MUNICH: Bayern Munich announced Friday they had appointed former Chelsea and Paris St-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel as their new boss after firing Julian Nagelsmann.

The reigning German champions said in a statement: “FC Bayern and head coach Julian Nagelsmann have parted company... Nagelsmann will be succeeded by Thomas Tuchel.”

Nagelsmann, 35, led Bayern to the quarter-finals of the Champions League where they will face Premier League champions Manchester City next month.

But the club decided to replace him with 49-year-old Tuchel, who won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021.

Bayern chairman Oliver Kahn said: “Personally and on behalf of FC Bayern, I would like to thank Julian and his coaching team, and wish everyone the best of luck for the future.”

Bayern signed Nagelsmann to a five-year deal just two years ago but nerves have been fraying as the perennial Bundesliga champions struggle to hold onto their title. They sit second to Tuchel’s former club Borussia Dortmund in the league table.

Tuchel — who Bayern had eyed previously but lost out to other top-flight European clubs — has been in between jobs after he was fired by Chelsea in September.

His first match will come as soon as April 1, when Bayern meet Dortmund, the club that Tuchel led from 2015-2017 before he left for PSG.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2023