Bundesliga club FC Bayern Munich has now officially confirmed the release of coach Julian Nagelsmann and announced Thomas Tuchel as his successor.
“After the World Cup, we played less and less successfully and attractively, the strong fluctuations in performance called our goals into question this season, but also beyond this season. That’s why we’ve reacted now,” said CEO Oliver Kahn, explaining the coach’s hammer in a club announcement on Friday.
Kahn and sports director Hasan Salihamidzic came to the personnel decision in coordination with President Herbert Hainer, it was said.
Tuchel received a contract on the Isar until June 30, 2025 and will lead training on Säbener Straße for the first time on Monday. The 49-year-old will prepare Munich for the classic game against Dortmund after the international break.
FC Bayern thus ended the planned long-term project with Nagelsmann, who actually still had a contract until June 30, 2026, prematurely. With the 35-year-old, the assistant coaches Dino Toppmöller, Benjamin Glück and Xaver Zembrod will also be released.
“It was the most difficult decision in my time as the sporting director of FC Bayern. I have had an open, trusting, friendly relationship with Julian from day one. I regret the separation from Julian,” said Salihamidzic.
Nagelsmann, who was committed in 2021 for a record transfer fee in the double-digit million range, who was still skiing in Austria this week, drove up to Säbener Straße again shortly after 3 p.m. on Friday – an hour later he roared away as an ex-FC Bayern coach .
Camera teams and photographers besieged the club grounds throughout the day – also in the hope of being able to photograph Tuchel.
National coach Flick is “of course very surprised”
The Munich coaching bang shocked the Bundesliga a week before the classic game of second-placed Borussia Dortmund and was also a hot topic in the national team’s final preparations for the international match against Peru on Saturday.
“It will not be the case that everyone gets wings,” said national coach Hansi Flick. “Of course we were also very surprised by the headlines,” said Nagelsmann’s predecessor as Bayern head coach.
Kimmich, Leon Goretzka and Serge Gnabry, who remained after the injured Jamal Musiala left Munich, trotted away in front of the three in the rain during training in Frankfurt – deep in conversation.
“Of course, such discussions concern you when it comes to the coaching position in your own club. That’s the coach you work with every day,” admitted Kimmich.
Tuchel is condemned to success
The bosses were silent on the spectacular trainer question as they drove up to the club grounds with serious expressions. CEO Oliver Kahn, sports director Hasan Salihamidzic and supervisory board chairman Herbert Hainer initially commented neither on Nagelsmann’s end nor on the rumored solution by Tuchel.
The 49-year-old with a BVB past should probably make a zero-to-a-hundred start with the German record champions.
The club was obviously surprised that the spectacular coaching decision had become public through external channels late Thursday evening.
The internationally well-connected transfer expert Fabrizio Romano had first reported that Munich was considering separating from Nagelsmann. Late in the evening, the “Bild” newspaper reported this as fixed.
Debut in the top game against ex-club BVB
The successor to the 35-year-old, for whom Munich paid a lot of money to RB Leipzig in the summer of 2021 and who they gave a five-year contract, is Tuchel, who is currently without a club.
The 49-year-old had to leave Chelsea this season, with whom he won the Champions League in 2021. In 2020, the ex-coach of FSV Mainz 05 and Borussia Dortmund with Paris Saint-Germain lost to Munich in the final of the premier class.
It would be piquant that Tuchel could coach Bayern for the first time in a week in Munich in the top game against BVB.
Kahn and Co. see triple chances at risk
Tuchel has already worked with well-known stars at PSG. But he also caused offense at his previous stations. The eloquent Nagelsmann in Munich was not without controversy.
Despite a top squad, the Bayern bosses did not see any lasting sporting improvement under the extroverted coach, who celebrated his greatest international Bayern success with the round of 16 coup against Paris.
Kahn and Co. saw the seasonal goals endangered by constant fluctuations in performance. All three titles are still possible in the Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB Cup.
The timing of the sensational personnel comes as a surprise before the BVB summit and the knockout duels with SC Freiburg in the DFB Cup and Manchester City in the premier class, but is based on the current overall constellation.
Changing coaches is always a question of alternatives. Tuchel is on the market – and in demand internationally. He was also said to be a candidate at Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur. Either now or not again, could have been the question in the Bayern calculation.
In the spring of 2018, Munich had hesitated at Tuchel, who would quickly expect a duel with the highly esteemed city coach Pep Guardiola. At that time, Uli Hoeneß had hoped for too long to be able to persuade Jupp Heynckes to continue.
In the end came Niko Kovac, who had to leave early in his second year in office despite winning the championship and DFB Cup – and with whom Bayern was not happy. Something similar is now repeated with last year’s master coach Nagelsmann.
The coach is blamed for the constant fluctuations between top performances in Europe, such as recently against Paris, and repeated negligence in the Bundesliga.
Bayern went into the World Cup break nine points ahead of Dortmund. Before the upcoming direct duel, they are one point behind.
Too many sideshows under Nagelsmann
After the 1-2 draw at Bayer Leverkusen, Salihamidzic expressed his displeasure: “That’s not what Bayern means.” He listed a whole list of shortcomings and even asked the question of mentality.
That didn’t fit at all with the many previous statements by the bosses with a lot of praise for Nagelsmann. The collaboration was actually designed as a long-term project.
There were also too many sideshows around Nagelsmann. For example, the replacement of Toni Tapalovic, a friend of Manuel Neuer, as goalkeeper coach, which he promoted, caused a stir. With a relationship with a reporter, he made himself vulnerable internally.
Incidentally, it is not new that successes at FC Bayern do not protect against separations. On the way to the UEFA Cup title in 1996, Otto Rehhagel once had to leave after reaching the final.
With Franz Beckenbauer as interim coach, Bayern won the European Cup in the final. (Christian Kunz, Klaus Bergmann and Jordan Raza, dpa)
Source: Tagesspiegel
Brayden White, a veteran sports writer at Global Happening, brings his wealth of knowledge and expertise to the sports section. With over a decade of experience, he is committed to delivering high-quality coverage of the latest games and events.
