German giants Bayern Munich have released an official statement in the immediate aftermath of a parting of ways with gifted young manager Julian Nagelsmann.
Despite the Bavarian juggernaut steamrolling all before them in the Champions League, with eight wins from eight and a date in the quarterfinals against former boss Pep Guardiola and Manchester City, Bayern’s results on the home front have been deemed inconsistent and unacceptable overall as the club sits one point off table-topping Borussia Dortmund with nine matches remaining in the 2022-23 campaign.
FC Bayern and head coach Julian Nagelsmann have parted company. This decision was taken by CEO Oliver Kahn and board member for sport Hasan Salihamidžić in consultation with club president Herbert Hainer. Nagelsmann will be succeeded by Thomas Tuchel.
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) March 24, 2023
Though Bayern leads the league in goals scored while also boasting the best defensive record and the top goal difference in the league, as well as remaining favorites to top the league come the completion of the season, a chance to bring in Thomas Tuchel – a man Bayern has wanted since his days with Dortmund – was apparently too good for the club to pass up.
A perfect storm of difficult defeats in recent weeks and murmurings of a few senior figures in the team losing faith in Nagelsmann was all that club CEO Oliver Kahn and board member for sport Hasan Salihamidžić needed, in conjunction with conversations with club president Herbert Hainer, to pull the plug on the 35-year-old with immediate effect and bring Tuchel in during the current international window.
Below is the official statement from Bayern as per the club’s website.
“FC Bayern Munich has released head coach Julian Nagelsmann. This decision was taken by CEO Oliver Kahn and board member for sport Hasan Salihamidžić in consultation with club president Herbert Hainer. Nagelsmann wants to be succeeded by Thomas Tuchel. Tuchel will receive a contract until 30 June 2025 and will supervise squad training for the first time on Monday.
Oliver Kahn: “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. 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.”
Hasan Salihamidžić: “This has been the most difficult decision in my time as a board member for sport at Bayern Munich. 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.”
Nagelsmann, 35, came to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2021 and won the German title in his first season as well as the German Supercup in 2021 and 2022.
Thomas Tuchel, 49, was most recently employed by Chelsea. He won the Champions League with Chelsea in May 2021, followed by the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup, and was voted World Coach of the Year in 2021. With Paris St. Germain, Tuchel won the French title in 2018/19 and 2019/2020 as well as the French Cup and League Cup in 2020. In August 2020 his PSG side reached the final of the Champions League tournament in Lisbon, losing to FC Bayern. In the Bundesliga, Tuchel worked for 1. FSV Mainz 05 from 2009 to 2014, then for Borussia Dortmund for two years (2015 – 2017). In 2017 he won the DFB Cup with BVB.”
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