Next Bayern Munich Manager After Hansi Flick

Odds on favourite for the job, the Bavarian-born Julian Nagelsmann represents the ideal Bayern Munich manager.

Just 33 years old and already with five years experience under his belt, Nagelsmann is the sort of man the Bayern hierarchy notoriously favour. After a knee injury ended his playing career, the current RB Leipzig boss made his managerial debut aged 28 with Bundesliga side Hoffenheim.

Having taken over a side threatened by relegation, the astute tactician transformed the fortunes of the plucky side from the Rhine-Neckar region of South-West Germany.

Nagelsmann qualified for the 2018/19 Champions League group stage campaign with Hoffenheim, and he left the club he made a name with, and switched to his current employers Leipzig in 2019.

Since taking over the team, the ex-1860 Munich and Augsburg centre-back has established Leipzig as Bayern’s biggest threat at the top of the Bundesliga, surpassing Borussia Dortmund in recent times.

Leipzig finished three points behind Dortmund in the previous campaign, and Nagelsmann is set to go one better this campaign and finish second. It’s likely the 2017 German Manager of the Year could well be lining up in a new dugout come the start of the 2021/22 season, but whether that is at the Allianz Arena is not yet nailed on, with Tottenham Hotspur also sniffing around.

Given the current Liverpool boss’ links to Bayern’s fierce rivals Dortmund, a switch to Munich would seem an unlikely move for Jurgen Klopp.

Yet, as the dust settles following the Super League bombshell, the odds on the 53-year-old returning to Germany plummet. Klopp was vocal in his criticism of the proposed breakaway league, despite his employers being one of the driving forces behind the project.

After a stop-start season in Merseyside, a first trophyless campaign in two seasons and no signs of a new contract being signed, it may be time for Liverpool’s most successful manager in over three decades to shut up shop. Having already ruled himself out of the vacant Germany role, there doesn’t appear many options post-Liverpool for Klopp.

A move to another Premier League side is farfetched and with Dortmund recently appointing Marco Rose to take charge next season, maybe Bayern is the next logical step for the man third in the all-time Mainz 05 appearance list. At the same time, switching to Bayern would give Klopp a chance to reunite with two-time Bundesliga Player of the Season, Robert Lewandowski.

The pair won two league titles whilst together at Dortmund and the prospect of managing Poland’s record goalscorer might be enough to persuade Klopp.

Only Pep Guardiola has more league titles over the last 10 seasons than Massimiliano Allegri, which is impressive in itself, not least considering the former AC Milan and Juventus boss has been out of work since 2019.

After an unassuming playing career scratching around Italy’s second and third tiers, Allegri made his name as one as Europe’s most astute bosses during a five-year stint in Turin. Picking up a stellar 11 trophies during this time, the four-time Serie A Coach of the Year transformed Juventus into Italy’s dominant force once more.

Unable to ever crack the Champions League despite two final defeats to both the Spanish giants, critics have questioned whether the 53-year-old could ever cut it outside of Italy.

His pedigree suggests so, yet his industrious style of play may make Bayern turn their heads the other way.

With his likely successor at die Mannschaft the current Bayern boss, a straight managerial swap might make sense for both parties. Joachim Löw understands the expectations linked to Germany’s biggest club and has consistently worked with their best players for just under two decades.

If he were to walk into his first job in club football since 2004 at the Allianz, he’ll first have to repair some bridges burnt with the board. After he dispelled the Bayern trio Thomas Muller, Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels back in 2019, it struck a nerve with the hierarchy in Munich.

Given Bayern’s dominance in the Bundesliga, there’s little doubt Löw would succeed on a domestic front. But with next to no experience in elite club management, if the reigning Champions League winners want to maintain their position amongst Europe’s best, they may want to look elsewhere.

The outside shot on this list, Erik ten Hag, may be priced high to be the next Bayern boss, but his credentials suggest he could be on his way to Germany. With a taste for trophies during his time as a manager in his native Netherlands, the 51-year-old sets his teams up to excite.

Understanding the pressures linked to managing a side expected to win year in year out, ten Hag has returned Ajax to the top of Dutch football after a period in the wilderness. With one Eredivisie title already under his belt, the three-time European Cup winners were denied a second consecutive championship after the league was null and void at the end of last season.

Best known for his exploits in leading the Amsterdam club to the 2019 Champions League semi-final, ten Hag is familiar with the Bayern Munich set up following a two-year stint as the second team manager between 2013 and 2015. A return to Munich may not be too far away for ten Hag.

By Amos Murphy