Carlo Ancelotti may well have looked into the eyes of the man that’ll replace him last Saturday.
Bayern Munich travelled to Hoffenheim to face Julian Nagelsmann’s Hoffenheim, who proceeded to hand Ancelotti his first loss of the season.
It seems Bayern’s hierachy took note, with Nagelsmann set to take over from Ancelotti next year, according to Raphael Honigstein.
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Honigstein said: “There is the assumption right now that Ancelotti is probably not going to see out his contract beyond the summer.
“I think it’s happening for 2018 and I think they see him as a once-in-a-generation talent of management.
“To not take him would be the sort of mistake they made when they took Klinsmann instead of Jurgen Klopp in 2008.”
Nagelsmann, who only turned 30 in July, took Hoffenheim to the Champions League qualification round after finishing fourth in the Bundesliga last season.
Despite losing to Liverpool in that qualification round he is still regarded as the brightest young manager in world football.
What makes him so special?
Nagelsmann has integrated a high-tempo style of play at Hoffenheim and has operated cleverly in the transfer market.
He’s yet to spend more than £10million on a single signing although he had to deal with Bayern poaching key players Niklas Sule and Sebastian Rudy in the summer.
Bayern’s defeat at Hoffenheim was their first of the season, so it’s reassuring to see Germany overreacting to a managerial blip as we do in England.
Could Nagelsmann do it in four games at Crystal Palace though?
