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Bayern Munich respects, regrets sudden departure of longtime doctor
MUNICH (AP) — Bayern Munich said Friday it regrets the sudden departure of its longtime team doctor and his staff, whose surprise move has revealed tension in the club as it faces a possible exit from the Champions League.
Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt announced Thursday that he was stepping down after nearly four decades with the club, saying he had been unjustifiably blamed for the 3-1 loss to FC Porto a day earlier.
In a statement, the doctor said the club's "medical department was made primarily responsible for the defeat for inexplicable reasons."
The 72-year-old Mueller-Wohlfahrt, who is also the German national team doctor, said the trust necessary for a successful working relationship has been damaged.
Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said Friday it was the doctor's personal choice.
"I can only respect this decision," Guardiola said.
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"If we lose, it's always my fault, nobody else's," Guardiola said. "If a player is injured, it's not the fault of doctors, an injury is an injury, it happens."
Bayern officials prevented Guardiola from taking more questions on the doctor's departure.
"Bayern Munich regrets the decision of club doctor Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt to quit," Bayern said, adding the doctor and his staff had provided "first-class work" for the club and its players.
Bayern is battling a series of injuries to key players as it enters the decisive stage of the season seeking a repeat of its treble in 2013.
In Porto, Bayern was missing, among others, wingers Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben. The return leg of the quarterfinals is on Tuesday in Munich.
Bayern's honorary president Franz Beckenbauer placed the blame for the loss squarely on the players who were healthy.
"With this performance, you don't win anything," Beckenbauer said during a news conference at the club's U.S. office. "Sometimes, you can say the left back, he played bad, or the right back, or the goalkeeper made a mistake. But in this game, all players on the field — nada."
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Bayern plays at Hoffenheim on Saturday in the Bundesliga and will be also without Philipp Lahm, who is out with a stomach problem. Bastian Schweinsteiger, David Alaba and Javi Martinez are also nursing injuries.
Guardiola and Mueller-Wohlfahrt reportedly have had differences before on the treatment on injured players and their long recovery.
The Spanish coach wanted to have a doctor present all the time at the team's training ground to prevent long commutes for injured players to Mueller-Wohlfahrt's downtown practice. Bayern accepted the demand and employed Mueller-Wohlfahrt's son.
Mueller-Wohlfahrt also quit the post during Jurgen Klinsmann's 10-month tenure as Bayern coach during the 2008-09 season, only to return the day after Klinsmann's firing.
GALLERY: Bayern Munich through the years
FC Bayern Munich Through the Years
1900
A Munich gymnastics club refuses to let eleven of its members join the German Football Association, so those eleven form Bayern Munich as a standalone football club that same evening.
1965
Franz Beckenbauer and Bayern Munich enter the Bundesliga for the first time, having been passed over for the initial collection of teams in favor of 1860 Munich. They win the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) in their first season and finish third in the league.
1967
The club captures its first European trophy, winning the 1967 Winner's Cup with an extra-time victory over Glasgow Rangers.
1970
Udo Lattek is hired as head coach. In two different stints in charge of the club, Lattek (seen here in '87) would coach for more days (over 3,000) and win more trophies (10) than any other coach in the club's history.
1971
The club moves from the Grunwalder Stadion to the Olympiastadion, which had been built for the 1972 Summer Olympics. It would be Bayern's home for 35 years.
1972
Bayern Munich defeats Schalke 5-1 in the first live televised match in Bundesliga history, winning that season's league title as a result.
1974
The club wins its first European Cup (now Champions League), 4-0 over Atletico Madrid. It goes on to win the competition the subsequent two years as well.
1974
The club signs Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. The striker would go on to score 162 goals for the club and is currently the CEO of the corporation that owns Bayern Munich.
1976
The club wins its first international trophy, defeating Brazilian club Cruzeiro to win the Intercontinental Cup (now abolished).
1987
Jupp Heynckes is hired as head coach. He would win two Bundesligas and two Super Cups.
1993
Norwich City defeats Lothar Matthaus and Bayern Munich 2-1 at the Olympiastadion in the UEFA Cup (now Europa League), the only time a British club was able to defeat Bayern at its old home ground.
1996
With Franz Beckenbauer as interim manager, Bayern wins the UEFA Cup final against Bordeaux, the only time they have won the competition.
1998
Ottmar Hitzfeld is hired as head coach. He would go on to coach the second-most total games and win the second-most total honors in club history (both behind Uto Lattek).
1999
Bayern loses the Champions League final in extra time to Manchester United.
2001
Bayern wins its third consecutive Bundesliga title with a stoppage-time goal against Hamburg from Patrik Andersson on a rare free kick from inside the penalty area.
2001
Bayern wins the Champions League after defeating Valencia on penalty kicks at the San Siro in Milan, Italy.
2001
Bayern wins the Intercontinental Cup in extra time against Boca Juniors, thanks to a goal from Samuel Kuffour.
2005
The club moves from the Olympiastadion to the newly-built Allianz Arena, which they share with local rivals 1860 Munich.
2008
The club hires Jurgen Klinsmann (left) as head coach following his success with the German national team at the 2006 World Cup. He is fired 10 months later.
2012
Bayern reaches the final of the Champions League in its home stadium, but loses on penalties to Chelsea. It is the first time the club is defeated by an English team in Munich.
2013
Bayern Munich wins the Bundesliga with six games left, the earliest a champion has ever secured the title. Bayern also sets the record for most points in a season, most wins in a season, and fewest defeats.
2013
Bayern wins the Champions League over rivals Borussia Dortmund with a 2-1 win at Wembley Stadium.
2013
Bayern completes the first treble in German soccer history, winning the DFB-Pokal via a 3-2 triumph over Stuttgart.
2014
Bayern ends a Bundesliga record 54-game stretch without losing by falling 1-0 to FC Augsburg.
2014
Bayern breaks its own record, securing the Bundesliga title with seven matches remaining.
2014
Club president Uli Hoeness, who had reigned since 1979, resigns after being convicted of tax fraud.
2014
The club opens offices in the Unites States in an attempt to expand its international reach.
2015
Robert Lewandowski holds up all five fingers–one for each goal he scored in a nine-minute span in a memorable 5-1 win over Bundesliga foe Wolfsburg.
