Sports FC Bayern
If Alonso agrees, all other names will be deleted immediately
As of: 9:24 a.m. | Reading time: 5 minutes
By Christian Falk, Tobias Altschäffl
Roberto De Zerbi is said to have an exit clause in his contract
What: REUTERS
FC Bayern is looking for a successor to Thomas Tuchel. The number one on the coaching list is Xabi Alonso. But there are other candidates, including German coaches and a clear number two. The exploration should be completed soon.
FC Bayern’s supervisory board has scheduled its next meeting in May. Then the nine-member committee chaired by President Herbert Hainer (69) expects a report from Max Eberl (50). The sports director should then present the results of its search for a coach to succeed Thomas Tuchel (50) starting in the summer.
According to information from this editorial team, the internal coaching search committee around Eberl and sports director Christoph Freund (46) has set itself the goal of largely completing the exploratory discussions with the candidates by the end of April. Because Bayern is still waiting for the decisive signal from Xabi Alonso (42). If the Leverkusen coach announces his willingness to take the coaching job in Munich, he will be Thomas Tuchel’s successor. This internal decision stands.
As long as the people of Munich have no certainty on the Alonso question, Eberl is working through his alternative list of candidates. Because apart from Liverpool FC, which also attracts Alonso, there is another model that could cause Munich’s efforts to fail. Accordingly, the Spaniard could initially remain loyal to Leverkusen in order to become the successor to Carlo Ancelotti (64) at his former club Real Madrid in 2025 or 2026.
De Zerbi is said to cost 14 million transfer fees
In second place on Eberl’s list is Brighton coach Roberto De Zerbi (44). The Italian is considered Plan B. Eberl has therefore already started talks with the coach of Brighton & Hove Albion. The Italian is also highly sought after and, like at FC Bayern, is also Plan B at Liverpool FC as an Alonso alternative. Manchester United, Chelsea FC and FC Barcelona are also said to be specifically interested in the summer. At Brighton, De Zerbi is said to have a release clause of 14 million euros.
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However, it is not certain whether De Zerbi will really be drawn to a big club. The Brighton coach is said to have chosen his previous stations such as Donetsk or Sassuolo Calcio with the aim of being able to work in peace in order to implement his philosophy of football. In Munich his work would be much more in focus. And: He would have pressure, which the Italian doesn’t really appreciate.
But De Zerbi is not said to be the only candidate with whom Eberl has sought contact so far. It is said from Italy that Bayern have already contacted Antonio Conte (54). Conte is currently not under contract with any club. The Italian is said to be interested in the task of taking over the German record champions.
Eberl has made it clear that he will also look at international trainers who are currently on the market. Knowledge of German should not be a requirement for the head coach position in Munich. The argument: Thomas Tuchel also gave most of his speeches to Bavaria in English. In the international Bayern team, German is no longer a given.
It shouldn’t be Mourinho
The language inhibits Zinédine Zidane (51), who is neither German nor fluent in English. The Frenchman is said to have asked some of his compatriots who know FC Bayern about the conditions at the club. A double solution with Franck Ribéry as assistant coach (40) would be an conceivable model. Ribéry himself is said to want to return to Munich. However, Zidane is said to have focused on his former club Juventus Turin, where coach Massimiliano Allegri (56) is currently shaky.
Curious: Allegri could also become a candidate at Bayern if he is fired. In Italy he is known as “the German” because of his meticulous way of working.
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Like Conte, José Mourinho (61) has also been without a job since his dismissal from AS Roma. At Bayern it is said that the Portuguese would only have been seriously considered if a Tuchel replacement was urgently needed during the current season. Since the club and coach only agreed on a separation in the summer, Mourinho is at the bottom of the Munich coaching list.
These are the German candidates
But there are also German candidates on the Eberl list.
Roger Schmidt (57), under contract with Benfica Lisbon until 2026, is impressive with his titles abroad (champion in Portugal, Austria and cup winner in Holland). Schmidt is still given outsider chances. He comes from the RB school and has already worked with sports director Freund in Salzburg.
Ralf Rangnick (65) is considered the founder of the RB school. Rangnick, currently under contract as Austria’s national coach until 2026, was a recurring topic in Munich. There was already contact with him in 2019 when Niko Kovac (52) wobbled as head coach in Munich. Because Kovac was allowed to stay after the double, Bayern coach Rangnick never came. However, the people of Munich appreciate his work and are watching his path.
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After resigning from SC Freiburg, Christian Streich (58) will be without a club from the summer. The former Bayern bosses and current supervisory board members Uli Hoeneß (72) and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (68) had also discussed him as Bayern coach in the past. The current management finds it difficult to imagine Bayern coach Streich at the moment. Especially since Streich himself is looking for a break.
A return in the summer of ex-Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann (36) is considered unrealistic internally at the club. Nagelsmann is said to be able to imagine a comeback after he was released in March 2023 as part of the Tuchel signing. CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen’s statement on this topic was recently made out of politeness (“You should never rule anything out in football”); Nagelsmann has not yet been discussed at FC Bayern.
No matter how long FC Bayern’s coaching list is, if Alonso accepts, all other names on it will be deleted immediately.
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The text was researched for the Sports Competence Center (WELT, SPORT BILD, BILD) and first published in SPORT BILD.