DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Thomas Tuchel is leaving Bayern Munich and taking the fall for a disappointing season. The players have been warned, too.
Bayern announced Wednesday that Tuchel will leave the club at the end of the season, after a run of three straight losses raised the prospect of the club’s first campaign without a trophy in 12 years.
The announcement was accompanied by a pledge from chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen to “hold the team accountable” for its performances on the field for the rest of the season.
DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Thomas Tuchel is leaving Bayern Munich and taking the fall for a disappointing season. The players have been warned, too.
Bayern announced Wednesday that Tuchel will leave the club at the end of the season, after a run of three straight losses raised the prospect of the club’s first campaign without a trophy in 12 years.
The announcement was accompanied by a pledge from chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen to “hold the team accountable” for its performances on the field for the rest of the season.
Bayern said Tuchel’s departure was decided when he spoke with chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen. Tuchel’s contract was due to run through the end of the 2024-25 season.
“In a good, open discussion, we came to the decision to end our working relationship by mutual agreement in the summer,” Dreesen said in a club statement. “Our goal is to pursue a new footballing direction with a new head coach for the 2024-25 season. Until then, every individual at the club is expressly called upon to achieve the maximum possible in the Champions League and Bundesliga. I also explicitly hold the team accountable in this regard.”
Tuchel has repeatedly said his squad trains well and then fails to perform to the same standard in games.
Tuchel said in the statement that “I will of course continue to do everything I can with my coaching staff to achieve maximum success” until he leaves the club. Bayern’s next game is Saturday at home to Leipzig with a squad heavily depleted by injuries.
There was no word from the club on a possible successor. Tuchel’s delayed departure could mean Bayern will be competing with Liverpool for the services of Xabi Alonso, as Jürgen Klopp is also leaving at the end of the season after nine years in charge of the English club.
Alonso is widely considered one of the most in-demand coaches in Europe after leading Leverkusen to first place in the Bundesliga in his first senior head coaching role. He was a player for both Bayern and Liverpool and would likely get a warm welcome from either club’s fans, though Alonso himself has declined to speculate on his future.
“I am really happy here. I am enjoying my work here,” Alonso said last month when Klopp announced his departure. “What’s going to happen in the future I don’t know, and I don’t really care at the moment.”
Other possible candidates could include Sebastian Hoeness, the nephew of Bayern’s honorary president Uli Hoeness. His Stuttgart team is a surprising third in the Bundesliga. Hansi Flick won the Champions League with Bayern in 2020 before moving to the German national team. He’s available but his national team tenure was largely unsuccessful and featured many of the same players from the Bayern squad.
Tuchel joined Bayern in March as the replacement for Julian Nagelsmann amid frustration from the Bayern hierarchy over the team’s lack of consistency, a problem that persists.