Julian Nagelsmann says he is relishing the chance to work with the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Müller at record champions Bayern Munich.
Experience comes from Leipzig
Nagelsmann has been brought in from RB Leipzig to replace Hansi Flick – who will succeed Joachim Löw as Germany coach – and inherits arguably the most talented squad in the club’s decorated history. “I’m very much looking forward to working at Bayern,” the 33-year-old said. “It’ll be interesting to work with the world’s best footballer , but also with Müller, Neuer, Jo Kimmich and many others. I think it’s extremely exciting to get to know a new team. I’m especially looking forward to seeing the enormous quality of these players every day in training. I heard many good things about the character of the players. I’m delighted.”
Bayern’s current crop claimed a ninth successive Bundesliga title with two games to spare in 2020/21. Nagelsmann’s Leipzig finished 13 points adrift in second place, and lost the DFB Cup final to third-in-the-table Borussia Dortmund. Despite being talked about in the same breath as prodigious ex-Bundesliga coaches Jürgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel, Bayern’s new man heads to Munich still searching for his first major trophy.
Honor to be part of the Bayern’s history
For Julian, it’s an honor to be mentioned with those world-class contemporaries, but I haven’t won titles yet and am joining my first very big club. First I have to prove that I deserve to be there,” Nagelsmann admitted, having spent three years at Hoffenheim followed by two in Leipzig. “My plans weren’t to leave Leipzig after two years. That had to do with Hansi Flick deciding to leave Bayern. The Pokal final defeat was sad for me. I wanted to win at least a trophy in Leipzig, but now it’s about continuing Bayern’s success over the past decade. The expectations at Bayern are that you should win the league, win the Pokal and go far in the Champions League. I’m going to face this challenge head-on.”