Nagelsmann Explains Why He Didn’t Take Real Madrid Job In 2018

Current Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann spoke to Sports Illustrated about his coaching career, and revealed some interesting insights about his career path and choices he’s made.

Nagelsmann, who has been wildly successful for a coach who’s just 34, mentioned that he had an opportunity to coach Real Madrid back in 2018, but turned it down because he felt the leap was too big for him.

“There is a big difference,” Nagelsmann said of the difference between coaching a smaller team in Germany to making a leap to Real Madrid. “If you take over the first team like me at Hoffenheim, where I was already a junior technician and knew all the cleaners and gardeners, the adaptation time is extremely short. Because you know exactly who to talk to when you need cones to train. If you want your vegetable soup in the afternoon, you go to the cook you already know..”

“When you first have to meet all the people in a club, it’s another dimension. So it was okay for me to look for a higher team than Hoffenheim, but not the highest (Real Madrid) that would have been possible.”