From Zlatko Cajkovski to Thomas Tuchel: A history of Bayern Munich coaches
Bayern Munich are the most decorated club in the history of German football with 32 Bundesliga titles, 20 DFB Cups, six European Cups and many more trophies in their collection. Some of the biggest names in coaching have also occupied the hot seat, with Thomas Tuchel at the controls of the Bavarian juggernaut until the end of the current campaign.
bundesliga.com looks at all the coaches to take charge of at least five games at Bayern in the Bundesliga era…
Stats correct as of 23 February 2023 ...
Thomas Tuchel
Tenure: 24 March 2023 - present
Record (to 18 Oct.): 32 games - W22, D3, L7
Trophies: 1 (Bundesliga)
A UEFA Champions League winning coach with English Premier League side Chelsea, Tuchel was also a domestic league and cup winner at Paris Saint-Germain. Yet it was at Borussia Dortmund that Bayern's current tactician first gained global notoriety, the 50-year-old leading the Black-and-Yellows to DFB Cup glory having previously taken up the reins from Jürgen Klopp. When Bayern opted to bring an end to Julian Naglesmann's stint in charge late last season, they reached out to Tuchel, who quickly led the Bavarians to an 11th successive Bundesliga title. However, a run of consecutive defeats in domestic and European competition saw Bayern reach an agreement to part ways with the 50-year-old at the end of the 2023/24 campaign.
Julian Nagelsmann
Tenure: 1 July 2021 - 24 March 2023
Record: 84 games - W60, D14, L10
Trophies: 3 (Bundesliga, 2x DFL Supercup)
After highly successful and innovative stints at Hoffenheim and Leipzig, Nagelsmann arrived at the Bayern helm to plenty of fanfare back in 2021. An immediate victory against Klassiker rivals Dortmund brought a first trophy - the DFL Supercup - while Bayern would go on to lift the Bundesliga with three games to spare. The 2022/23 campaign began with one more Supercup win - this time against his former side Leipzig. Despite then achieving a perfect record in Bayern's Champions League group stage campaign and subsequent progress to the tournament's quarter-finals, Nagelsmann was relieved of his duties following a Bundesliga defeat against Bayer Leverkusen. He subsequently became Germany coach, taking over at the international helm from another former Bayern man, Hansi Flick.
Hansi Flick
Tenure: 3 November 2019 - 30 June 2021
Record: 86 games – W70, D8, L8
Trophies: 7 (Bundesliga x 2, DFB Cup, UEFA Champions League, DFL Supercup, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup)
Flick could well rank as the most successful coach in Bayern’s over 120-year history. Averaging a trophy almost every 14 matches and boasting the best winning ratio (81.9 per cent) of anyone to oversee more than five fixtures in a tenure, it's easy to see why. Initially appointed on an interim basis, Flick became only the second person to lead Bayern to the treble of Bundesliga, DFB Cup and UEFA Champions League, plus another three honours in less than 12 months in charge
Watch: Hansi Flick's final chapter
Niko Kovac
Tenure: 1 July 2018 - 3 November 2019
Record: 65 games – W45, D12, L8
Trophies: 3 (Bundesliga, DFB Cup, DFL Supercup)
Kovac was the man appointed to follow the fourth (and in theory final) Heynckes spell in charge. Fresh from beating Bayern in the DFB Cup final with Eintracht Frankfurt, he guided the Munich club to a domestic double in his only full season. A heavy 5-1 defeat away at his former side spelled the end for the former Croatia manager.
Jupp Heynckes
Tenures: 9 October 2017 - 30 June 2018; 1 July 2011 - 30 June 2013; 27 April 2009 - 30 June 2009; 1 July 1987 - 8 October 1991
Record: 353 games – W235, D60, L58
Trophies: 9 (4x Bundesliga, 1x DFB Cup, 1x UEFA Champions League, 3x DFL Supercup)
Nobody has moved into the head coach’s office at Säbener Straße more times than Heynckes, first doing so all the way back in 1987 – 22 days before incoming boss Nagelsmann was even born. He earned a trophy over each season before his dismissal, which former general manager Uli Hoeneß later described as his "greatest mistake". A caretaker spell followed in 2009 after Jürgen Klinsmann was dismissed, but he returned full time in 2011 to tackle Jürgen Klopp's Borussia Dortmund.
