Official: Thomas Tuchel becomes new Bayern Munich Manager

Official: Thomas Tuchel becomes new Bayern Munich Manager

Isaac Darko
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:29 PM
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Bayern Munich announced Friday they had appointed former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel as their new boss after firing Julian Nagelsmann.

The reigning German champions said in a statement: "FC Bayern and head coach Julian Nagelsmann have parted company... Nagelsmann will be succeeded by Thomas Tuchel."

Nagelsmann, 35, led Bayern to the quarter-finals of the Champions League where they will face Premier League champions Manchester City next month.

Thomas Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel takes over at Bayern Munich six months after leaving Chelsea. Photo by Ozan Kose
Source: AFP

But the club decided to replace him with 49-year-old Tuchel, who won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021.

Bayern chairman Oliver Kahn said: "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."

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Bayern signed Nagelsmann to a five-year deal just two years ago but nerves have been fraying as the perennial Bundesliga champions struggle to hold onto their title. They sit second to Tuchel's former club Borussia Dortmund in the league table.

Tuchel -- who Bayern had eyed previously but lost out to other top-flight European clubs -- has been in between jobs after he was fired by Chelsea in September.

His first match will come as soon as April 1, when Bayern meet Dortmund, the club that Tuchel led from 2015-2017 before he left for PSG.

Why Chelsea sacked Tuchel

It has been close to six months since Thomas Tuchel was sacked by Chelsea. It was a decision not many fans and pundits agreed with, as the new owners decided to bring in now-embattled Graham Potter as his replacement.

At the time of his sacking, the Blues weren't performing well but co-owner, Todd Boehly revealed the German wasn't sacked entirely because of on-pitch results and rather because the club was being steered in a new direction - one which Tuchel was not seen as the right person to do.

Tuchel on Real Madrid radar

This comes at a time when Tuchel continues to be linked with a move to Real Madrid, after being out of football club management for almost half a year.

Sports Brief reported on club president, Florentino Perez reportedly shortlisting Castilla coach, Raul Gonzalez and Tuchel as Carlo Ancelotti's replacements.

Gonzalez could be in a better position, having impressed with Los Blancos' reserve team to occupy third place in the Primera Federacion, winning 13 games so far.

Authors
Isaac Darko photo
Isaac Darko
Isaac Darko is a La Liga, Ligue 1 and Bundesliga editor at Sports Brief with a Degree in Journalism and Communications from Ghana Institute of Journalism (2010)
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