It seems Germany could have had a change in coach sooner after the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Hans-Joachim Watzke, vice-president of the German Football Association (DFB), revealed to Sky Sport (as captured by @iMiaSanMia) that after Germany’s group stage exit in Qatar, he had considered replacing then-national coach Hansi Flick with Thomas Tuchel. Tuchel was without a job at the time after being sacked by Chelsea.
“Yes, I had the idea. We were knocked out quite miserably in Qatar. And then? Then you start
lying awake at night for a night or two, thinking about what could happen now,” he said.
But the Tuchel offer remained in Watzke’s mind only. “Back then, Oliver Bierhoff was still there. I was not my decision who becomes the national team coach. So the idea was simply to continue with Hansi Flick,” he went on. “And Hansi is an excellent coach, you can see what he’s doing at Barcelona right now. But I had the feeling that things would be difficult after Qatar, because after such a failure, it’s difficult.”
Of course, Flick’s continued stint as national coach ended in disaster, with the former Bayern Munich coach only winning one out of his next six games. The final straw was a crushing 4-1 home defeat to Japan, which saw Flick being the first ever Germany coach to be sacked. He was initially replaced by sporting director Rudi Völler as an interim, and eventually by Julian Nagelsmann. Tuchel, meanwhile, would go on to join Bayern after Nagelsmann’s controversial sacking just a few months later.
This is an intriguing “what if” for Bayern and Germany fans alike. Would Nagelsmann have stayed Bayern coach had Tuchel not been on the market? If so, how would the turbulent 2022/23 season have ended? And would Bayern have eventually met Vincent Kompany? As for Germany, how would they have fared at the Euros, Nations League, and World Cup under Tuchel’s command? Would they have gone further than Nagelsmann’s Germany? Would Tuchel have even survived until 2026? Who knows?
As of now, though, all three coaches involved have gone their separate ways. Tuchel led England to third place at the World Cup, Flick has won five major titles with FC Barcelona, and Nagelsmann is currently looking for work, having left his post as Germany coach after exiting the World Cup in the round of 32.
Author’s Note: If Juppel had become Germany coach, Germany would now have five stars on their shirt.
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