His first campaign ended in triple heartbreak as Bayern finished runners-up in the league, cup and Champions League – the latter the infamous ‘Finale dahoam’ against Chelsea at the Allianz Arena. He made up for it in style the next year by winning the first treble in the club’s history, as well as setting the Bundesliga record for points in a season (91). Heynckes officially retired after that, but was coaxed back one final time to help in 2017/18 after Carlo Ancelotti left, winning the league again but losing the DFB Cup final to Kovac's Frankfurt.
Carlo Ancelotti
Tenure: 1 July 2016 - 28 September 2017
Record: 60 games – W43, D8, L9
Trophies: 3 (Bundesliga, 2x DFL Supercup)
A three-time Champions League-winning coach, Ancelotti was brought in to do what Pep Guardiola hadn’t quite managed and restore Bayern to the European summit. A Bundesliga title in his first season was seen as the bare minimum, but a quarter-final exit to Real Madrid in Europe fell short of expectations. A 3-0 defeat at Paris Saint-Germain in the following year’s group stage spelled the end for the Italian after barely 15 months.
Pep Guardiola
Tenure: 1 July 2013 - 30 June 2016
Record: 161 games – W124, D16, L21
Trophies: 7 (3x Bundesliga, 2x DFB Cup, DFL Supercup, FIFA Club World Cup)
Like Nagelsmann now, Guardiola had seriously big boots to fill succeeding a treble-winning coach in Heynckes. The former Barcelona manager took to the Bundesliga like a duck to water, though, even showing his mastery of German from the start, and dominated the league in all three years. A pair of DFB Cups completed domestic doubles, but the big prize of the Champions League eluded the Bavarians with three semi-final exits to Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real. Nevertheless, he left Munich with the best record of any coach in Bundesliga history at 2.52 points per game and the best win rate for FCB (77.01 per cent) until Flick.
Andries Jonker
Tenure: 11 April 2011 - 30 June 2011
Record: 5 games – W4, D1
Trophies: 0
Jonker, who was assistant to Louis van Gaal, was handed the reins for the final five games of the 2010/11 season after the head coach was dismissed with the team in fourth, and Dortmund on the verge of the title. At the end of the campaign, he took charge of Bayern’s reserves for a year.
Louis van Gaal
Tenure: 1 July 2009 - 10 April 2011
Record: 96 games – W59, D18, L19
Trophies: 3 (Bundesliga, DFB Cup, DFL Supercup)
Van Gaal’s time in Munich is sometimes looked upon as a disappointment, perhaps because of that second season, but his first saw the club come close to winning the treble even before Heynckes did. After lifting the domestic double, the Dutchman took the Bavarians to the Champions League final but was beaten by Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan. Van Gaal’s legacy still lives on, though. It was on his watch that Arjen Robben joined the club, Thomas Müller made his breakthrough, and winger Bastian Schweinsteiger was converted into a central midfielder.
Jürgen Klinsmann
Tenure: 1 July 2008 - 27 April 2009
Record: 43 games – W25, D9, L9
Trophies: 0
Two years after guiding Germany to third place in their home FIFA World Cup, former Bayern striker Klinsmann was appointed head coach at the club in 2008. The later USMNT manager didn’t last the season, though, and was dismissed with five games remaining and Bayern third in the table. They had also been eliminated at the quarter-final stages of the DFB Cup and Champions League.
Ottmar Hitzfeld
Tenures: 31 January 2007 - 30 June 2008; 1 July 1998 - 30 June 2004
Record: 395 games – W244, D83, L68
Trophies: 14 (5x Bundesliga, 3x DFB Cup, 4x League Cup, UEFA Champions League, Intercontinental Cup)
Hitzfeld will go down as one of the most successful coaches in German football history, having won the Bundesliga and Champions League with both Bayern and Dortmund. His 14 trophies also makes him the most decorated tactician in Bayern history. It could well have been more if not for Manchester United’s famous injury-time comeback at Camp Nou in 1999.
