Soccer Football - Thomas Tuchel is unveiled as new Bayern Munich coach - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany, March 25, 2023 New Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel during the press conference REUTERS/Lukas Barth/ File photo
BERLIN (Reuters) -Bayern Munich have decided to end their collaboration with coach Thomas Tuchel at the end of the current season despite a contract to 2025, the club said on Wednesday.
Bayern lost their last three games in all competitions, including a 3-0 defeat to league leaders Bayer Leverkusen and have now dropped eight points behind them in the Bundesliga.
They were also beaten 1-0 by Lazio in last week's Champions League first leg and now risk going without any silverware for the first season in more than a decade.
Tuchel had taken over in March 2023 from Julian Nagelsmann with high expectations but he suffered a bumpy start, crashing out of the German Cup and the Champions League before snatching the Bundesliga title from Borussia Dortmund on the final matchday.
This season they have been equally mercurial, showing only glimpses of the form that saw them dominate German football for the past decade. They were eliminated from the German Cup by third-tier club Saarbruecken.
Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen said there would a 'a new direction' next season with a new coach.
"In a good, open discussion, we came to the decision to end our working relationship by mutual agreement in the summer," Dreesen said. "Our goal is to pursue a new footballing direction with a new head coach for the 2024/25 season."
"Until then, every individual at the club is expressly called upon to achieve the maximum possible in the Champions League and Bundesliga. I also explicitly hold the team accountable in this regard."
The coach, who in the past had been in charge at Borussia Dortmund, Paris St Germain and also won a Champions League title with Chelsea in 2021, said his remaining time in Munich would be focused on the remaining goals in the Bundesliga and the Champions League.
His first full season at Bayern had been hit by a string of injuries to key players and by what he had said was a relatively thin squad at the start of the campaign despite the arrival of Bundesliga record signing Harry Kane.
He also triggered the ire of Bayern fans, opting to play Joshua Kimmich in defence instead of a holding six and leaving veteran and crowd favourite Thomas Mueller on the bench for several games.
"We have agreed that we will end our working relationship at the end of this season," Tuchel said. "Until then, I will of course continue to do everything I can with my coaching staff to achieve maximum success."
Bayern, in second place in the Bundesliga on 50 points, host RB Leipzig on Saturday.
(Reporting by Karolos GrohmannEditing by Ros Russell and Christian Radnedge)
