Taking advantage of the international break and with a pivotal game against the Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund right after it on April 1st, Bayern Munich have sacked manager Julian Nagelsmann.
Fabrizio Romano teased the news early on Thursday, saying that Bayern were close to firing Nagelsmann. He later confirmed those reports and it's all but wrapped up by now on Friday morning.
🚨 Bayern have scheduled meeting to officially confirm to Julian Nagelsmann that he has been fired. #Nagelsmann
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 24, 2023
German coach, expected at Säbener Straße soon in order to terminate the contract.
His deal was due to expire in June 2026 but he will leave with immediate effect. pic.twitter.com/GrON4mPZn8
The most interesting news, at least when it comes to PSG and the impact of the sacking on the Parisian club, is twofold.
For one, Nagelsmann led Bayern in their two-leg victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16 of the Champions League in February and early March. Not even that win (Bayern defeated PSG twice, not just on aggregate) could save Nagelsmann from getting fired.
On the other hand, in the French capital things are going as smoothly as they can for coach Christophe Galtier, who is still sitting pretty in his managerial chair without many signs pointing to his firing--not at least until the end of the season.
Bayern sacked Julian Nagelsmann to hire Thomas Tuchel. Somehow, Christophe Galtier still manages PSG.
That leads us to point two, which is the replacement of Nagelsmann on the bench of Bayern Munich: former PSG manager Thomas Tuchel. Tuchel who, if you have been paying attention, was one of the options to take over the head coach position of Paris Saint-Germain next season when the (inevitable) firing of Galtier gets consummated. Well, not anymore.
🚨 Exclusive news confirmed: Thomas Tuchel becomes new FC Bayern head coach, full agreement in place. He has already accepted the job. #FCBayern
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 23, 2023
Contract agreed, documents are being prepared tonight. pic.twitter.com/HFnOSwoU1m
So now, former Chelsea coach Tuchel will be the one tasked with 1) beating BVB on his way to lifting the Bundesliga (which Bayern would most probably end up doing anyway) and 2) winning another Champions League after taking over a club mid-season, as he already did at Chelsea.
If you remember, PSG have lost seven games in 2023 alone. They got eliminated from the Coupe de France by Marseille, no less. They crashed out of the Champions League at the hands of the now-fired Nagelsmann. And they did all of that... under the guidance of Galtier, who is nothing but assured to complete this season as the manager of Paris Saint-Germain no matter what.
Meanwhile, a perennial European behemoth sacks his winning manager, hires PSG's main target for the position, and marches on to conquer another Bundesliga and who knows if another Champions League on top of everything.
Bayern Munich. PSG. Two very different clubs with two very contrasting approaches. One often works, the other never does. I'll let you be the one solving the riddle of which organization is using the right one.