Julian Nagelsmann took charge of his first training session as Bayern boss on Wednesday, but it wasn’t just a debut for the new 33-year-old head coach. Assistants Benjamin Glück, Xaver Zembrod and Dino Toppmöller, who have all followed Nagelsmann from RB Leipzig to Munich, also stepped out on the pitch at Säbener Straße for the first time. The coaching team is completed by the familiar faces of Prof. Dr. Holger Broich (scientific director & head of fitness) and Toni Tapalovic (goalkeeping coach). While fans may know those two well, we introduce the newcomers on the Bayern bench.
Benjamin Glück – Assistant coach
Glück has been alongside Nagelsmann since 2013, originally as the video analyst at Hoffenheim’s U19s before taking on the position with the first team. He then joined Nagelsmann in Leipzig as his assistant in summer 2019.
The 35-year-old Bavarian describes his role in the new Bayern coaching staff as follows: “I coordinate issues of match analysis for analysing our own team and opponents.” That means he and the analysis team cover the analysis to prepare for opponents but also the analysis of his own team’s performances based on the match plan.
Glück appreciates “both the professional and personal” aspects of Nagelsmann. “I’ve learnt a lot from Julian in terms of tactics and have gradually been able to absorb how he thinks about and sees football. Being able to speak the same language is a prerequisite for good cooperation.”
Xaver Zembrod – Assistant coach
Zembrod first crossed paths with Nagelsmann in the 2010/11 season. Nagelsmann was assistant under the now 54-year-old with Hoffenheim’s U17s. Zembrod later joined the academy at Freiburg. Prior to becoming Nagelsmann’s assistant at Leipzig in summer 2020, he also worked at Hannover, Kaiserslautern and Bayer Leverkusen.
Alongside Toppmöller, Zembrod’s role at Bayern is to support head coach Nagelsmann in daily training and to be the link to the FC Bayern Campus and the medical department. For example, he always takes part in medical meetings prior to training so the coaching staff are up to date on the current injury status and are best informed on the optimal load management for players. On matchdays, Zembrod is connected to Glück and the analysis team in the stands via headset.
Talking about working with Nagelsmann, Zembrod said: “He trusts us 100% and lets us work independently in a lot of areas. We always have points we work on during a week based on our guiding principles. He leaves us a lot of freedom there.” That trusting cooperation is one of Nagelsmann’s “big traits”. He also appreciates him for his “incredible knowhow”.
Dino Toppmöller – Assistant coach
Toppmöller made 128 appearances in Bundesliga 2 as a player before taking up coaching, including at Dudelange, where he won the Luxembourg league title three times and made history in 2018/19 as the first club from the country to qualify for the UEFA Europa League. The 40-year-old became Nagelsmann’s assistant at Leipzig in summer 2020.
Alongside Zembrod, he also supports the new head coach in training work. “We divide things up in terms of training content, both in terms of game and passing drills, as well as match practice training. Of course, Julian has us assistants as points of contact on matchdays,” Toppmöller explained. Training set pieces also falls under his remit. Like Zembrod, Toppmöller also emphasised the close cooperation with Nagelsmann. “He lets us do a lot of things independently and has a lot of faith in us.”
We look at the number of youth players currently also training with the first team:
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