Thiago Recovery and Form Prove Bayern Munich Doctors Can Do Their Job

One week ago, legendary Bayern Munich doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt announced his shock resignation. The world-renowned doctor released a statement (per the Guardian) that he and his staff had been blamed for the club's 3-1 Champions League defeat to Porto the night before, and that as a result, he had chosen to step down.

To this day, it remains uncertain as to exactly what was said and precisely what precipitated Muller-Wohlfahrt's resignation after over 38 years of service to the club. It appears, however, that club president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confronted the doctor after the Porto loss. As much was reported independently by several sources, among them the well informed Bild (in German).

Muller-Wohlfahrt's resignation may have come suddenly, but the writing has long been on the wall. The doctor's relationship with head coach Pep Guardiola had been strained from early in the coach's tenure. Marti Perarnau wrote in his book, Pep Confidential: Inside Pep Guardiola’s First Season at Bayern Munich, that the trainer was unhappy with the fact that Muller-Wohlfahrt maintained his office in downtown Munich, and that his medical staff was not on hand during training sessions to treat players.

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And another thing, Thiago is incredible. You'd think he would at least have shown a little rust after more than a year out injured.

— Marco Conradie (@MarcoConradie10) April 21, 2015"

As explained by Kicker reporter Alex Truica, the rift between coach and doctor was blown open after Thiago Alcantara was sent personally by Guardiola to be treated by Dr. Ramon Cugat in Barcelona rather than by the club's doctor after suffering a knee injury last spring. The player sustained two further setbacks involving the same knee as he worked toward a comeback, and what was expected to be an absence of two months or less kept the Spaniard sidelined for a full year.

Guardiola is known as something of a control-freak, his obsession manifesting itself in his possession-based football as well as clashes with footballers of strong personality, like Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He went a step too far in overruling perhaps the most respected doctor in the history of sport, and per Truica's article, later admitted it may have been a huge mistake.

Michael Probst/Associated Press

Ironically, Muller-Wohlfahrt's resignation came after not only a Bayern loss, but also a match in which Thiago was his club's best player. The midfielder took like a fish to water upon returning to action at the beginning of April, and has been simply phenomenal since. He scored Bayern's only goal in Portugal and opened the scoring early in the return leg.

The fact that Thiago has played so well after such a long layoff is a testament to his care in recent months. The physios, trainers and medical staff that all work with Muller-Wohlfahrt have, combined, given the player reason to be confident in his fitness. Compare his and Holger Badstuber's immediate impact with, for example, Ilkay Gundogan's inconsistent performances for Dortmund since returning from a year-long absence, and it's clear the Bayern staff have done tremendously well.

Although sporting director Matthias Sammer told Sky (h/t Goal.com) on Wednesday that he'd be happy to bring Muller-Wohlfahrt back, the damage may already be done. And assuming reports are true that it's Rummenigge who slighted Muller-Wohlfahrt, the takeaway is that the cult of Guardiola's personality has reached dangerous levels.

At any other club, under any other coach, it would be absurd for a club president to blame his medical staff for a loss—especially when its chief is so well respected. The blame would be on the coach or the players for not performing. Bayern may have had many injuries, but their squad, which contained six World Cup winners and the reigning Bundesliga top scorer, was decisively better than Porto's in the first leg. They just lacked the confidence, tactical nous, and perhaps motivation to turn their superiority into a positive result.

Afterward, Rummenigge apparently was not only unwilling to question his trainer, but actively looked for any reason to excuse him, pointing the blame anywhere else for making Guardiola look bad. This scenario is consistent with Rummenigge's relentless praise of his coach through thick and thin, and his near begging of Guardiola to extend his contract.

Guardiola himself has hardly asked for such cult status, and it puts unreasonable pressure on him to deliver. It also becomes dangerous when he admits his own error in doubting Muller-Wohlfahrt, yet others like Rummenigge are so quick to avoid any criticism of the coach that they blame even the most unreasonable target. The result in such cases is the potential disaster that has come in Muller-Wohlfahrt's resignation.

Former Cologne boss Christoph Daum hit the nail on the head when he said (via Hamburger Morgenpost, in German) that under Uli Hoeness, the Muller-Wohlfahrt debacle would have never taken place. The club's many strong personalities would have clashed, but at the end of the day, the former president would have mediated a solution that kept Bayern together. For not the first time in recent memory, it seems that Rummenigge has talked himself into trouble. Bayern's 6-1 hammering of Porto in the second leg was clear-enough evidence that the medical staff were not to blame in the first leg, especially considering the fine performances of Thiago and Badstuber.

After the game, Arjen Robben announced via Sky (h/t ESPN) that he would still visit Muller-Wohlfahrt, under whose care he transformed from an injury-prone talent to one of the world's very best players. Rummenigge also said the doctor would "always remain part of the Bayern family."

Although it's conceivable that Muller-Wohlfahrt could remain a significant figure at Bayern even after his resignation, there's little reason to believe that the doctor's fractious relationship with Guardiola has been repaired. And even so, the precedent of Hoeness rejoining the club in a lower position but being unable to avoid the debacle of last week suggests that the esteemed doctor may not have as much influence in an unofficial role.

For now, Bayern are still reaping the benefits of having Muller-Wohlfahrt and his team on the books. With a different staff, the likes of Thiago and Badstuber may never have been fit enough to have such a marked impact on the Porto tie. Now, both are back and in form, and Bayern know who they have to thank.

@Mr_Bundesliga