Since the 2: 4 at VfL Bochum the discussion about the defense at FC Bayern has flared up, the defensive behavior will also be in focus in the evening in the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League at RB Salzburg. 

Ex-Bayern star Jerome Boateng sees the question of whether a defense chief is needed.

Boateng was German champion nine times with FC Bayern, he triumphed twice in the Champions League and in 2014 he became world champion. 

After last season, the 33-year-old didn't get a contract anymore, and David Alaba (Real Madrid), his partner in central defence, also left. 

Alaba directed Munich's defense for the treble in 2020, and Boateng was also known for communication on the pitch. 

Are Bayern now missing these guys, does it need a defense chief? "In a central defense there doesn't necessarily have to be one boss if both players divide up their front men and know and understand each other well, as was the case with David and me, for example," says Boateng, who is now defending for Olympique Lyon. It is much more important to be well-rehearsed. 

" In recent years, Bayern have mostly had players with years of shared experience in this position. We knew each other very well. But of course that takes time."

In fact, Dayot Upamecano in particular is a stranger in his first year at Bayern and makes many mistakes, while Lucas Hernandez is ahead in terms of mentality, but is also not a loudspeaker like Benjamin Pavard or Niklas, who will soon be playing in Dortmund column

Boateng says about the distribution of tasks in a central defense: "First and foremost you are a team, maybe someone speaks more, but the man next to you fulfills other tasks. The best examples of this are Bonucci and Chiellini at the moment, they both simply harmonize and know each other inside out, which is then reflected on the pitch."

Most recently with Italy winning the European Championship in 2021 and many years with titles at Juventus Turin. These automatisms are currently missing in Bayern's game.