In a very surprising move Bayern Munich have confirmed that coach Louis van Gaal will step down at the end of the season. On a stateemt on the Bayern web site the German giants said that Van Gaal will leave on 30 June by mutual consent. “The reason for the contract’s cancellation is a difference in opinion regarding the club’s direction,” the statement added.
Saturday’s 3-1 Bundesliga loss at Hannover completed a miserable eight days for Bayern which started when they lost at home to runaway league leaders Borussia Dortmund.
They followed that up by losing in the semi-finals of the German Cup to Schalke and, after this weekend’s loss, Bayern are looking at the possibility of playing in the Europa League next season instead of the Champions League.
Twelve months ago Bayern won the domestic double and lost in the final of the Champions League to Inter Milan. They did that under van Gaal guidance. The difference between last season and this season is that last year van gaal had a healthy Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery for the whole season. This year, the two have played only a handful of games together.
The European giants (of which Bayern is one) rarely change managers, and it is even rarer that they make this sort of “panic” move after one disappointing season.