Since Pep Guardiola's time on the bench, no coach has lasted more than two seasons at Bayern Munich. It is not for lack of having had renowned coaches, but the leaders of the Bavarian club have shown a certain impatience, particularly with Carlo Ancelotti and Julian Nagelsmann. And here they are today faced with the departure of Thomas Tuchel, who we thought was leaving for a long lease.
After having had so many coaches over the last ten years, the task of finally finding the right person at the right time promises to be difficult. It falls to Max Eberl, the new sports director. Who agreed to take stock of the coach's file at Sports Bild. “There are names on a list. Ultimately, of course, there are certain conditions that we rightly put forward all the time: What happens if it takes too long? What if it gets too expensive? Or if the candidate does not want it? We have a list that we would like to go through in peace and have conversations in peace. »
Several names on the list, a surprise not to be excluded
But today, who is capable of coaching Bayern Munich? “There are more than four names on the list, but not 40. It is our duty to think: unusual ideas are also on the list. We exchange ideas in order to get the best possible content: we need and want to know people and their environment. So we want to identify a lot of things in advance and have the two or three discussions at the end.”, assures Eberl. A name quickly emerged, and if he did not confirm that it was a priority, Eberl recognized that Xabi Alonso presented an interesting profile.
The Spanish coach is working wonders with Bayer Leverkusen, Bundesliga leader and still undefeated this season. But Xabi Alonso is also attracting interest from Liverpool, and could also decide to stay at Bayer. As for Jürgen Klopp, his desire to cut away from football will be respected. “I know what it means when you make statements like Klopp, who said: 'I have no more energy.' Few people can judge this better than me, having experienced it”explains Eberl, who resigned from his post as sporting director of Borussia Mönchengladbach in January 2022 due to burnout.
Other names are mentioned, like José Mourinho, who apparently decided to learn German. But a surprise could well come out of Eberl's hat. “If I limited myself like this in terms of language, age or coaching career, it would be a mistake. The home is big then gets smaller. We want a coach who does not stay for a short period, but who is there for the medium and long term. This is an important constant when it comes to team planning and strategy. Frequent coaching changes have recently been a problem for the club. » However, this was not the initial plan when Bayern Munich appointed Nagelsmann for 5 years in 2021.
