Bayern Munich replace Nagelsmann with Thomas Tuchel
(Update: adds club statement)
Frankfurt, Germany, Mar 24 (EFE).- Bayern Munich have appointed Thomas Tuchel as first team coach after sacking Julian Nagelsmann, the club said Friday.
Tuchel will take over training sessions on Monday, and will be in the dugout for the crunch Bundesliga clash on April 1 at home to league leaders Borussia Dortmund, whom he coached from 2015 to 2017.
Tuchel, who had been out of work since he was fired by Chelsea at the start of the season, “will receive a contract until 30 June 2025,” Bayern said on Twitter.
Bayern, German champions for the past 10 seasons, have pulled the plug on Nagelsmann’s tenure after an underwhelming start to the season, despite paying his former club RB Leipzig 25 million euros ($26.8 million) to sign him in 2021 on a five-year contract.
With Nageslmann at the helm, Bayern won the Bundesliga last season, as well as the German Supercup twice.
But the Bavarian giants are second in the league, and tamely lost 2-1 at Bayer Leverkusen last week, after drawing their first three Bundesliga games after the World Cup break.
“We have come to the conclusion that the quality in our squad has come to the fore less and less often,” Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn said.
“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,” he added.
Hasan Salihamidžić said it was the “most difficult decision” in his time as board member for sport at Bayern.
In the Champions League, Bayern face Manchester City in the quarter-finals. They are also still alive in the German Cup, where they face Freiburg in the quarter-finals.
Thomas Tuchel, 49, has coached Augsburg II, Mainz and Dortmund in Germany.
From 2018-2020 he was in charge of Paris Saint-Germain. He took over at Chelsea in 2021, leading the London club to the Champions League title that year. EFE
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