Julian Nagelsmann took over as coach of Bayern Munich less than two years ago, leading them to the Bundesliga title last season. But now he will leave his job during the international break as Bayern sit second in the Bundesliga behind Borussia Dortmund.
The defeat to Bayer Leverkusen last weekend in the Bundesliga was Nagelsmann’s last game at Bayern, although the 35-year-old strategist is not worried about his chair. In fact, the former Leipzig captain flew to Austria to ski before planning matches for the rest of the season.
Nagelsmann lost his job in the blink of an eye as Bayern prepared to enter the season-defining games.
However, those plans will no longer be necessary for the time being, as Bayern bosses make the decision to go their separate ways with Nagelsmann. According to BILD, club heads feel Bayern are in danger of missing out on the treble.
Die Roten has reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League and has also reached the round of eight in the DFB-Pokal. However, dropping 10 points in the Bundesliga in 2023 marked the club’s ups and downs. It angered the Bayern board, who concluded Nagelsmann was ‘the most to blame’.
The international break provided the perfect opportunity for Bayern to make a change on the coaching bench. Tuchel will be the replacement for Nagelsmann and will soon take over the role of Bayern manager from next Monday.
Nagelsmann was “absolutely surprised” by the decision he was told on Thursday night. Bayern prepare for a decisive series of matches when they return to play after the national team gathering in March. The Bundesliga champions will face big rivals Dortmund in the Bundesliga, Freiburg at the DFB Pokal and Manchester City in the first leg of the quarter-finals. Champions League within 10 days.
Those are important matches that affect the Bavarian giants’ ability to win titles. The Bayern leadership did not want to take the risk, so it decided to ‘kill’ Nagelsmann to appoint Tuchel in the context that the former Chelsea coach was targeted by Real Madrid or Tottenham Hotspur.
It seems that the players were also surprised that the Nagelsmann incident happened quickly. Joao Cancelo admits he only learned about it after Portugal’s win over Liechtenstein on Wednesday.
The loss to Leverkusen made the big boss Bayern angry and Nagelsmann paid the price.
According to Sky Sports Germany, Nagelsmann’s decision to fly to Austria to go skiing surprised the players and club leaders. With Bayern playing unstable, it seems that this decision to go on vacation is a minus in the eyes of the big bosses at the Allianz Arena.
The warning signs for Nagelsmann sounded at the weekend after the defeat to Leverkusen. Sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic was furious at the defeat and issued a criticism aimed at the players that Nagelsmann has now paid the price for.
Lu Feng | 20:49 03/24/2023