He made amends two years later against Valencia to earn the club’s fourth European crown and first since 1976. The tactician's first six-year spell heralded five Bundesliga crowns as well as three DFB Cups and that Champions League. The one full season of his second stint saw Bayern win the domestic double for the third time under him.
Felix Magath
Tenure: 1 July 2004 - 31 January 2007
Record: 131 games – W85, D24, L22
Trophies: 5 (2x Bundesliga, 2x DFB Cup)
A three-time Bundesliga champion and European Cup winner as a player with Hamburg – he scored the only goal in the final against Juventus – Magath was appointed Bayern boss on the back of a successful spell at VfB Stuttgart. His two full seasons in Munich yielded two domestic doubles – the first time a team had defended both their Bundesliga and DFB Cup titles.
Giovanni Trapattoni
Tenures: 1 July 1996 - 30 June 1998; 1 July 1994 - 30 June 1995
Record: 136 games – W72, D39, L25
Trophies: 3 (Bundesliga, DFB Cup, League Cup)
Bayern was a first spell abroad for Italian Trapattoni, who had enjoyed great success with Juventus and Inter Milan, but he lasted only one season in Munich as a team featuring Oliver Kahn, Lothar Matthäus and Dietmar Hamann finished sixth and most famously got knocked out in the first round of the DFB Cup by Vestenbergsgreuth in one of the competition’s greatest upsets. After a year back in Italy with Cagliari, Trap returned and guided Bayern to the league title in his first season and then the cup in his second. He will forever be remembered for his famous “Ich habe fertig!” ("I'm finished!") rant in a press conference.
Franz Beckenbauer
Tenures: 28 April 1996 - 15 May 1996; 28 December 1993 - 30 June 1994
Record: 19 games – W12, D2, L5
Trophies: 2 (Bundesliga, UEFA Cup)
One of greatest players ever, Der Kaiser is also one of only two people to captain and manage his country to World Cup glory. He's been president of Bayern and a FIFA vice-president, but he’s also had two temporary spells in charge of his boyhood club. Both have produced silverware, with the 1993/94 campaign ending with a Bundesliga crown and 1995/96 bringing the Bavarians their sole UEFA Cup.
Watch: Franz Beckenbauer, a footballing legend
Otto Rehhagel
Tenure: 1 July 1995 - 27 April 1996
Record: 42 games – W27, D5, L10
Trophies: 0
Rehhagel is a legend of the German game, overseeing more matches than any coach in Bundesliga history. He was best known for a 14-year spell in charge of Werder Bremen, before Bayern came calling in 1995. Things didn’t really work out, on or off the pitch, and he was sacked four days before that UEFA Cup final Beckenbauer stepped in for. Two seasons after leaving, he guided Kaiserslautern to the Bundesliga title – the only promoted team ever to be champions of Germany. He also famously led Greece to glory at UEFA Euro 2004.
Erich Ribbeck
Tenure: 12 March 1992 – 27 December 1993
Record: 75 games – W37, D21, L17
Trophies: 0
Ribbeck spent many years in charge of Frankfurt and Kaiserslautern before six years as West Germany’s assistant under Jupp Derwall and later Beckenbauer. A spell at Dortmund was followed by three seasons with Bayer Leverkusen, where he guided them to their sole European trophy with the 1987/88 UEFA Cup. He took over Bayern with the team at a low but picked them up to finish second in his first full season, but midway through the second he was replaced by vice-president Beckenbauer.
Sören Lerby
Tenure: 9 October 1991 - 11 March 1992
Record: 17 games – W5, D5, L7
Trophies: 0
Perhaps a surprise to many, but 33-year-old Nagelsmann is not the youngest person to take charge of Bayern on a permanent basis. That honour goes to Lerby at over two months Nagelsmann’s junior at the time of his appointment. Not that the club’s former midfielder lasted long, though, with 17 games the fewest of any non-interim boss as Bayern finished 10th – their second-worst finish in the Bundesliga.
