Bayern Munich finally has its new coach, although it took more than three months to reveal Thomas Tuchel's successor after announcing his departure in February. And it is surprising that the inexperienced Vincent Kompany, who arrives fresh from relegation from the Premier League with Burnley, leads the enormous freighter that is Bayern.
The record German champions are coming off a disappointing 2023-24 campaign that ended without trophies for the first time since 2011-12. It remains to be seen if Kompany can turn this situation around, but if he doesn't, it won't be all his fault. An even more experienced coach might struggle with the task at hand, because Bayern have too many cooks in the kitchen. This managerial search, which was largely carried out openly due to numerous leaks to the media, has shown how Bayern has struggled to contain the power grab unfolding in its boardroom.
The roots of this mess date back to March 2023, when club bosses lost their cool and sacked Julian Nagelsmann. They did so in the second year of their five-year contract, and although Naglesmann was hired as a talented young coach who could lead Bayern into its next era of success, the team did not progress as quickly as some club executives wished. Subsequently, general manager Oliver Kahn and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic were also relieved of their duties at the end of the 2022-23 season. The two former Bayern players had been groomed for years to be the successors to Uli Hoeness and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, another pair of former club legends who had led the club for decades.
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With Kahn and Salihamidzic at the door and their allies within the club seriously weakened, others filled the power vacuum, while Hoeness and Rummenigge unofficially returned to the club's command centre, helping to make decisions but without the job titles. Together with general manager Jan-Christian Dreesen, president Herbert Hainer, newly hired sporting director Christoph Freund and Max Eberl, who took over from Salihamidzic in March this year, they formed a circle of powerful and opinionated people who now take the lead. decisions in Bayern's Säbener. Headquarters on Strasse Street.
A source with knowledge of Bayern's inner workings said it is difficult to recognize who actually casts the deciding vote. Most clubs, especially those without an authoritarian owner or investor, are run differently to how they were in the past, when a figure like Sir Alex Ferguson as manager was free to make all the important decisions. Democracy should be seen as a positive as the world of football becomes increasingly complex, but with job roles divided into specific duties and a need for collaboration, too many competing agendas can be detrimental.
When the decision was made in February that Tuchel would leave the club at the end of the 2023-24 season, Bayern's preferred option was Xabi Alonso, who was leading the Bundesliga at the time with Bayer Leverkusen. However, it was clear from the start that attracting Alonso would be a long shot, with Liverpool also showing interest in the former midfielder and Leverkusen doing everything they could to convince the much-sought-after 42-year-old to stay. Once Alonso opted to continue his tenure at Leverkusen, guiding them to their first Bundesliga title during an undefeated league season, Bayern turned their attention to reuniting with Nagelsmann.
Eberl hoped that with the new management the former Bayern coach could be convinced to return, but conversations revealed that the German coach did not feel he would enjoy the support of the entire board. That is why he chose to extend his contract with the National Society and, barring unforeseen circumstances, will remain in the national team position until the 2026 World Cup.
Bayern then entered into negotiations with Ralf Rangnick, which some sources describe as fruitful. At some point in late April, it looked like the 65-year-old would leave his job with Austria after Euro 2024 and join the Bavarians, whose officials were optimistic they could finally end their pursuit of him. However, Rangnick became cautious about the complications his move to Bayern could have on his Euro campaign with Austria and, ultimately, whether a return to club football was right for him after all. In the end, the former Schalke and RB Leipzig coach turned down the opportunity, informing Bayern on May 1 and returning the club to square one.
Until that point, the recording master They were determined to negotiate with only one candidate at a time to give that person the feeling that they were valued. However, after Rangnick's rejection, the club became more frantic and approached a variety of candidates.
They approached Oliver Glasner in light of his success with Crystal Palace, but the south London side demanded an astronomical fee to release the 49-year-old from his contract. Bayern also consulted with representatives of Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag and Brighton & Hove Albion's Roberto De Zerbi, and held several talks with another former manager, Hansi Flick.
Flick had initially focused on work in Barcelona, but became accessible when Xavi Hernández announced his decision to stay at the Catalan club. In light of Xavi's eventual dismissal, Flick signed for Barça.
In an act of desperation, Bayern held talks with Tuchel and his agent, Olaf Meinking, on May 15, to see if he could consider staying. Veterans Manuel Neuer and Thomas Müller had already pleaded with the Bayern management to do everything in their power to convince Tuchel to stay. The pro-Tuchel group also included Harry Kane, Eric Dier and Leroy Sané, who showed their appreciation for the German coach and his assistant Anthony Barry, who followed Tuchel to Bayern from Chelsea.
Bayern asked Tuchel to reconsider his decision in the weeks leading up to the end of the season, but the 50-year-old felt there was no turning back following the February announcement, especially as the club was not overly interested in his demands. Tuchel claimed that he needed concessions from Säbener Strasse, including extending his contract until 2026, to strengthen his position both publicly and internally. Bayern bosses, however, only wanted to revoke the February agreement, which included Tuchel and his staff receiving all their salaries for the 2024-25 season, and continue with the existing contract. Curiously, Eberl, who was pushing for Tuchel to make a 180-degree turn, was unable to attend the meeting in person and only telephoned.
In the press conference prior to the last game of the season, Tuchel surprised many by stressing that there would be no change of mind: “We could not reach an agreement for greater collaboration and that is why the February agreement remains the same” . “. A day later, despite taking an early two-goal lead, Bayern lost 4-2 to TSG Hoffenheim and fell to third place in the Bundesliga table, behind VfB Stuttgart. It was a fitting end to a disappointing season as the search for a coach began again.
The club had already begun drawing up a contingency plan before Tuchel's snub, focusing primarily on Premier League coaches due to their command of the English language. At some point, Kompany's name was added to the list and concrete talks began in mid-May.
There's no way to sugarcoat it: Kompany wasn't Bayern's first, second or even third choice, although his signing has its advantages. The former Manchester City captain, 38, now has the chance to show that his style of football could work with a possession-oriented team like Bayern rather than an underdog Premier League side. However, shortly before Kompany joined, there was still disagreement among Bayern's top brass, as Hoeness and others were still in favor of Flick.
It was specifically Eberl who argued that Kompany would be the right choice, although this process has likely weakened his position as Bayern's new negotiator.
“Uli Hoeness created the club as it is now,” said Felix Magath, who coached Bayern from 2004 to 2007. “What has always been the problem related to his activities is that he wanted to control everything. If he had a manager who he could control , then all would be well with the world… Everyone who works here depends on his mercy.”
If this is indeed true, then it is difficult to imagine Bayern learning many lessons from their disastrous managerial search.
