Good news for Minjae Kim: Munich fans petition for Tuchel to stay
Head coach Thomas Tuchel has opened up about his future.
Bayern Munich will host Eintracht Frankfurt in the 31st round of the 2023-24 Bundesliga at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. ET. Munich are currently in second place with 66 points, while Frankfurt are in sixth place with 45 points.
At the pre-match press conference, Tuchel was asked about his future. This is likely due to the news that the Munich fans want Tuchel to stay. “More than 10,000 Munich fans have signed a petition to keep Tuchel,” according to global sports outlet The Athletic.
Tuchel was adamant. “Some fans may want me to stay, but it’s not a priority and it shouldn’t be. For the next 11 days, I have to think only about football. The goal is to win points in the Bundesliga and reach the Champions League final. We are fully focused because every day is important.”
Tuchel took charge of Munich last season. Munich has always been a dominant force in the Bundesliga. They have won 32 Bundesliga titles in total and recently won 11 in a row. Last season, however, they lost the top spot to Dortmund. As a result, Munich fired Nagelsmann and hired Tuchel.
Tuchel set his sights on a treble when he took over. However, Tuchel’s lofty ambitions were not realized. They were eliminated in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) quarterfinals by Manchester City.
In the DFB-Pokal quarterfinals, they lost to Freiburg. The league title was a close call. Dortmund finished ahead of Munich in the standings, but Munich won the final game and Dortmund lost to Mainz to finish on top.
Munich’s goal this season was also a treble. However, they lost to third division Saarbrücken in the second round of the DFB-Pokal. The treble was out of the question, and all that remained was the league and UCL. Even that is likely to be a failure. The league was won by Leverkusen.
Leverkusen started the season well, going undefeated. They emerged as a challenger to the reigning Bundesliga champions. Leverkusen leapfrogged Munich to the top of the league. At the beginning of the season, it wasn’t widely believed that Leverkusen’s surge would last.
However, Leverkusen had no intention of losing, and they ended the first half of the Bundesliga season at the top of the league and a point clear of Munich. Leverkusen and Munich met at a crucial time, and the result was a 3-0 victory for Leverkusen. Leverkusen didn’t lose a single game after that. While Leverkusen were riding high, Munich began to falter and the gap between the two sides grew to unmanageable proportions.
Tuchel was forced to leave Munich earlier than his contract allowed. “Munich has agreed to terminate the contract of Tuchel, which was due to expire on June 30, 2025, on June 30, 2024,” the club announced on its website.
Munich’s 2-3 loss to Heidenheim and Leverkusen’s 1-0 win over Union Berlin in the 28th round of the Bundesliga increased their goal difference to 16 points. With six games remaining before the league finale, Leverkusen needed just one 안전놀이터 win to clinch the title early. Leverkusen clinched the title with a 5-0 win over Werder Bremen in round 29.
Munich are in search of a new coach. Xabi Alonso was one of the favorites. Alonso made his Bundesliga debut last season when he took over at Leverkusen. They finished in sixth place last season and qualified for the UEFA Champions League (UEL).
Alonso’s Leverkusen have been on a tear this season. They haven’t lost a single game in 44 matches this season. They clinched the league title early by beating Munich. It was Leverkusen’s first league title in their history. Leverkusen reached the final of the DFB-Pokal and the quarterfinals of the UEL. At this point, a mini-treble is possible.
Not only Munich, but also Liverpool and Real Madrid have shown interest in Alonso. However, Alonso chose to stay at Leverkusen. European soccer transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano wrote on social media, “Alonso will announce his decision to stay at Leverkusen in an official press conference. It is confirmed that he will stay at Leverkusen for one more season.”
With Alonso staying at Leverkusen, Munich had to find another coach. Julian Nagelsmann emerged as a candidate. Nagelsmann hadn’t been able to find a team since his dismissal from Munich, so he took on a new challenge with the German national team.
The German national team hasn’t been performing well lately, and with many losses under Hanzi Flick, the German national team has decided to make a change. Since Nagelsmann’s arrival, the German team’s mood has changed. They beat France and the Netherlands in March’s A-match and quickly became Euro 2024 favorites.
Nagelsmann’s contract with the German national team runs until Euro 2024. With Euro 2024 taking place this summer, there was no problem with Nagelsmann taking over in Munich next season. However, Nagelsmann’s appointment has been canceled. The German Football Association announced that “Nagelsmann has extended his contract until the 2026 World Cup in North and Central America. Nagelsmann will remain in charge of the German national team after Euro 2024,” the official statement read.
In addition to Alonso and Nagelsmann, Zinedine Zidane, Unai Emery, and Ralf Rangnick have also been linked to the job. However, Zidane is reportedly reluctant to join Munich due to his lack of comfort with the German language, while Emery has re-signed with Aston Villa. For now, the Bavarians will have to focus on the appointment of Rangnick.