Thomas Tuchel will never manage a German Bundesliga team again.
“Tuchel will no longer coach in the Bundesliga,” Germany’s Sport reported on Sunday. Tuchel will step down as Bayern Munich coach at the end of this season, but will be paid until the end of his contract. However, given his history, it is possible that he will return to the field immediately afterward,” the report said.
Tuchel will leave Munich at the end of the season. “Tuchel was initially contracted with the club until the summer of 2025. However, after discussions, it was agreed that he will only be in charge of the team until this summer. This was the result of discussions between CEO Jan-Christian Driesen and Tuchel,” the club announced.
Tuchel is a German coach who gained recognition for his coaching at Mainz and Dortmund. He went on to win trophies with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Chelsea, including two French Ligue 1 titles and one UEFA Champions League (UCL) title. However, his spells in charge were generally short-lived, and he joined Munich as Julian Nagelsmann’s successor.
The mid-season coaching change paid off for Munich, as they won their 11th consecutive league title. But it was a shaky finish. If Dortmund had beaten Mainz in the league final, Munich would not have won the title. Fortunately, Dortmund drew and Munich beat Cologne to win the title in dramatic fashion.
There were hopes that this season would be different, but the finish was not to be. Currently, Munich is second in the league. The gap between them and ‘leaders’ Leverkusen is eight points. A 0-3 defeat against Leverkusen not too long ago proved fatal, as a win would have allowed Munich to reclaim the top spot, but instead the gap widened.
It didn’t end there. Unable to overcome the shock of the Leverkusen defeat, Munich lost both their UCL round of 16 first leg against Lazio and their league away match against Bochum. Three consecutive defeats in official matches raised the possibility of Tuchel’s dismissal. Tuchel held talks with the Bavarians and eventually agreed to stay in charge of the club until the end of the season.
After Tuchel’s departure, the Bavarians snapped their losing streak with a 2-1 victory over RB Leipzig. Tuchel took a jab at the club and indirectly criticized his players, saying he wasn’t happy with the way they’ve been playing lately.
“It doesn”t matter anymore if I understand the club”s decision or if I”m happy with it. I don’t think the current situation is only about me. But I accept my responsibility. I was not happy with our performance and I was in a bad mood for quite some time,” he claimed.