Franck Ribery open to taking coaching role at Bayern Munich
There is going to be a big change at Bayern Munich as they look to bring in a new head coach. The Bavarian club decided to part ways with Thomas Tuchel after a poor run of results in February. Tuchel will be leaving Die Roten at the end of the season.
Bayern are looking to replace Tuchel with a former player. Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso is the top target for Die Roten. The Spaniard spent the final three years of his career in Munich before moving into management. He is enjoying tremendous results at Bayer Leverkusen as they are on track to lift the Bundesliga title.
Alonso is not the only former player Bayern may have in a coaching capacity. According to Kicker (via iMiaSanMia), Franck Ribery is open to taking up a coaching role at the FC Bayern campus in the near future.
The French winger is currently completing his coaching badges and spends a lot of time in Munich. Bayern have been in touch with Ribery ever since he left the club in 2019. The 40-year-old enjoyed two years at Fiorentina before joining Salernitana in 2021. Ribery brought the curtains down on his illustrious career in 2022 and started the journey to become a coach at the Italian club.
If Ribery decides to return, Bayern will most likely offer him the opportunity to coach the U-18 team. Coaching younger teams at a big club like Bayern will be a step in the right direction for Ribery.
Bayern have always kept doors open for former players in terms of coaching and administrative roles. They had Martin Demichelis and Miroslav Klose as coaches for youth teams. Philipp Lahm was reportedly offered the opportunity to take an administrative role at the club when he retired in 2017, but the German full-back had other plans. The Bavarian club already has several former players at the board level and administrative positions.
The record Bundesliga champions will step up their efforts for Xabi Alonso after confirming the appointment of Max Eberl as director of sport this week. Eberl will be working with Christoph Freund on transfers and negotiations for the new coach. Die Roten will hope to convince Alonso in the coming weeks and have a deal in place for next season. If the move for Alonso doesn’t materialize, they will start working on other options. Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi is one of the alternative options for Rekordmeister.