Club statement
“We are planning a long future with him,” Bayern Munich president Herbert Hainer said about Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann at the start of March. But now, just a few weeks later, Nagelsmann is history at Bayern Munich. An initial report by Fabrizio Romano that Bayern are discussing sacking Nagelsmann and replacing him with Thomas Tuchel, who signed a two year deal on Friday, has since been confirmed by the club.
“This has been the most difficult decision in my time as board member for sport at Bayern Munich,” sporting CEO Hasan Salihamidzic said. “I have had an open, trusting, friendly relationship with Julian from day one. I regret the parting of the ways with Julian. But after a thorough analysis of the sporting development of our team, especially since January and with the experience of the second half of the previous season, we have now decided to release him. I am very grateful to Julian for what he has done for FC Bayern and I wish him all the best.”
“When we signed Julian Nagelsmann for FC Bayern in the summer of 2021, we were convinced we would work with him on a long-term basis – and that was the goal of all of us right up to the end,” chairman Oliver Kahn added. “Julian shares our aspiration to play successful and attractive football. But now we have come to the conclusion that the quality in our squad – despite the Bundesliga title last year – has come to the fore less and less often. After the World Cup we have played less successfully and less attractively. The big fluctuations in performance have cast doubt on our goals for this season, but also our goals for the future. That is why we have acted now. Personally and on behalf of FC Bayern, I would like to thank Julian and his coaching team, and wish everyone the best of luck for the future.”
Nagelsmann, who just returned from a ski holiday in Austria, was surprised by the decision. The same is true for many players, who expected to return to the Säbener Straße on Monday with the 35-year-old still in charge. Instead, the session on Monday is expected to be led by former Dortmund, PSG, and Chelsea boss Tuchel. The 49-year-old, in fact, has already been living in Munich for several weeks, suggesting that this is a plan that Bayern have considered for some time.
Tuchel has been without a club since he was surprisingly sacked by new Chelsea owner Todd Boehly in September. Tuchel won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021. It is also the second time that Tuchel was on the verge of becoming the Bayern bench boss. In 2018, just before taking the PSG job, Tuchel was a candidate to take over the Rekordmeister.
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Nagelsmann‘s last Bayern game? Salihamidzic critical of performances
The 2-1 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen on matchday 25 is now going to be Nagelsmann’s last game as Bayern’s bench boss. Following that game, sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has been very critical of the team’s performances of late. This is not what FC Bayern is all about,” Salihamidzic said. “There was so little drive, mentality, duels. This team is so good when the mentality is there right from the start, but just as bad when they don’t show mentality and think they can do everything just with their quality.”
Born in Landsberg, just outside of Munich, Nagelsmann was signed by Bayern Munich from RB Leipzig for €25 million—a record fee for a head coach. In 84 games in charge, Nagelsmann managed a points-per-game average of 2.31 and won the German championship last year. The club also won all eight Champions League games this season and will face Man City in the quarterfinals.
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