Hansi Flick and Bayern Munich are the football world’s Jay-Z and Beyonce.
The ride-or-die couple fell in love, took everyone down their path and looked to be the most bulletproof mating on the planet.
However, all relationships have their problems – even between two icons in the music industry. So we should not be so surprised that this high-profile couple is ready to split up – Flick and Bayern, not Jay-Z and Beyonce.
After saving Die Roten from a seemingly unfortunate end with Niko Kovac 2019, Flick delivered the league title, the domestic cup and the Champions League, all during his debut season. He should have passed away at sunset there and then.
Instead, he got stuck and this season has not been as electrifying. Bayern may well still win the league title, but their European and domestic cup adventures have both come to an early end. With a build-up of tension and friction between Flick and sports director Hasan Salihamidzic, the former seems ready to leave.
On top of the world – but everything will crash down | Alexander Hassenstein / Getty Images
And there has never been a better timing, with Lothar Matthaus telling Sky Sports that he is “convinced” that Flick will leave Bayern to become head of the German national team at the end of the season.
But who can replace the Bayern coach if he is to leave in the summer? 90 Minutes compiles a shortlist of possible challengers for the job.
Not the serial winner of old | Marc Atkins / Getty Images
What happens when a serial winner stops winning? Realistically, they do not earn a draw to Bayern, that’s for sure. However, should Jose Mourinho be relieved of his duties at Tottenham Hotspur this summer, who says he can’t pull the wool over Karl-Heinz Rummenigge’s eyes and get another top job?
There he has to implode quite spectacularly in order not to win the league title, and the world will immediately fall in love with Special One until he crashes out of Europe to Ajax or Sevilla.
Suitability rating: 3/10
His time in the German sun is coming to an end Alex Grimm / Getty Images
Can we see a straight change in the excavations? Probably not. Joachim Low has been involved in the international management game since 2004, and his ideas now look dated.
However, a fresh start may be exactly what is needed, and was it better than with the (probable) champions in Germany?
Of course, he has to build some bridges with Thomas Muller, as he rejected the international scene under rather controversial circumstances. Maybe not the best idea then.
Suitability assessment: 4/10
Ten Hag has cracked a new challenge | BSR Agency / Getty Images
The noise and buzz around Ajax may have cooled over the past two years, but the work that Erik ten Hag has done in the Netherlands cannot be overlooked. In 2019, the Dutchman led his side to the brink of a Champions League final, and his name was linked to Real Madrid.
No great opportunities were realized for Ten Hag, however, but he has plowed on regardless and rebuilt a site that had its core ripped from within it.
With Ajax on the verge of another European exit from AS Roma, their coaches may be ready to look for new pastures. The only question is, will Bayern take a relative risk for the forward-looking coach?
Suitability rating: 7/10
A man often in demand Alexander Hassenstein / Getty Images
When a big job arises, Ralf Rangnick’s name is always there or around. The boardroom guru did wonders in Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig and seemed to make a big move to Milan before the Italian giants withdrew from the deal.
Since then, he has been looking for work and has been linked with the German national team job. However, on the basis that Flick will take that post, Rangnick can be considered by Bayern to fill the void left by their outgoing coach.
He is highly respected in Germany, and very few would doubt his duties for such a job.
Suitability assessment: 7.5 / 10
Certainly not … | Clive Brunskill / Getty Images
Liverpool fans, look away now. We know that Jurgen Klopp was Borussia Dortmund’s face, heart, body and soul for seven years, and he once knocked a joke at the expense of Bayern, but stranger things have happened in football.
Unless the Reds go all the way to win the Champions League, this season must be written off as a failure. And Klopp has seemed quite depressed throughout the campaign.
He is loved and revered in Liverpool, and the idea that the club would be better off without him is nonsense. But he may feel that he has achieved all he can on Merseyside and may be tempted to go over to the dark side.
Suitability rating: 8/10
Who can say no to this man? | LUCAS BARIOULET / Getty Images
Imagine this man slipping coolly towards you and saying “do you need a new coach next year?”
There is literally no way you can ever say no to such suavity.
Massimiliano Allegri is linked with a return to Juventus this summer, and he is also hotly pursued by other Serie A hopefuls Roma. Whether he would accept a return to the old lady or take the risky step to the Italian capital remains to be seen, but there is another option waiting for him.
Bayern love to win, and therefore a man who lifted five league titles in a club with the motto “Winning is not important, it is the only thing that counts” would be the perfect candidate. He has the experience and the profile, along with an aura that you just can not deny.
Suitability rating: 8.5 / 10
Time to take out the closest opposition Alexander Hassenstein / Getty Images
Sometimes the only way to counteract your closest rivals is to join them. For Bayern, it would mean the Russian brain behind the RB Leipzig operation, Julian Nagelsmann.
Ever since he ran out on stage as an Edin Dzeko doppelgänger and Hoffenheim boss in his late twenties, Nagelsmann has been tipped to be the future of German coaching.
He has come close to the summit with Die Roten Bullen this season, but he may take the shortcut and join the stronger reds in the 2021/22 campaign. Young, ambitious and hungry for trophies, there may not be a better match on this list.
Suitability rating: 9/10
