By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, March 18 (Xinhua) -- As the 2021/2022 season enters its decisive stages, the challenges for Julian Nagelsmann seem to grow.
The Bayern coach seems no exception when it comes to things, he doesn't like too much such as injuries and turbulences around players with expiring contracts.
Minutes after the last-8 draw of the Champions League with the German side facing the FC Villareal, the 34-year-old demanded quick solutions in the contract cases of Robert Lewandowski, Manuel Neuer, and Thomas Muller.
"Of course, I hope for quick solutions. All three are of paramount importance for us," Nagelsmann told Xinhua in an interview.
The Bavarians coach called the trio "the faces of the team" and mentioned their importance over the past years for the 2020 treble winner.
"As a coach, I would love to extend the contract of Lewi. But in modern times things like that turn out to be tricky as agents are around and things take longer than ten years ago," the Bayern coach said.
The contracts of the strikers Lewandowski and Muller and goalie Neuer expire in summer 2023.
While Lewandowski's agent Pini Zahavi confirmed to have not received a call from Bayern's sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic or chairman Oliver Kahn, the club has come under fire from the outside.
Former Bayern captain and German record international Lothar Matthaeus criticized Bayern's reluctance and spoke about the danger to lose the club's best striker.
He is bewildered that Bayern is risking to make one of Europe's best strikers possibly leave, the 61-year-old added.
Nagelsmann said, he is convinced the players can deal with the situation and things don't affect the team's performance.
"All of them are experienced players and they have been through a lot of that," he added.
The Bayern coach said it's nothing unusual "that other clubs are mentioned" in connection with Lewandowski. "That has been the case several times before I joined Bayern. It always takes several meetings to get things done."
He claimed not to think about the period of a new contract. "As a coach, I mostly live in the here and now and consider short-term success."
Nagelsmann called last-8 opponent Villareal a "side with a clear and convincing game plan."
The Spanish side's success in the Euro League over the past years is telling the story, he said.
"Having kicked out Juve is a statement. But I regard us as the favorites. The next round is something in my mind," Nagelsmann stated.
The German said, the draw contained more challenging opponents such as Real, City, and Chelsea, "but we are well-advised to only talk about what is ahead of us and that's a strong team from Spain."
Nagelsmann said he is optimistic for a return of the injured Alphonso Davies and Niklas Sule latest for the second leg against Villareal next to 2018 World champion Benjamin Pavard who is sidelined due to a positive COVID-19 test. Midfielder Leon Goretzka's return for duty might take longer.
Nagelsmann spoke about the importance of Bayern's national league encounter against Union Berlin this weekend "as we more than in the weeks before feeling Borussia Dortmund breathing down our neck."
In the battle for the national title, Dortmund has reduced the gap to Bayern to only four points. ■