Tuchel should save the FC Bayern season

What the sparrows in Munich whistled from the roofs on Thursday night has been official since 5:45 p.m. yesterday: The supposed long-term project with coach Julian Nagelsmann, who signed a five-year contract in summer 2021, ended abruptly.

The 35-year-old, whose bloodless performance in the 2-1 defeat in Leverkusen was his undoing last Sunday, found out on a short skiing holiday in the Zillertal that he was kicked out by record German soccer champions FC Bayern. Nagelsmann had won the championship title in 2021/22 and recently led the “Reds” to the quarter-finals of the Champions League with two wins over Paris SG.

Apparently that wasn’t enough. “We’ve come to realize that the quality of our squad has been showing less and less often,” explained FCB CEO Oliver Kahn: “After the World Cup, we played less and less successfully and attractively, the fluctuations in performance are our goals this season questioned.”

Sports director Hasan Salihamidzic spoke of the “most difficult decision” during his tenure: “I regret the separation, but after a thorough analysis of the sporting development, we have now decided together to release Julian.”

The successor has already been determined. It is the former Mainz, Dortmund, Paris SG and Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel (49) who will lead the star ensemble in the trend-setting top game against leaders Borussia Dortmund next Saturday. The Westphalians are currently one point ahead of the Munich team.

Tuchel has been given a contract until June 30, 2025 and will lead training for the first time on Monday. The Swabian has been without a job since September 7, 2022. At that time, Chelsea FC released him after Tuchel had won the Champions League, the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup with the “Blues” in 2021 and received the award for “World Coach of the Year”.

This castling is an expensive affair for Bayern. They hired Nagelsmann for a transfer fee of 25 million euros from RB Leipzig, given the long term of the contract (until 2026) the expulsion will be very expensive. According to the “Bild” newspaper, Nagelsmann earns eight to nine million a year. As long as he does not find a new employer, the club must continue to pay his salary. Or both sides agree on a settlement.