Kim Min-jae’s next head coach is still to be decided.
“Ralf Rangnick has recently mentioned Bayern Munich’s interest in him,” Germany’s Sport1 reported on Thursday (June 24).
Munich will part ways with coach Thomas Tuchel at the end of the season. In February, the club announced on its website that “Munich and Tuchel have jointly decided to terminate their relationship on June 30, 2024, following the expiration of his contract on June 30, 2025. This is the result of friendly talks between CEO Jan-Christian Dresen and Tuchel,” the club announced.
There is only one reason for Tuchel’s early termination. He wasn’t performing. Munich won the Bundesliga last season and bolstered their squad this summer with the signings of Kim Min-Jae, Harry Kane, and Rafael Guerreiro.
However, they were eliminated in back-to-back cup competitions. Munich lost 0-3 to Leipzig in the DFL-Supercup this season, missing out on the title. They were also eliminated from the DFB-Pokal in the second round after a shocking loss to Saarburgen. The Bundesliga was also clinched by Leverkusen. That leaves the UEFA Champions League (UCL) as the only competition left. They have hopes of reaching the last four, but their next opponent is Real Madrid.
In the end, Munich made a quick decision. In February, they opted to part ways with Tuchel early. However, they’ve been struggling to find their next coach. Various names have been floated. Alonso, Nagelsmann, De Zerbi, and others have been mentioned.
Rangnick was one of the favorites. “There is a possibility that Lannick could be appointed as Munich coach and negotiations are underway,” Florian Plettenberg, a journalist familiar with the Munich situation, said on March 23. Lang has made his mark on soccer as both a coach and sporting director.
In the middle of the 2021-22 season, Langnick made a major career change. He was working as a consultant and sporting director for Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow. However, Manchester United suddenly offered him the head coaching job. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was in charge of the team, but they were underperforming, and the Red Devils saw Langnick as an interim manager who would see them through to the end of the season.
Langnick accepted the offer. However, there was a catch: he had to work as a consultant for United for two years after the interim period ended. Langnick led a mismatched United squad to a sixth-place finish and a UEFA Europa League (UEL) spot for the following season.
After the season, Langnick took over as head coach of the Austrian national team. The idea was to combine it with his role as a consultant at United. However, he 안전놀이터 abruptly resigned from all of his roles at United. Various media outlets speculated that the reason for this was that Langnick“s philosophy didn”t match that of Eric ten Hach.
He then took over as head coach of the Austrian national team. Since his arrival, Lang has built a solid squad and has proven his leadership skills by qualifying for UEFA Euro 2024. In November last year, he made waves with a 2-0 victory over Germany, and in March, he led his side to a 6-1 thrashing of Turkuye during the A-Match.
It was against this backdrop that he was linked with Munich. Langnick is no stranger to the Bundesliga, having previously held managerial positions at Stuttgart, Hannover, Schalke 04, Hoffenheim, and Leipzig.
However, Langnick blocked Munich’s interest: “They contacted us, and I informed the Austrian national team about it. We have a very trusting relationship. My focus is on the Austrian national team,” he said.
“We are fully focused on the Euros. I feel very comfortable here. There is no reason for me to deal with this issue intensively and specifically now. That reason only exists when Munich says, ‘We want you’. Then you have to ask yourself, ‘Do I want this?’” he added.
In effect, he was indirectly saying no to Munich’s interest. “If I want to do something else, I will discuss it with the Austrian national team first,” Langnick replied cautiously.