FC Bayern and Thomas Tuchel will go their separate ways at the end of this season. The coach’s contract, originally valid until 2025, ends in summer 2024. The club announced this officially. This was preceded by three defeats in a row for Bayern. Initially nothing was known about a possible successor.
“In an open, good conversation, we came to the decision to end our collaboration by mutual agreement in the summer. Our goal is to carry out a sporting realignment with a new coach for the 2024/25 season. Until then, every single person in the club is expressly involved required to achieve the maximum possible in the Champions League and the Bundesliga. I also explicitly hold the team accountable for this. Especially in the Champions League, we are convinced that after the 0-1 defeat in the first leg at Lazio Rome “We will move into the quarter-finals in the second leg in our fully occupied Allianz Arena with our fans behind us,” Bayern’s CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen is quoted as saying in the statement.
“We have agreed that we will end our collaboration after this season. Until then, I and my coaching team will of course continue to do everything we can to ensure maximum success,” Tuchel is quoted as saying.
Tuchel succeeded Julian Nagelsmann as coach of FC Bayern in March 2023. A good two months later he celebrated winning the German championship with the club. In the 2022/23 season, the Munich team under Tuchel were eliminated in the DFB Cup against SC Freiburg and in the Champions League against eventual winners Manchester City, but in the end they at least celebrated the German championship in an exciting finish ahead of Borussia Dortmund.
The current season threatens to be the first without a title since the 2011/12 season. In the cup, the Munich team was eliminated by third division team 1. FC Saarbrücken. In the round of 16 of the Champions League, FC Bayern must make up for a 0-1 defeat in the first leg at Lazio Rome in order to reach the quarter-finals on March 5th.
In the fight for the championship, Bayer Leverkusen is far ahead of Munich. Coach Xabi Alonso’s Werkself secured a clear 3-0 win in a direct duel in mid-February. Alonso played for FC Bayern from 2014 to 2017 and is an interesting coaching candidate for several top clubs.
The 50-year-old Tuchel has suffered many injuries in his team this season. On the other hand, the still top-class squad disappointed too often. The tactical and personnel changes in the past games were unsuccessful. There was a lot of professional praise for Tuchel, but there were also disagreements with one or two players. Tuchel repeatedly pointed out the discrepancy between performances in games and in training. Tuchel continues to try to bring the season to a successful end after repeated setbacks. The Bayern bosses absolutely want to avoid a separation in the middle of the season like with Nagelsmann.