September 29 – German giants Bayern Munich have sacked coach Carlo Ancelotti following the club’s crushing 3-0 defeat to Paris St Germain in the Champions League.
Bayern, who have had an uncharacteristically slow start in the Bundesliga after five successive titles, issued a statement saying performances this season had failed to live up to expectations.
The highly experienced Ancelotti only joined Bayern last season, succeeding Pep Guardiola, and enjoyed immediate success, winning the Bundesliga title in his debut campaign.
Bayern were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid in the quarterfinals and while that might have been expected, this season has started poorly. Bayern have conceded more goals in their first 10 games than in the opening 10 games of the previous two seasons combined.
“The performances of the team since the season start did not correspond to the expectations,” said CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. “The Paris match showed clearly we had to take action.”
“Carlo is a friend of mine and will remain so but we had to take a professional decision for Bayern Munich. I now expect from the team a positive development and absolute passion so that we reach our goals.”
The 58-year-old Ancelotti has also coached Real Madrid, Juventus, AC Milan, Chelsea and – ironically – PSG, but Bayern’s biggest Champions League group-stage defeat in 21 years ultimately spelled the end for him.
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