The collaboration between coach Thomas Tuchel and FC Bayern Munich has not yet been a success story. Now both parties are facing separation. This summer it will be over for the head coach of the record champions.
Only in office at FC Bayern since the end of March 2023: Thomas Tuchel. IMAGO/Steinsiek.ch
As FC Bayern confirmed in a press release on Wednesday, the early separation between Tuchel and FC Bayern after the current season is a done deal. “FC Bayern Munich and head coach Thomas Tuchel have jointly decided to end the collaboration, which was originally scheduled to expire on June 30, 2025, on June 30, 2024,” the statement said. This is the result of an amicable conversation between CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen and Tuchel.
“Our goal is to reorient the sport with a new coach for the 2024/25 season,” Dreesen is quoted as saying. “Until then, every individual in the club is expressly required to achieve the maximum possible in the Champions League and the Bundesliga. I also explicitly hold the team responsible for this.” Tuchel emphasized that he and his coaching team would “of course continue to give everything for maximum success” until the agreed separation in the summer.
The 50-year-old only took over the position of head coach from Julian Nagelsmann, who was fired at the time, in March of last year. But the success the bosses had hoped for did not materialize with Tuchel either – despite winning the championship at the end of last season.
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In the current season, FC Bayern is now threatened with a season without a title: In the Bundesliga, the record champions, who recently won the cup eleven times in a row, are already eight points behind league leaders Bayer 04 Leverkusen. In the DFB Cup, Bayern had to cope with the elimination against third division team Saarbrücken in the second round (1:2) and in the Champions League, the Tuchel team is also under pressure after the 0-1 defeat in the first leg of the round of 16 at Lazio Rome.
Longest losing streak since 2015
Due to the defeat in Bochum on the last Bundesliga match day (2:3), FC Bayern had to accept its third competitive defeat in a row; the last time such a series occurred for the Munich team, who are used to success, was in May 2015. The criticism of the results crisis also made itself felt before the Tuchel as a person, who often appeared at a loss after his team’s weak performances, was unable to solve the deep-seated problems in the team.
After the Bochum game, Dreesen emphasized that Tuchel would “of course” sit on the bench in the duel with RB Leipzig (Saturday, 6:30 p.m., LIVE! on kicker). A coaching discussion is a topic “that I don’t deal with at all.”