Bayern Munich is still looking for a new head coach.
With Thomas Tuchel set to leave the club this summer, Austrian national team manager Ralf Rangnick was set to replace him.
But on Thursday, with a deal looking likely, Rangnick shocked Bayern by turning down the opportunity, becoming the fourth candidate in less than six weeks to keep his job.
Julian Nagelsmann has chosen to extend his contract and remain coach of the German national team. Xabi Alonso, who could have interested Bayern, was not willing to leave Bayer Leverkusen. He chose to stay and defend the Bundesliga title next season.
Unai Emery from Aston Villa was also interesting. Villa built their football department around Emery. One of his closest friends, Damian Vidagany, recently became the club’s director of football. Monchi, with whom Emery worked successfully at Sevilla, is the president of football operations. Unsurprisingly, surrounded by allies and a large, hand-selected Spanish-speaking coaching staff, Emery was happy to remain in England – with Villa extending his contract.
Rangnick’s decision, however, was the most unexpected. It seemed unlikely that he would turn down the opportunity to take on the most prestigious position of his career. This is how Bayern’s frustrating searches unfolded.
Earlier this week, Bayern thought it was likely that Rangnick would take the job. Despite some initial apprehension, the more conversations Rangnick had with club officials, the more convinced he became that he was being presented with a rare opportunity and mandate for change at one of the world’s biggest clubs.
After an unprecedented period of success and a run of 11 consecutive Bundesliga titles, Bayern recognize that their squad is in need of rejuvenation. Some players have to leave for political reasons. Others put too much pressure on the payroll and don’t provide enough offers on the field.
Rangnick reportedly had the full support of the board to lead this rebuild over several years. In addition, he is said to have worked with Christoph Freund, the sporting director, who came to Bayern from the Red Bull system built by Rangnick, and with Max Eberl, with whom he has many ideological commonalities. Jochen Sauer, Bayern’s head of youth development, was previously general manager of Red Bull Salzburg. Like Freund, he was potentially another new colleague to have spent time within the Red Bull network. He and Rangnick get on well too, and developing the pipeline between the first team and the club’s academy campus, built for €70 million and opened in 2017, would have been another virtue.
Politically, these synergies and the level of support would have put Rangnick in an incredibly strong position, perhaps unprecedented at Bayern in the modern era. He would also have earned almost 10 times his Austrian salary.
And yet, Rangnick said no. For what?
Basically, as he expressed in a public statement, it was a decision for Austria rather than against Bayern: he did not want to leave his job. There are several reasons for this. The first is that he enjoys the pace of international football. At 65, Rangnick no longer wants to be on the training field every day.
In Austria, the mood is much more in his favor.
While they were half empty, the stadiums are full for their games and the team is closer and happier than they were before he arrived two years ago. There is optimism about the European Championships, which begin in June, created by the team’s performances but also by their high, aggressive pressing style, which contrasts with the more conservative approach of his predecessor Franco Foda.
Rangnick is popular with the public and players, who urged him to stay when news of his talks with Bayern broke. Whether or not he accepted Bayern’s offer, Rangnick was still expected to lead Austria to the European Championship, but there were fears that his acceptance of another job could disrupt preparations for that tournament. His departure would also have jeopardized Austria’s plans ahead of the 2026 World Cup, a tournament he is eyeing.
The backbone of Austria’s resurgence has been a strong, tight dressing room – that was part of Rangnick’s Bayern bid. With the exception of the period under Hansi Flick, every recent Bayern reign has been disrupted by problems between coach and players, with disagreements and discontent spilling out into the media.
Bayern want this to stop and Rangnick was seen as capable of developing a new culture and fostering a greater sense of closeness. Internally, he was seen as having a more caring approach towards players, certainly compared to Tuchel. Rangnick, unlike Bayern’s outgoing coach, prefers to develop players and, historically, tends to be more supportive during periods of poor form.
The expected cultural change at Bayern has extended beyond the locker room. While the club’s ambition demands that they compete for elite players in their prime, there is a desire to place emphasis on identifying future talent and producing stars, which They come from the club’s academy or from outside. Throughout his career, notably during the construction of the Red Bull network and his similar work at Hoffenheim, Rangnick favored young players and relied on astute recruitment. He was considered ideal to lead Bayern’s transition.
Until the last moment, Rangnick seemed to consider this an opportunity too good to pass up. He never took the job, but the feeling at Bayern earlier this week was that with only minor issues to resolve, including the identity of his assistant coaches, a deal was likely. It never arrived. Bayern could not distract Rangnick from unfinished business in Austria.
Emery, another Bayern target, also felt he had unfinished business in his role at Aston Villa, who are heading to the Champions League. Conversations with Emery have never been as advanced as with Rangnick. Bayern claim there were never any official negotiations. That interest was dissipated when Villa triggered a 12-month contract extension, which ties Emery to the club until 2027.
Regardless, Emery had reservations about Bayern. At Villa, he maintains excellent relations with Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris, the co-owners. Bayern don’t tend to cede power to a manager, give him the type of authority Emery wants or allow the number of coaches and staff the Spaniard likes. At Villa, he has complete autonomy to shape the football department, has more than two dozen Spanish-speaking staff and is expected to add more this summer.
He has a first-rate team behind the scenes, made up of coaches, analysts and doctors. The job title of Vidagany, Emery’s closest friend, changed during the offseason last year from personal assistant to director of football.
Bayern are also more like Arsenal, where Emery spent just 18 months before being sacked. His reflection on this period concluded that he was less attentive than he could have been to the political aspect of his work and that, to a certain extent, he was a victim of the executive restructurings occurring around him during this period. period.
Emery was also thought to be suspicious of the public nature of some Bayern executives and their willingness to air their opinions and grievances in public; it was closer to Arsenal than he was comfortable with.
So what’s next for Bayern?
They suffered a succession of setbacks and failed to name their first, second, third and fourth choices to succeed Tuchel. This process has been difficult. Nonetheless, Bayern sources, who asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships, insist the club will continue to work on its shortlist.
The club declined to comment upon request. Athleticism if Manchester United’s Erik ten Hag is interesting. Talk to Athleticism In March, Freund said the decision to part ways with Tuchel at the end of the season was final. The club have made no comment on whether the events of recent weeks and Rangnick’s decision to stay with Austria have changed that stance, but a source close to Tuchel, who asked to remain anonymous to protect relations, has denied reports he could stay at the club. .
Bayern face Real Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday, having drawn the first leg 2-2 in Munich, with an unlikely Champions League final up for grabs.
A victory in Spain would end the campaign on a positive note. For now, however, without a succession plan in place or even close to it, this will provide no clarity about the future.
(Top photo: Getty Images)