German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund have appointed Thomas Tuchel as coach from next season.
Tuchel, 41, has signed a three-year contract from July 1, the club said on Sunday.
Former Mainz coach Tuchel, who is on sabbatical until his contract with Mainz officially ends at the end of June, will succeed Juergen Klopp.
Tuchel will be formally presented as new coach after the end of the Bundesliga season. There will be no further statements until then, the club said.
“The club will officially unveil the new coach in the week that follows the end of the season and it is hoped the public will understand that none of the parties involved will address the matter until then,’’ a club statement said.
Klopp had said last Wednesday he would be leaving the club after seven years at the end of the season because he no longer felt he was the right man for the team.
Like Tuchel, Klopp also joined Dortmund from Mainz, but unlike Tuchel, does not intend a break from the game. He has been immediately linked with moves to England, Spain or Italy.
Tuchel’s immediate task will be to restore Dortmund as a championship challenger after a poor season by their own recent standards.
Klopp, 47, led Dortmund to Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012, the German Cup in 2012 and the 2013 Champions League final.
They are currently eighth in the league after a 3-0 win at home to Paderborn on Saturday and face Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the German Cup later this month.
Klopp was given a rousing welcome by supporters in the first home game since his announcement.
“That was of course emotional,” he said after fans chanted his name toward the end of victory over Paderborn.
On Wednesday, Klopp had said he owed it to the club to give them early notice of his decision so that they could plan ahead because “this club deserves to be trained by a coach who is 100 per cent right.’’
According to Germany’s Bild newspaper, Klopp had recommended Tuchel as his successor.
Tuchel, who was Mainz coach from 2009 until 2014, was heavily linked with SV Hamburg but negotiations did not lead to a deal, and Hamburg on Wednesday appointed Bruno Labbadia as coach until 2016.
Tuchel led Mainz to fifth place in the Bundesliga in 2010-11, the club’s best-ever placing.
Last season Mainz under Tuchel qualified for the Europa League after finishing seventh. Tuchel then asked to step down but the club did not agree to his request for an early termination of his contract.
(dpa/NAN)
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