Udo Lattek
Tenures: 1 July 1983 - 30 June 1987; 13 March 1970 - 2 January 1975
Record: 414 games – W258, D91, L65
Trophies: 10 (6x Bundesliga, 3x DFB Cup, 1x European Cup)
The most decorated coach in Bundesliga history, Lattek had two highly successful stints at the Bayern helm, winning a total of six league titles in the process and three in each spell as he turned them into Germany's dominant force. Not only that, but his first spell in the Bayern hot seat also led them to their maiden European Cup triumph in 1974. He took charge of Gladbach (winning two more Bundesliga titles), Dortmund and Barcelona in the years between his two turns at Bayern.
Pal Csernai
Tenure: 12 December 1978 – 16 May 1983
Record: 199 games – W118, D40, L41
Trophies: 3 (2x Bundesliga, DFB Cup)
Known for his trademark silk scarf and creation of the 'Pal System' that Joachim Löw would later credit as inspiration for his own 2014 World Cup-winning tactics, Csernai served as understudy to predecessor Gyula Lorant before taking on head coach duties midway through the 1978/79 campaign. Across five years in Munich, the Hungarian picked up back-to-back league trophies in 1979/80 and 1980/81, as well as the German cup a year later. He would later coach Dortmund, Frankfurt and Hertha Berlin, before retiring in 1995.
Gyula Lorant
Tenure: 2 December 1977 – 10 December 1978
Record: 43 games – W16, D11, L16
Trophies: 0
As a player, Lorant represented Hungary on 37 occasions and picked up an Olympic gold medal in 1952 as well as finishing as a World Cup runner-up to Germany in 1954. He then embarked on a coaching career, covering spells with Kaiserslautern, Duisburg, Tasmania Berlin, Cologne, Kickers Offenbach and Frankfurt before his year at Bayern that covered the back end of the 1977/78 season - the worst in the club's Bundesliga history as they finished 12th - and first half of the following term. He is one of just six trophy-less Bayern coaches in the club’s history.
Dettmar Cramer
Tenure: 16 January 1975 – 27 November 1977
Record: 148 games - W69, D32, L47
Trophies: 3 (2x European Cup, Intercontinental Cup)
Cramer stepped into the breach after Lattek’s enormously profitable first spell, going on to enjoy even more European success than his predecessor. The 'Football Professor' or 'Napoleon', as he was known, didn’t enjoy the best of relationships with Bayern fans initially but all those doubts were erased when he claimed successive European Cup triumphs in his first two campaigns at the club. Cramer also delivered the first Intercontinental Cup in Bayern’s history by beating Brazil’s 1976 Copa Libertadores champions Cruzeiro. However, his domestic record remained disappointing with finishes of 10th, third and seventh in the league before he was dismissed after a run of seven straight defeats - including back-to-back 4-0 thumpings by Frankfurt in the league and UEFA Cup - with Bayern actually in the relegation zone after 16 games of 1977/78.
Branko Zebec
Tenure: 1 July 1968 - 12 March 1970
Record: 66 games – W38, D15, L13
Trophies: 2 (Bundesliga, DFB Cup)
Zebec led Bayern to their maiden Bundesliga title in 1969, whilst making them into a major European force. "When Bayern won the league and cup double in 1969, that was the beginning of what the club is today," legendary goalkeeper Sepp Maier told BBC Sport in August 2020. A brilliant tactician and strict disciplinarian, Zebec later steered an unfancied Hamburg team that included Magath and Kevin Keegan to the 1979 title, as well as the 1980 European Cup final. He died in 1988, aged 59.
Zlatko Cajkovski
Tenure: 1 July 1963 - 30 June 1968
Record: 173 games – W100, D30, L43
Trophies: 3 (2x DFB Cup, UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup)
Bayern were in Germany's second tier when Cajkovski took charge in 1963. The former Cologne boss set them on the path to the big time, though, sealing promotion to the recently formed Bundesliga in 1965. The club finished third in their debut Bundesliga campaign, and lifted the DFB Cup. A team built around Maier, Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller defended their cup crown the following campaign, whilst beating Glasgow Rangers in the UEFA European Cup Winners' Cup final for the club's first taste of continental glory.
