Sport Rangnick cancels
A catastrophe for Bayern’s image
As of: 2:55 p.m. | Reading time: 4 minutes
“In the past, we would have always followed FC Bayern’s call”
FC Bayern receives the next rejection in its search for a coach. Thomas Helmer advocates a temporary solution should Klopp become available next year. The ex-national player can even imagine another engagement with Tuchel.
Alonso, Nagelsmann and now Rangnick: FC Bayern must continue to search for a new coach and realize that they have lost a lot of their charisma. What was previously achieved with unprecedented ease is now causing lasting concern for the record champions.
The latest personal antics surrounding the coach fit in perfectly with this strange season with all sorts of disruptive noises. After the rejections of Xabi Alonso and Julian Nagelsmann, Ralf Rangnick was considered FC Bayern’s number three candidate for the position of Thomas Tuchel, who left in June. But apparently the German industry leader has to get used to the fact that it has lost a lot of its appeal and can no longer carry out any coach or player transfer with unprecedented ease.
In any case, the neighboring national association fought so stubbornly for its senior bank employee that it ultimately trumped the advances from Munich: Rangnick, as the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB) announced on Thursday morning, surprisingly remains team boss of the national team. “We are extremely happy with his decision. We understood that he had two very attractive options and gave him time to consider everything calmly. We are proud that he chose Austria,” said ÖFB sports director Peter Schöttel.
Next, please: Ralf Rangnick doesn’t want to become Bayern coach
Quelle: picture alliance / SvenSimon
For Bayern, the third cancellation within a few weeks comes across as an image catastrophe. The possibly premature separation from Tuchel, announced at the end of the season, was now followed by the third setback in filling the important position in the club.
The former Bayern player Alonso, who was initially heavily ensnared, decided to continue his formidable path as a historic champion in Leverkusen. Nagelsmann – released from Bayern in March 2023 in favor of Tuchel, sic! – extended his contract as coach of the German national team two weeks ago.
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And now Rangnick’s rejection. “I am the Austrian team boss with all my heart. This task gives me incredible joy and I am determined to successfully continue on our chosen path,” said the person being sought in an ÖFB announcement. “I would like to expressly emphasize that this is not a rejection of FC Bayern, but rather a decision for my team and our common goals. Our full concentration is on the European Championships. We will do everything we can to get as far as possible there,” added Rangnick. The European Championship is more important than a commitment to the most important German club – that was also a groundbreaking message for the record football champions from Munich on Thursday.
Eberl under pressure
The wave of rejections in red is also becoming a problem for Max Eberl. The sports director only came to Bayern after the decision against Tuchel had been made. His announcement after last Saturday’s home game against Frankfurt that they were “very focused” on one candidate was at least a hasty statement. Because after the volte in Rangnick poker, Eberl is still left empty-handed.
Sports director Max Eberl now has to convince preferred candidate number four to join Bayern
Quelle: Getty Images
Recent statements by Uli Hoeneß have probably fueled Rangnick’s doubts about a move to Munich. At the end of last week, the honorary president denied coach Tuchel’s ability to further develop young players in the Bayern squad such as Alphonso Davies – and after the outgoing coach’s strong counter-response, he declared that he would continue to express his opinion publicly in the future. For someone like Rangnick, who hasn’t necessarily stood out in his previous positions because of his ability to criticize his work, this may have sounded like a threat from another alpha animal.
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He now prefers to remain project manager for the Austrians, with whom he recently celebrated notable successes. First of all, he successfully qualified for the European Championships in Germany (June 14th to July 14th) with his selection. Then he and his team also managed to put an exclamation mark against the “Piefkes”, coached by Nagelsmann, with a 2-0 win at the end of the 2023 international match year in Vienna. During the European Championships, Austria faced difficult opponents in the preliminary round: Poland, France and the Netherlands. Rangnick’s contract with the ÖFB runs until the 2026 World Cup – should his team qualify for the global showdown in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
“A football fairy tale”
The fact that a German decided to stay in Austrian football and against an offered three-year contract with Bayern left many reporters from the Alpine republic almost euphoric: “If this isn’t a football fairy tale, what is?” he asked “Courier”. The European Championship could definitely come. “Ralf Rangnick withstood the advances of FC Bayern Munich and remains ÖFB team boss. The Bavarian coaching search is now becoming increasingly painful,” wrote “Der Standard”. And the “Salzburger Nachrichten”: “Actually, the move from ÖFB team boss Ralf Rangnick to German record champions Bayern Munich seemed almost certain, but the U-turn followed on Wednesday evening. So the tremors surrounding the team boss are over and the full focus can now finally be directed towards the European Championships in Germany.”
At Bayern, however, the search for a suitable trainer with charisma and experience is starting again. After the rejections of Alonso, Nagelsmann and Rangnick, the Munich team is now likely to focus again on candidates who recently seemed to have been written off: Roberto De Zerbi from the English club Brighton & Hove Albion, ex-world footballer Zinédine Zidane or the former Real Madrid – and Spain coach Julen Lopetegui.
However, every coach will now know that they are only solution number four for the current Champions League semi-finalists.
