New disappointment for Bayern in its search for a coach: the German club suffered a refusal on Thursday from one of the expected candidates, the current coach of Austria Ralf Rangnick. “I am wholeheartedly the boss of the Austrian team. This task gives me incredible joy and I am determined to continue successfully on the path we have chosen,” Rangnick said in a statement released by the Austrian Football Association (OFB).
The former Manchester United coach confirmed to Austrian media 90 Minutes at the end of April that “there had been contacts” with Bayern, who are looking for a coach to replace Thomas Tuchel this summer.
It’s another cold shower and a return to square one for the Bavarian club: Bayern had first made Xabi Alonso its priority, according to the German press. But the Spaniard – under contract with Bayer Leverkusen until 2026 – put an end to the rumors by announcing at the end of March that he will remain on the bench of the brand new German champion next season.
Bayern then targeted – according to German media – Julian Nagelsmann, sidelined by Munich management at the end of March 2023. But the current Germany coach extended his contract with the Nationalmannschaft until the World Cup in mid-April. 2026.
The German Ralf Rangnick – architect of the rise of RB Leipzig, whom he coached twice between 2015 and 2019 – explained on Thursday that his refusal is “not a rejection of FC Bayern, but a decision for my team and our common goals. We are fully focused on the Euro.
Tuchel was forced by Bayern management to give up his apron in the summer of 2024, twelve months earlier than planned, due to a series of poor results in February.
Bayern’s list of targets is shrinking: Brighton coach Roberto De Zerbi has been cited by the German press; the Catalan daily Mundo Deportivo and French The Team had indicated earlier that Frenchman Zinédine Zidane, three-time winner of the Champions League as coach of Real, was also part of the Munich short-list.
Bayern will play for a place in the Champions League final in a high-tension meeting on May 8 against Real Madrid, after a first leg on May 1 where the two European giants neutralized each other (2-2). The Munich residents only have the European Cup left to save a 2023/2024 season marked by the loss of the German championship title – for the first time since 2013 – to the benefit of Bayer Leverkusen and an elimination in the round of 16 of the German Cup.
