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Julian Nagelsmann

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The German Football Association (DFB) has contacted former Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann in its search for a new national coach. A group led by DFB sporting director Rudi Völler turned to the 36-year-old's consulting agency on Thursday. First, the »Bild« newspaper had reported on it. The process was confirmed to SPIEGEL.

Nagelsmann still has a contract with FC Bayern, which relieved him of all duties last March. However, Bayern honorary president Uli Hoeneß had already indicated that Nagelsmann's move to the DFB would "certainly not fail" at FC Bayern.

At the DFB, association president Bernd Neuendorf, Völler, who took over after parting ways with Hansi Flick for Tuesday's France game (2-1), and DFL supervisory board chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke are responsible for the search. "There are 1000,60 names being traded," Neuendorf said on Wednesday evening during his speech at the gala marking the <>th anniversary of the founding of the Bundesliga. Watzke denied the request for negotiations with Nagelsmann.

"We're doing it step by step," Neuendorf said. In many discussions, the profile is first determined, then the negotiations are entered into very concretely. "We are trying to find a convincing solution," Neuendorf said. According to Neuendorf, the fact that Völler will take over for the home tournament is not the plan. The former team boss himself had ruled out further games on the sidelines.

Most recently, the Dutchman Louis van Gaal had also been traded as a candidate. However, the 72-year-old is in poor health and was not quite as successful in his last stations as a coach as in his heyday.

Flick is said to have been the highest-paid national coach in the world

According to Neuendorf, the search for a national coach is more complicated than the search for a Bundesliga coach. In the case of the DFB, many more acting persons would have to be involved, the decision is ultimately made by the supervisory board and the shareholders' meeting. "There's a lot of money involved," Neuendorf said. And money is a big issue at the DFB anyway. After years of mismanagement, the costs for the DFB campus that have gotten out of hand and tax law issues in the wake of the summer fairy tale affair, the association is extremely clammy.

In addition, ex-coach Flick still has a valid contract until after Euro 2024. This is also accompanied by a salary claim in the millions. According to a ranking by the French magazine "France Football" ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Flick was until recently the highest-paid national coach in the world, his salary estimated at 6 to 6.5 million euros per year.

mey/luk/dpa