The end of the national competition brings with it an inevitable dance on the benches every season. But this year there has been an unusual event. Three of the coaches who have led their teams to become champions in the five main European leagues will no longer be in office.
This is the case of Antonio Conte, Hansi Flick and Christoph Galtier, who have left the reins of Inter, Bayern Munich and Lille despite having won Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 respectively. Instead, Pep Guardiola and Diego Simeone will continue to lead Manchester City and Atlético Madrid after winning the Premier League and LaLiga.
It was eleven years since Inter won the ‘scudetto’, but only three weeks after mathematically securing the title and after finishing Serie A last Sunday, Conte reached an agreement with the board on Wednesday to terminate the expiring contract in 2022 in exchange for compensation of about 7 million euros.
Cointe’s ambition collides with cuts at Inter
Conte arrived in 2019 at an Inter that had not finished above fourth place in the previous eight years. In his first season he led him to the runner-up in 2020 and in his second he has led him to the first league title since José Mourinho achieved it in 2010, when he also won the Champions League and Coppa Italia.
However, Conte’s ambition to improve the workforce has collided with the financial situation of Inter, whose president and owner, the young Chinese businessman Steven Zhang, intends to cut the salary bill by 15-20% and earn between 70 and 100 million of euros with the sales of some players.
The ‘sextet’ is not enough endorsement for Flick
Hansi Flick took over the reins of Bayern in November 2019 as an interim replacing Niko Kovac, to whom he was an assistant, and turned the squad into a roller who collected a ‘sextet’ last season. He renewed in April 2020 until 2023, but in this one he has ‘only’ achieved the Bundesliga and a month ago he announced his departure after the end of the course due to differences with sports director Hasan Salihamidzic in the configuration of the squad.
Flick will be replaced at Bayern by Julian Nagelsmann, the Leipzig coach until now, and he in turn, as announced by the Federation on Tuesday, will relieve Joachim Löw at the head of the German team once the Eurocup to be played on 11 June to July 11.
Galtier looks for other challenges
Christoph Galtier has just starred in the feat of leading Lille to the fourth Ligue 1 in its history, the first since 2011, challenging the almighty PSG. However, the French coach wants to face new challenges at 54 years old and, after holding the position since December 2017, on Tuesday he announced his departure in an interview with L’Équipe despite having a contract until 2022.
“I simply have the firm conviction that I have fulfilled my time here,” said Galtier, who confirmed that he has offers from Nice, Lyon and Naples, among other teams, but will decide on one of the three in the next few days.
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