Julian Nagelsmann

Overview

Julian Nagelsmann (born 23 July 1987) is a German professional football coach who was most recently the manager of the Germany national team. He previously managed TSG Hoffenheim, RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. Appointed Hoffenheim head coach at the age of 28, he became the youngest permanent manager in Bundesliga history and subsequently led the club to its first UEFA Champions League qualification. He later guided Leipzig to the semi-finals of the 2019–20 Champions League and won the Bundesliga with Bayern in 2022. Born in Bavaria, Nagelsmann never played senior professional football, retiring at the age of 20 after a succession of injuries (although he later returned for a brief stint in the lower levels). He began his coaching career in TSG Hoffenheim's youth setup in 2010 and was promoted to the first team in 2015; his best finish there was third place in the Bundesliga, and the club won one of its twelve European group-stage matches under him. He moved to RB Leipzig in 2019, where his side reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in the 2019–20 season, but he departed after two seasons without silverware, having lost the 2021 DFB-Pokal Final. In 2021, Bayern Munich paid a reported €25 million (£21.7 million) to release Nagelsmann from his Leipzig contract, an unprecedented fee for a manager. He won the Bundesliga title in his debut season, extending the club's run to a tenth consecutive championship, but was dismissed in March 2023, midway through his second season; reporting attributed the decision to inconsistent results. In September 2023, Nagelsmann was appointed coach of the Germany national team, which was eliminated in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 on home soil. He stepped down in July 2026 after Germany were eliminated in the round of 32 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup by Paraguay, the nation's first penalty-shootout defeat in World Cup history. Off the pitch, Nagelsmann has supported charitable initiatives connected to football and children, including becoming the first coach to join Common Goal in 2017.