Bayern Munich: Max Eberl insists search for new coach in final stage

It has been a good week for Bayern Munich on the pitch. They booked a place in the semi-final of the Champions League by clinching a 1-0 win against Arsenal at Allianz Arena on Wednesday. Die Roten built on this win by smashing five goals past Union Berlin on Saturday.

While there is a chance to end the season with silverware, things are not going as planned in the search for a new coach at Bayern. After Xabi Alonso decided to stay at Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern missed out on bringing Julian Nagelsmann back to Bavaria. Nagelsmann extended his contract with DFB until 2026 on Friday.

Nagelsmann became Bayern’s top target after Alonso decided to stay in Leverkusen for one more season. The German coach’s contract with DFB was initially ending after the European championship in the summer. DFB managed to convince him to stay until the next World Cup.

Despite the recent setback in their managerial search, Max Eberl is confident about striking a deal for a new coach sooner rather than later. While talking to Sky Sports before the game against Union Berlin, Eberl admitted that they are in the final stage of the process and an announcement will come soon.

"“Bayern are in very, very good shape when it comes to searching for a coach and hope that we'll get further there soon. I know that time is of course of the essence. That's also our intention. We are now in the final stage and an announcement will come soon.”"

- Max Eberl

The Bavarian club has been linked with several head coaches in the past 24 hours. Roberto De Zerbi and Ralf Rangnick remain the concrete options for Bayern, while Aston Villa’s Unai Emery remains on the club’s shortlist. All three coaches are under contract at their clubs/national team. A quick resolution is unlikely to happen for these coaches.

Eberl also admitted that the new head coach should be fluent in English or German, which rules out Zinedine Zidane. Despite signing a new deal a few weeks ago, VfB Stuttgart’s Sebastian Hoeness is also under consideration.

Thomas Tuchel ruled out staying at Bayern beyond this season. The German coach admitted that there is no change in agreement with the club, which states that he will leave in the summer. Bayern had announced a decision on Tuchel’s future in February when they went on a horrible run of three defeats across all competitions.

Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte are without a club, but both coaches are volatile personalities for Bayern. Considering how confident Eberl is about the search for a new coach entering the final stages, there is a good chance of Die Roten making a left-field appointment. The Bavarian faithful will hope to see continuity with the new coach after chopping and changing several coaches since 2016.