23 March 2023 , 21:35
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Bayern Munich are set to sack head coach Julian Nagelsmann on Friday.
In a surprise move, the German champions will dismiss the 35 year-old, despite him leading them into the quarter-finals of the Champions League. They also sit second in the Bundesliga, having been knocked off top spot at the weekend following a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen. Borussia Dortmund currently sit top, having thrashed Köln 6-1 on Saturday.
Bayern host Dortmund immediately after the international break in Der Klassiker. But Nagelsmann is set to be told his services at the Allianz Arena are no longer required by the club’s top brass. Instead, former Dortmund and Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel will take his place in the Bavarian hot seat.
Despite boasting a 100 percent record in the Champions League this term - a run which has taken them to a last eight showdown with Manchester City and Pep Guardiola - there have been questions over Nagelsmann's decision-making and his ability to deal with criticism, particularly from the club's hierarchy, who placed the loss to Leverkusen squarely at his door.
Nagelsmann was told of his fate on Thursday night, having been called by club officials while on a skiing holiday in Austria. It is an absolutely ruthless move from Bayern to part with Nagelsmann now, but history shows that when club chiefs start to have questions about a manager's ability to take a side forwards, they don't last too much longer.
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Both Carlo Ancelotti and Niko Kovac were similarly dismissed mid-season in recent years.
Thomas Tuchel led Chelsea to the Champions League crown (PA)Ironically, by turning to Tuchel they will be hiring a head coach who has left his last two jobs mid-season and whom has a record for being a prickly character who doesn't always get on with club chiefs.
He left both Mainz and Borussia Dortmund after high-profile falling outs, was sacked by PSG little more than four months after reaching the 2020 Champions League final and then departed Chelsea following a personality clash with Todd Boehly after his takeover last year.
But there is no doubting his pedigree as a coach. The German is among the world's elite, is widely respected by coaches and players alike and can call himself a Champions League winner, having led Chelsea to the trophy in 2021 - having out-thought Guardiola in the final.
Now he will be given the task of out-thinking the Catalan once again next month. Bayern have always been big fans and decided that they couldn't miss this opportunity to finally bring him to Munich.