According to information from several media outlets, Julian Nagelsmann is to become the new national coach. This was reported first Picture and Kickeralso the Southgerman newspaper learned about relevant discussions between the former Bayern coach and the association. It was said on Tuesday that the German Football Association had agreed in principle to work together with the 36-year-old until the home European Championships in 2024. Only the final details remain to be clarified.
The German Football Association announced that DFB President Bernd Neuendorf and Rudi Völler had their first meeting with Nagelsmann on Tuesday. Neuendorf explained: “We are in good discussions.” Nagelsmann would succeed Hansi Flick, from whom the association separated on September 10th due to continued lack of success. The DFB team had lost 4-1 against Japan the previous evening, their third game in a row.
Nagelsmann was relieved of his duties at FC Bayern Munich last March during an international break. His current contract in Munich should be terminated and he will come to the DFB on a free transfer, the reports continued. In the 2-1 win against France on September 12th in Dortmund, sports director Völler temporarily took over as team boss together with Hannes Wolf and ex-national player Sandro Wagner on the German bench during a short comeback.
The 63-year-old had already described this as a “one-off” task before the game and reiterated the urgency in the search for a national coach. On October 9th, the national team will fly to North America for two international matches against the USA and Mexico. This will be followed by the game against Austria at the end of the year, which has been coached by Ralf Rangnick since June 2022, who was a major supporter of Nagelsmann’s coaching career in Leipzig.
With Flick, the DFB selection had already failed in the preliminary round of the World Cup in Qatar at the end of 2022; this year they only managed one win in six games, 2-0 against Peru. Völler spoke of a “World Cup baggage” that Flick was unable to shake off. Immediately after the terrible defeat against Japan, there was speculation about a number of names, including the almost eternal dream solution Jürgen Klopp, who is tied to Liverpool FC.
Nagelsmann had not yet found a new club. The question of money was open because he was contractually bound to the record champions with a well-paid working paper. It was indicated early on that an agreement between the financially struggling DFB and Bayern was possible.