurt 5 - 1 Bayern Munich
Niko Kovac endured a difficult trip back to Frankfurt. Jerome Boateng was sent off after nine minutes before Filip Kostic gave the hosts the lead. Djibril Sow's first Bundesliga strike doubled the Eagles' advantage before a brilliant solo effort from Robert Lewandowski got Bayern within a goal at the break. Defenders David Abraham and Martin Hinteregger rubbed salt in the wounds.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/A. Grimm
RB Leipzig 8 - 0 Mainz
Julian Nagelsmann's side dished out their second hiding of the week after a 6-1 cup win. Marcel Sabitzer started the rout early before Timo Werner slid home the second. Christopher Nkunku, Marcel Halstenberg and Yussuf Poulsen got in on the act before the break before Werner grabbed his second and Nordi Mukiele (pictured) grabbed his first of the season. Werner wrapped up his hat-trick late on.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/B. Streubel
Borussia Dortmund 3 - 0 Wolfsburg
A first Dortmund goal for Thorgan Hazard, a fine Raphael Guerreiro strike and a Mario Götze penalty ended the Bundesliga's last unbeaten record. BVB lost captain Marco Reus early on to injury but stepped up the pressure in the second half before the first two goals came in six minutes. The home side were rarely troubled and Götze sealed the win with a spot kick two minutes from time.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/I. Fassbender
Union Berlin 1 - 0 Hertha Berlin
There were spectacular choreos, flares that caused the players to leave the field and a brief pitch invasion at the end but the first meeting of these two clubs in the top flight was less eventful on the pitch. Sebastian Polter slammed home a controversial late penalty that settled a tepid affair and secured capital city bragging rights for Union.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/M. Hitij
Bayer Leverkusen 1 - 2 Borussia Mönchengladbach
Gladbach's rapid start under Marco Rose continued as the Foals extended their lead at the top of the table. Oscar Wendt converted Marcus Thuram's cross at the back post to give his side an early lead before Kevin Volland latched on to a stunning Lucas Alario through ball to level things up. But the in-form Thuram got his fifth goal in six matches just before the break to seal the win.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Becker
Werder Bremen 2 - 2 Freiburg
An excellent display from Milot Rashica wasn't enough for Bremen to pick up their first win since mid September thanks to Nils Petersen's injury time equalizer. Rashica lashed in the opener only to see goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka hand Petersen his first leveller. Rashica then turned provider for Theodor Gebre Selassie but poor defending allowed Petersen to head in a heartbreaker at the back post.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/C. Mueller
Hoffenheim 3-0 Paderborn
Hoffenheim scored three goals in the opening 25 minutes to go fifth in the table. The in-form hosts got off to the perfect start when Robert Skov banged in a beautiful free-kick. A slick counter-attack involving Florian Grillitsch was finished off by Pavel Kaderabek to make it two, and Jürgen Locadia put the icing on the cake. Hoffenheim have now won four league games in a row.