Munich to call back 'sidelined' Nagelsmann "in support of return"

'Munich veteran' Julian Nagelsmann (36) is set to return to Munich.

Florian Plettenberg, a Munich-based reporter for Sky Sports in Germany, wrote on his social media accounts on Saturday (June 16), "The Munich board of directors supports the plan to bring back the current Germany national team coach," adding, "Munich president Max Eberle speaks very highly of De Jong, but he also advocates the return of Nagelsmann. We believe we can succeed with him."

"Munich would like to bring Nagelsmann and coach Sandro Wagner together. However, Wagner is leaning towards staying with the German national team."

Munich sacked Nagelsmann midway through last season.

Nagelsmann took over in April 2021 and led Munich to the German Bundesliga title in the 2021-2022 season. However, he was fired in March of last year after the club failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League and DFB Pokal in the 2022-2023 season.

Munich brought Tuchel in to replace Nagelsmann, but the team went downhill from there. In 2022-2023, Tuchel was praised for filling Nagelsmann's shoes with a narrow Bundesliga title victory, but in 2023-2024, he led the team's decline. They lost the Bundesliga title to Leverkusen.

The only stage where Munich has a chance of winning is the Champions League. They"re in the quarterfinals.

But even then, it won"t be easy. Munich drew 2-2 away to Arsenal in the first leg of the quarterfinals. They'll play the second leg at home, but there's no guarantee they'll reach the last four.

There are other issues. There is a sense of infighting between Tuchel and the likes of Kim Min-jae, Dayo Upamecano, and 'veteran' Thomas Muller, and not many people are predicting a Munich takeover of the 'War of the Stars'.

Initially, Leverkusen's Xabi Alonso was considered the 'first choice' to succeed Tuchel.

Alonso made his debut for Real Sociedad in 1999 before moving to Liverpool in 2004. He won four trophies with the Reds, including a UEFA Champions League title (2004-2005).

Alonso then moved to Real Madrid in 2009 and retired in Munich in 2017.

After retiring, Alonso began his coaching career with Real Sociedad's B team before taking over at Leverkusen in 2022. After finishing sixth in the Bundesliga last season, Alonso is leading Leverkusen to become the only unbeaten team in Europe's top five leagues in the 20223-2024 season. They are currently in first place in the league.

However, it was recently announced that Alonso will remain at Leverkusen.

The club is back in the hunt for a new coach and has apparently turned to 'Munich veteran' Nagelsmann.

The problem is that Nagelsmann is currently in charge of the German national soccer team. Furthermore, Germany is preparing for Euro2024 in June on home soil. It's unlikely that Nagelsmann will give up the reins of the national team anytime soon.

Furthermore, Munich don't have a clear prestige to justify the doubters who have questioned Nagelsmann's return to the club after winning the league title but failing in other cup competitions.

Nagelsmann wants to clarify his future before Euro 2024 kicks off. Munich are also trying to figure out how to untangle the complicated process.

What is clear is that Ebel strongly wants Nagelsmann back. If he does come to Munich, he will be Kim Min-jae's new mentor.