Bayern to Part Ways with Coach Thomas Tuchel at Season End 

Bayern Munich's head coach Thomas Tuchel gestures before the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart in Munich, Germany, 17 December 2023 (re-issued 21 February 2024). (EPA)
Bayern Munich's head coach Thomas Tuchel gestures before the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart in Munich, Germany, 17 December 2023 (re-issued 21 February 2024). (EPA)
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Bayern to Part Ways with Coach Thomas Tuchel at Season End 

Bayern Munich's head coach Thomas Tuchel gestures before the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart in Munich, Germany, 17 December 2023 (re-issued 21 February 2024). (EPA)
Bayern Munich's head coach Thomas Tuchel gestures before the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart in Munich, Germany, 17 December 2023 (re-issued 21 February 2024). (EPA)

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 last first leg. 

Tuchel had taken over in March 2023 from Julian Nagelsmann, but despite leading them to the Bundesliga title last season on the final matchday, they have not shown the form this season that saw them dominate German football for the past decade. 

Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen said there would be 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 Bundelsiga 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. 

"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 host RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga on Saturday. 



‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
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‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)

The Paris Olympics look likely to get off to a soggy start.

Meteo-France, the French weather service, is predicting “flooding rains” Friday evening when the opening ceremony is set to unroll along the Seine River. But the show is set to go on as planned, starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST and should last more than three hours.

Already in the late afternoon, skies were gray with intermittent drizzle. There was a silver lining, though, with temperatures expected to stay relatively warm throughout the evening.

Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Though 10,700 athletes are expected to compete at these Olympics, hundreds of soccer players are based outside Paris, surfers are in Tahiti and many have yet to arrive for their events in the second week, organizers said Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.